Is video game addiction a real disorder?
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Professionals are considering adding it to the DSM which is the diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals.
I read over a year ago of a boy in England who was being treated for video game addiction. I believe that addictions are all about abusing something--alcohol, sex, food, gambling, video games, etc.--trying to cover up for something important that's missing from their lives.
That's why the Anonymous groups have been so popular and grown so much in the last 60-plus years. AA, NA, OA, etc., helping people to recover and give up the addictions that cause them more problems and deal with whatever has been missing from their lives.
no because i do it too.i had that same question with the same "disorder" and the answer is no...but u can have too much video games...
I think it can be depending on circumstances. For example, if someone is playing video games to the point that it is interfering with eating, normal lifestyle, work, school, relationships, etc. Then one obviously has a problem, as the video game has begun to take over their lives. Or if the person just becomes apathetic towards anything that doesn't concern the video game, then it is a problem.
This is just a guess, but I think it is pretty logical.
You can become psychologically "addicted" to anything. What that really means is you have lost all self control and will power. You can stop playing a game if you really want to. Drug addiction on the other hand, totally different.
So my answer is no, it's not a real disorder.
I think video game addiction is a specific symptom of a broader disorder, like maybe depression or compulsive-obsessive tendencies or whatever else. I don't think it's an actual disorder in and of itself.
I agree with the user above me. The issue isn't the video games themselves. You can be psychologically addicted to anything, depending on your environment, not just specifically video games. I suspect that if video games didn't exist, many people who are addicted to video games would find something else to be addicted to.
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