There are several common symptoms that could be a sign of video game addiction. While these might not always be signs of a growing psychological dependency that is behind addiction of this nature, these symptoms of addiction should be monitored closely, as they could lead to something more heinous. Just a few of the possible signs include the following:
- Playing for increasing amounts of time, especially when it stretches for hours on end
- Thinking about gaming constantly during other activities
- Gaming to escape from anxiety, depression, the real world, or real-life problems
- Lying to friends and family to conceal gaming
- Feeling irritable, annoyed, or angry when trying to cut down on gaming
When addiction takes hold, these symptoms will continue to get worse as time passes. If you are interested in helping out video game addicts, there are many resources available to help out. There are many places in Europe that already have detox centers where players can check in once they accept that they need gaming addiction treatment help. In addition, many countries have free counseling for students that they can take advantage of in order to deal with the situation.
There are always classic interventions, and multiple books have already been written on the subject of video game addiction. These can be decent guides to parents who don’t know what to do. If the child wants to break the addiction, but he or she is having problems, subliminal CDs are never the end all be all, but some people are helped with a little push that can help get them over the hump.
Video game addiction treatment can be difficult, and the right approach can vary based on person to person and case to case, especially without knowing the degree of severity involved. Treatments can range from becoming more active in an individual’s life and taking them out on alternatives to computers such as hiking, camping, and fishing, where video games can easily be removed from the area, to encourage other activities, for some, more drastic measures like counseling or strict rules. Males under 30 are the most likely to become addicted to video game playing, but people of all ages and genders can fall into that trap. One of the hardest parts of actually getting a successful video game treatment is that many addicts refuse to acknowledge their problem, and the ones who do have to understand that video gaming addiction is like food addiction, i.e., computers are a part of everyday life, so you have to learn how to deal with it.
An overwhelming number of medical and psychological officials recognize this condition now. Considering “texting thumbs” is already seen as a legitimate and treatable condition, it only makes sense that more technology-based conditions are going to be soon to follow. If you know someone who is addicted to video games, you must take action on an immediate basis. This is a serious condition and one that has many negative side effects on a person’s social life and mental and emotional health.
