With the fast development of computer games and gaming consoles, gaming addiction is becoming more and more common in this generation. It gives children, teens and even adults an avenue to live a fantasy life inside the game. It can range from one-player games, two players, online games, to mass multiplayer online role playing games.
Computer games help create this world that provides an escape from daily life. With the wide array of options and characters to play, it?s easy to get lost in another world for an indefinite amount of time. It doesn?t help that computer shops are easily accessible so even people without computers at home can have a gaming addiction.
When does gaming become an addiction?
Not everyone who plays video games develop gaming addiction just as not everyone who tries to take illegal drugs develops drug addiction. Gaming can only be considered an addiction once it turns the person?s life upside-down, needing to play games constantly instead of attending to other areas in his life. There is a constant disregard of responsibility and potentially reckless behavior like stealing or pawning things just to continue to play.
It becomes a gaming addiction when gaming becomes an escape from real life problems and there is a constant need to play more to get the same high from playing. Sleep patterns get disrupted, health is neglected and there seems to be nothing more interesting to do than to just play games. Gaming becomes an indispensable part of his life it disrupts school or work to the point of getting kicked out or fired.
The bottom line in gaming addiction is the fact that the person would want to live inside the fantasy world more than the real world, and it only gets worse if it isn?t confronted. As much as it doesn?t have the same side effects of drug addiction, anyone addicted to gaming can still develop some behaviors similar to drug withdrawals. If he can?t get to play when he wants to, he becomes irritable, impatient or depressed. If there are situations that he can?t seem to handle, gaming becomes the quick and obvious solution.
Therapy for gaming addiction
Like any type of addiction, the person must want to change in order for therapy to be effective. If he doesn?t see that he is doing anything wrong or he feels that he not harming anyone with his gaming addiction, then putting him into therapy will only cause a relapse as soon as he is out the door. However, if he sees and feels the consequences of his addiction, the easier it will be for him to recover from the addiction.
Unlike drug addiction, removing the use of computers is not an option in a world where using computers has become a necessity. However, like other addictions, spending time away from the computer to rediscover the real world is necessary to recover from the addiction. Clients in recovery centers are taught how to become more responsible in allotting their time for gaming, and in the process balancing them with other aspects of their lives.
Clients come to recovery centers for counseling to help them jog back to real world situations and to help them take care of their health better. Proper coping is also taught to them, helping them identify the symptoms of gaming addiction and how it can be prevented. It is only one aspect to help the gamer himself, but it is also another factor to help the family and loved ones around him. Having family members and loved ones understand the addiction and the recovery process involved makes recovery faster and more effective.
There are a lot of reasons for people to get addicted into gaming; it can be an escape from real life or feeling a sense of accomplishment, things that they cannot get from the real world. Self-esteem, a sense of escape and needs not met in real life are only some of the factors that must be looked into. Providing compromise and coaching for these issues can greatly help the clients look at alternatives to situations. Treatment for gaming addiction can open a lot of issues or conflicts between parties involved, but it is one of the few effective ways to resolve the problem.
After Therapy
Therapy doesn?t end after the client leaves the recovery center. It goes on until he is back at home where the change must be followed through. This is where the family can greatly help by cleaning up the client?s room while he is away in therapy. It would also help if he could help them clean as well, knowing what he can do without. The family can also help by helping him follow the schedule and interact with them more by doing chores around the house. Even simply eating together can have its benefits in helping the client keep up with changes after therapy.
Continuous positive support is needed after therapy, and people have different means of support. Aside from personal interactions with people, you can also go into forums for support from people online at SAMHSA. It is part of a holistic addiction treatment to use up all the support that you can, in any way that you can. If you feel like you?re returning back to your old habits and patterns, or maybe there is someone you know with a gaming addiction, you can refer them to the forums at SAMHSA.
Recovery from gaming addiction may not be as arduous as the type of detoxification for substance abuse, but it deals more on how the mind works, and the discipline that should be instilled. It?s easy to relapse on any bad habit, and it?s not always smooth sailing right after therapy. There will be new situations that could make the client go back to old ways unless they are reminded of the proper ways of coping with problems in life.
There are a lot of challenges that will come in life, but you don?t have to suffer nor fight the gaming addiction alone. If you or someone you love suffers from gaming addiction, call Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-515-5032. Our operators are always on standby any time and any day of the week.
Tagged with: Gaming Addiction ? Holistic addiction treatment ? Treatment for gaming addiction
Filed under: Gambling Addiction
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