Is gaming addictive? Video on Youtube

Watched and would have commented on youtube but for all the trolls already there. Awesome work, Liz! The more panels like this get together, the closer we come to getting help to everyone who needs help. Thank you!

Thanks for your wonderful participation in this video and for sharing it with us Liz. It certainly covered a lot of the current angles of discussions about excessive gaming. We really do need the medical and psychological communities to call it what it is for far too many, a real addiction. Until it is properly labelled, help sadly seems to get mired down in the discussions. At least it does in my case for my son.

Thanks again Liz!

Great job!!! Well done Liz.

Watched and commented. That second part took alot out of me though: I forgot for a moment how judgemental and plain mean people can be there.

Big props to you Liz for sitting throughout that whole discussion. There were a few times I would have gotten hot-blooded and mouthed off or challenged people. Kinda like that one guy who said he was a recovered game addict, but then also said that he could now moderate with other games lol. I've yet to meet a true addict who can do that.

Think I'm gonna try and stay away from this sort of stuff for a litle while though. It just gets me too worked up. Which, again, means big props should go to you Liz. Can't imagine how hard that was. Big hugs.

Ditto to what Chris shared.

I am struggling with the damage that the "discussion" or debate over whether or not this should be considered an addiction has done to my son and my well being. It has been our biggest impasse in getting proper help. I find myself so mad and frustrated. I have been accused of trying to cause my son real harm by acknowledging this situation as an addiction (ie., pathologizing) as absurd as that sounds to me as I type the words out.

I cringe when I hear the debate. I have suffered because of the debate. My son has sunk deeper into his fake world as a result of this debate. I have been portayed as the enemy because there is a debate and I have chosen the unpopular side.

Most specifically, the professional opinion that it is not a true addiction but rather an overuse self-medicating state due to underlying depression is maddening to me. It makes me want to scream. My son never had underlying depression (has other issues) but acts depressed now as a result of gaming excessively for over 8 years. I understand that many excessive gamers do have underlying depression but to only focus on the depression without addressing the addiction is just bad clinical practice. Ironically, years of treatment with depression meds and therapy was of no help at all because my son was still online 12 hrs per day. The nonsense I hear is that well, not the right meds or therapists. He has tried most, gone through many therapists and nothing changes. It will not change until my son tires of his gaming life and quits. I feel strongly that this might have happened much sooner if gaming addiction were recognized and accepted in the professional community.

Isn't this site with its active community of people of all ages/backgrounds/countries who have suffered horribly from uncontrollable urges to game when they wanted to stop, who have suffered huge consequences such as lost jobs/education/partners/health, who have suffered real withdrawal symptoms... enough proof?

Just saying.

Liz, OlGA board, Hilarie Cash PhD, Cossette Rae at ReStart, and myself are discussing plans on increasing public awareness. Stay tuned and don't lose hope.

I feel your pain witsendmom. If I had one more therapist use the word "pathologizing", I might scream. Is that even a word or did they make it up? Just kidding. It's patronizing and disrepects our view as parents. We see the ugly truth of this disease. When it's happening, it's hard to believe it's real so I guess we shouldn't be surprised others think we over react. Then we come here and I just keep hearing my story over and over. Amazing...

It is a sad truth that we are in the beginnings of effective treatment for gaming addiction but there are success stories and I try to hold onto hope that my son can also find recovery. Alcoholics Anonymous started with one alcoholic reaching out to another and look where that's gone.

Liz, thanks for putting yourself out there with this video and for sharing it here. It can't be easy for you. I do so appreciate it.

I may be wrong, but I'm coming to the conclusion that some therapists and psychiatrists and yes even some doctors (excluding all those here) are pathological idiots.

Good grief!

I read somewhere that we live in an Economy Democracy (not a Democracy) which means if the dollar is at stake (billions spent on games) then what's good for the Economy is what is allowed, not what is good for the society.

Anyway, those are my opinions and I do not want to start debate. I know that some therapists actually advocate gaming addiction as an addiction and send people to OLGA to treat that addiction. They are few. We should hug all those out there who have the courage to stand up for HUMANS and not dollars.

Hugs.

Liz, despite the quality of the video, I think this effort was fabulous and hope these types of debates continue to be placed in the media. I think all the contributions were valuable and like that the conversation ended with a solution-based question. What can lawmakers, communities, schools, churches and parents do? I have my ideas but realize that I need to focus on what I personally can do at this point, how can I use my God-given gifts? As an educator who has experienced much frustration with the school system, on many levels, I see daily the lack of awareness that parents have concerning, psychological disorders, learning disabilites, the effects of both on learning (stress, anxiety, depression) and how those challenges impact children in the long run, not just academically but more importantly as it relates to addiciton. If a child is addicted, academics become meaningless (hopefully temporarily). I've found in many cases at OLGA, that learning disabilities and mood disorders have much to do with internet gaming addiction, simply from observation. I agree that we need more studies to look into this connection. We also need to look at how genetics plays a part. We can't rely on school systems to pursue this on their own. Remember, the more "problems" they have to legally recognize, the more money they have to pay out to try to "fix" them. On a practical level, I'm thinking of distributing flyers to parents, volunteering to do presentations at schools and churches. Hopefully the word will get around. I appreciate any comments. However, for now, my focus is to support my son in pursuing life over death. I say this figuratively and literally. I pray someday, he may join me in my efforts should I be directed down that path. Thank you Liz. I'm blessed by your persistence and strength...please, never stop!

I also appreciated the conversation on the definition of addiction. Many of us moms may have questioned at what point did our child/teen actually become addicted?

I don't know anything about this author or his books, but did like his page on Addiction.

I hope it's ok to post here and I hope this helps someone as I found it helpful.

http://www.highbottomdrunk.com/article_definitions.html

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Dear witsendmom,

I agree completely. Our son has a top psychologist and psychiatrist, supportive family, and the school is bending over backwards to try to help. Nothing has worked and he is worsening. We are desperate for assistance. The wilderness program seems to be the answer. What do you suggest?

Deborah

Deborah,

I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this nightmare, too. There are a few parents on this site, myself included, who have had to send our gamers to safe places where they can be unplugged, learn about themselves, gain confidence and grow emotionally. I did not send my son to a wilderness program but in retrospect, he really needed it to be completely unplugged and to feel emotions again. I removed my son from his public high school at 16 when he started to fail and continued to lie to cover up his time on SL. He had stolen his grandfther's laptop and honestly believed that he wouldn't notice. I sent him directly to a therapeutic school (b/c the psychiatrists felt that with OCD, he would be too fragile- I now doubt it) which promised that he would not be able to access online games. Unfortunately, the administration turned over a lot, rules became lax and he sneaked on SL for 10 months while there...it wasn't the right school for him. It cost me an exorbitant amount. But don't let my story scare you. Others here have sent their minor gamers to wilderness programs, ranches, etc, with or without therapeutic high school and had success. It gives them a chance to unplug and get reconnected with themselves with lots of support around. You can hire an educational consultant or look up wilderness programs online and talk to them directly. Feel free to private message me and other moms who have similar experiences.

As the wife of a WoW addict, nothing in this segment comes as a surprise. That said, if I had seen this two short years ago at the time I first met my husband, it would have made absolutely no sense to me. I was completely ignorant and unaware that these types of games even existed, let alone that a person could become addicted to them. Nor did I have anyone around me at the time who could have offered me any more information or insight than I already had (or should I say didn't have). We met each others friends, families, church families, got marriage counseling, etc. and not a single person identified my husband's gaming as an addiction even though all the 'symptoms' were clearly present. It was only after I had already married and gone through the hell of those first few months that a good friend of mine (who just finished her master's degree in psychology) offered some insight into the situation and informed me that there could be such a thing as gaming addiction. By that time, I had a fairly severe case of denial and was still trying to take the entire load of the addiction onto myself and my own insecurities. It has taken over a year now to finally reach the point of acceptance, having moved through all the stages of grief for myself. Now, I think it is time for me to join the efforts to raise awareness and begin helping others with the knowledge that I have earned.