Can you be classified as a gaming addict?

If you’ve missed important events because the virtual world was calling, it’s high time for reflection, writes

I

FGRAND Theft Auto, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty has you neglecting other duties in the real world, then you might be suffering from gaming disorder.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), has included gaming disorder in its latest draft of the International Classification of Diseases and a battle is set to loom between parents and children, and partners of players, over time spent in the virtual world. What is this new affliction? WHO says a gaming disorder is defined as a pattern of gaming behaviour, played either on digital or video platforms, characterised by impaired control over gaming, where an increasing priority is given to gaming over other activities, to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities.

The disorder’s symptoms include that the person’s behaviour pattern must be “of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning” evident for at least 12 months.

Now would be the time to reflect on the past 12 months and if you’ve missed important events because the virtual world was calling.

“It’s like a substance abuse addiction. The person has an inability to stop once started, and then they develop an increased tolerance to the drug or game, which means they spend more and more time on it to get the same feeling they experienced,” said Ryan Eripse, the head of treatment at Twin Rivers Rehab Addiction Disorders Centre, in Plettenberg Bay.

The centre treats people suffering from different forms of internet addictions such as gaming.

As awareness of this “new” addiction spreads, the clinic sees increasing numbers of people coming through, sometimes unwillingly, for treatment.

“It’s difficult for people to determine when they’ve stepped over the line and gaming has taken over their lives. Often, as with drugs, people start it as a pleasureseeking activity, like having a glass of wine at the end of the day. But as other influences in life overtake, the activity becomes an avoidance of pain. Then it starts to take over. The using of the drug or gaming is a symptom of another problem, and in treatment once we remove the drug or activity, we get to deal with the source of the problem, which could be something like low self-esteem or trauma or undiagnosed depression,” said Eripse.

He said treating disorders such as internet addiction was a relatively new trend.

“It’s a different approach when treating people with an internet or gaming addiction. With a person with an alcohol addiction you can tell them to stay away from liquor shops or bars. However, with people who have a gaming addiction, it’s easy to slip back into the behaviour as people always have their phones on them. It’s not easy to monitor people and their phones. First we have to start with treating the denial that comes with people who do not think they have a problem,” he said.

He said signs people should look out for included: more time than usual spent on a computer or phone, loss of interest in other activities (such as if the person played a sport but no longer wished to do so, isolation from social activities, angry when a

PICTURE: PIXABAY Excessive gaming can lead to gaming disorder, says the World Health Organisation.