People often wonder why video games are addicting. Some argue that they aren’t addicting at all and that they have no impact on the brain. To be sure, gaming addiction and gaming disorder are controversial topics. That’s why researchers are studying gaming, the brain, and addiction. They’re discovering that people can indeed become addicted to video games and that video gaming effects on the brain are significant. They’re also discovering why video games are addicting.

Thanks in part to functional imaging studies, scientists can see that gaming affects the brain like substance addictions. When someone addicted to gaming sees images relating to the video games they play, the same areas of the brain activate as those of people addicted to substances and experiencing cravings.

It’s important to note that, while video games can be addicting, thus negatively affecting lives, these games aren’t all bad. Like everything in life, gaming isn’t all-or-nothing, either only good or only bad. The effects of gaming on the brain are significant and varying. Some effects are positive, and some are negative. Video game effects on the brain give clues as to why video games are addicting.

Video Gaming Effects on the Brain

Playing video games can boost the brain and its ability to think, reason and problem solve. Many video games are complex and get increasingly more difficult as the player progresses. Some involve interaction with others in collaboration toward a goal.

Video gaming has direct effects on the physical brain. “Gaming,” asserts Dr. Peter Gray, research professor at Boston College and author of books and articles on such topics as developmental and educational psychology, “can increase the volume of the right hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, which are involved in executive functioning, including the ability to solve problems and make reasoned decisions” (Gray, 2018).

In addition to sharpening executive functioning, positive effects of gaming on the brain include:

• Strengthening of the visual activity centers of the brain
• Increased ability to pay attention
• Improved spatial memory
• Enhanced hand-eye coordination
• Improved ability to rapidly process information and choose a response
• Heightened mental flexibility

Clearly, there are brain benefits to gaming. Unfortunately, there are also drawbacks, including addiction and negative effects of gaming on the brain.  Looking at these negative effects provides insight into why people can become addicted to gaming.  

Why Are Video Games Addicting?

Despite the positive aspects of gaming, video games can cause problems within the brain. This is because of the way addiction works within the brain (Am I Addicted to Video Games, Gaming?).

There are four big reasons why video games are addicting, all of which are direct video game effects on the brain:

• Neurochemistry
• Behavior reward system
• High degree of immersion
• Thrill-seeking nature of the games

Video games impact the brain on the neurochemical level. Gaming activates dopamine pathways in the brain. Dopamine is the feel-good hormone, associated with pleasure. The brain reacts favorably to activities that cause the release of dopamine.  Simply put, gaming feels good, so people do more of it to keep feeling good. Video games provide a dopamine fix, and people need to keep gaming to get more.

Video games stimulate the brain’s behavior reward system. When you make progress and earn rewards, you’re encouraged to keep going. The more you play, and the better you play, the more you’re rewarded by the game or by status among peers. The rewards you earn in video games must be earned, often with difficulty. When they’re withheld until you complete challenges, you get them sporadically. This sporadic or random reward pattern is very addicting. You keep playing because the next reward could be right around the corner.

The more fully you’re immersed in a game, the more real the experience. Many video games provide deep involvement in which you are the character. Role playing games are common. Some people are incredibly susceptible to high-immersion games, though, so that pathways in the brain are altered and addiction becomes likely.

Further, thrill-seekers are more vulnerable to video game addiction than non-thrill seekers. The nature of games is alluring, satisfying their inherent need for new and exciting experiences.

Video games impact the brain’s reward system and dopamine pathways as well as incentivize thrill-seekers. As researchers increasingly understand video gaming effects on the brain, they help everyone understand why video games are addicting. With understanding, people can learn to enjoy video games and avoid becoming addicted to them.

article references

How do you feel about your job? If you are stressed and unhappy but feel stuck with no options, you’re not doomed to misery. There are ways you can improve mental wellbeing at work, whether your job is somewhat stressful or rife with conflict and problems. You can achieve mental wellbeing when you remember you are separate from work, and that means you can be mentally healthy no matter what your external work environment is like.

In addition to the below ways to improve mental wellbeing at work, developing a healthy perspective is important for wellbeing: even when it’s stressful, work itself isn’t a bad thing. On a practical level, paid employment provides the necessary income for living. It can also create a sense of fulfillment. Satisfaction in a job well done contributes to a positive self-concept. People benefit from their work financially and psychologically.

What happens, though, when work stresses are overwhelming? You can still thrive amidst conflict and stress.

Here are ways to do it.

How to Improve Your Mental Wellbeing at Work

You can take charge of your work environment, yourself, or both. Sometimes working for significant changes in your workplace is successful and helpful. In other cases, though, changing things at the organizational level isn’t possible. If advocating for changes causes more problems than it solves, you can turn your attention to yourself and do things to increase your own mental wellbeing at work in spite of work issues around you.

These ideas address both changes in the work environment and within you. Select the ones that fit your situation.

• Decide if you can make changes to your workplace, then make action plans to do what you can.
  Enlisting involvement and help from coworkers increases office cohesiveness and positive relationships, key components of workplace mental health. You might rearrange the space, change the décor, brighten up a break room—anything that improves the environment (think plants and peaceful colors) improves mental wellbeing at work. And if you can’t make sweeping changes, you can at least spruce up your own area.
   
• Be proactive with your stress level so you maintain a healthy balance.
  Too much stress at work takes a toll on mental health, while too little zaps mental and emotional wellness by decreasing motivation and drive. Work hard, but take frequent, short breaks. Stretch, walk around the office or outside (just move somewhere, somehow), breathe deeply, drink water, eat a nutritious snack. Doing small, healthy things rejuvenates you in big ways. Also, if you can listen to music while working, do so, as music has been proven to influence mood and decrease stress.
   
• Create and manage daily goals.
  Start each day by making an intentional, focused plan. Determine the best way to approach your tasks efficiently. Procrastination, disorganization, and lack of direction decrease mental wellbeing. Solidify your focus initially and check in with it as your work. Mindfulness is very powerful in increasing wellbeing at work, for when you are mindful, you are focused on what you are doing in the present moment rather letting your brain run away with distracted, anxious, or other negative thoughts.
   
• Form connections.
  Sometimes, work makes people feel more isolated even though there are others around. Stress can make everyone impatient and irritable. Anxiety, too, keeps people apart. Studies, though, highlight the importance of strong social connections on our mental health and wellbeing. If you feel disconnected, change that. Start by reaching out to just one coworker. You don’t have to host office parties to form good relationships that foster mental wellbeing at work.
   
• Intentionally develop your values and sense of purpose.
  While all five of these tips are important and effective, if you had to choose only one, this one would be it. Knowing your greater purpose makes many things much more tolerable. You can journal your thoughts, create a vision board, represent them with a photo collage, or list them neatly on an index card or in a program like Evernote. Getting your values and purpose out of your head and out in front of you makes them more real. You can see why you’re going to work day after day. When you know your reason, you can cope with situations you can’t change because you know you’re doing it for a greater purpose in your life. Not only does this improve your mental wellbeing at work (and everywhere else), it is mental health and wellbeing itself.

A final thought to add to your repertoire of strategies to improve mental wellbeing at work: develop a solution-minded outlook. Negativity feeds off of negativity and grows large, looming over an entire office. When someone complains, others join in. It keeps things stuck, even toxic. Excuse yourself from negative conversations, and pay attention to your own words. Being solution- rather than problem-oriented makes a big difference in your mental wellbeing at work and beyond.

article references

There are many factors that can lead to a drug relapse. Here are the most common alcohol and drug relapse risk factors.

1. Being in the presence of drugs or alcohol, drug addicts or alcohol addicts, or places where you used or bought chemicals.

2. Feelings we perceive as negative, particularly anger; also sadness, loneliness, guilt, fear, and anxiety. (read: alcoholism and depression)

3. Positive feelings that make you want to celebrate.

4. Boredom.

5. Getting high on any drug.

6. Physical pain.

7. Listening to war stories and just dwelling on getting high.

8. Suddenly having a lot of cash.

9. Using prescription drugs that can get you high even if you use them properly.

10. Believing that you no longer have to worry (complacent). That is, that you are no longer stimulated to crave drugs/alcohol by any of the above situations (stop drinking cravings), or by anything else - and therefore maybe it's safe for you to use occasionally.

See Also:

• Alcohol Relapse and Craving
• Start of A Drinking Relapse
• Signs and Symptoms of Alcoholic Relapse
• 10 Most Common Dangers That Can Lead to a Alcohol or Drug Relapse
• Attitudes That Can Lead to a Drug or Alcohol Relapse
• Preventing an Alcohol Relapse

Sources:

• Support Systems Homes website

article references

From a study of 1,626 post-rehab patients: "In all groups craving was not a major self-reported cause of relapse. In the Alcohol Dependent group, the most common reason was depression. In fact, 300% more patients cited depression, compared to craving, as the reason for their relapse."

- Neuropsychopharmacology (1994) 11 271-271.

Experiencing Post Acute Withdrawal: I start having problems with one or more of the following; thinking difficulties, emotional overreaction problems, sleep disturbances, memory difficulties, becoming accident prone, and/or starting to experience a serious sensitivity to stress. See alcohol withdrawal.

Return To Denial: I stop telling others what I'm thinking/feeling and start trying to convince myself or others that everything is all right, when in fact it is not.

Avoidance And Defensive Behavior: I start avoiding people who will give me honest feedback and/or I start becoming irritable and angry with them.

Starting To Crisis Build: I start to notice that ordinary everyday problems become overwhelming and no matter how hard I try, I can't solve my problems.

Feeling Immobilized (Stuck): I start believing that there is nowhere to turn and no way to solve my problems. I feel trapped and start to use magical thinking.

Becoming Depressed: I start feeling down-in-the dumps and have very low energy. I may even become so depressed that I start thinking of suicide.

Compulsive And/Or Impulsive Behaviors (Loss Of Control): I start using one or more of the following- food, sex, caffeine, nicotine, work, gambling, etc. often in an out of control fashion. And/or I may react without thinking of the consequences of my behavior on myself and others.

Urges And Cravings (Thinking About Drinking/Using): I begin to think that alcohol/drug use is the only way to feel better. I start thinking about justifications to drink/use and convince myself that using is the logical thing to do.

Chemical Loss Of Control (Drinking/Using): I find myself drinking/using again to solve my problems. I start to believe that "it's all over 'till I hit bottom, so I may as well enjoy this relapse while it's good." My problems continue to get worse.

Sources:

Adapted from Terence T. Gorski's Warning Sign Identification Process

See Also:

• Alcohol Relapse and Craving
• Start of A Drinking Relapse
• Signs and Symptoms of Alcoholic Relapse
• 10 Most Common Dangers That Can Lead to a Alcohol or Drug Relapse
• Attitudes That Can Lead to a Drug or Alcohol Relapse
• Preventing an Alcohol Relapse

article references

Self-help groups allow people to feed their natural tendency to seek acceptance, comfort, and understanding in a safe setting. People come together in the setting – whether face-to-face or Internet-based – to openly share common experiences and challenges, while offering mutual support (Online Mental Health Self-Help is Available and Effective).

Self-help support groups are inherently participatory and provide members with the opportunity to get help, give help, and help themselves through the sharing of knowledge and experience.

What is a Self-Help Group?

What is a self-help group? The simple answer is that the best self-help groups offer emotional support and practical help with a mental health challenge, experience, or concern shared by all the members.

“Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one!’” ~C.S. Lewis

Self-help groups that are specifically for mental health are made up of peers with similar mental or emotional issues. Since these groups are typically peer-led and informal, mental health professionals consider them an adjunct to formal therapy. Also known as mutual help groups, the goal of these groups is to assist one another in coping with and, if possible, recovering from their mental and emotional challenges.

You can find a wide variety of types of self-help groups. Some simply consist of two or three people getting together for coffee, sharing experiences and strategies. Others consist of small groups meeting at community centers or large, formal organizations that offer support and mentoring. Regardless of the type of group, the self-help process includes three aspects:

1. Each person may contribute to the group
2. Each person decides what activities and advice will work for his or her individual needs
3. The group facilitates open and honest communication in a non-judgmental environment

These three characteristics create the setting in which mutual help and aid can occur among participants. If you join a group and feel like your contribution is discouraged, or if others react negatively to what you’ve shared, consider leaving and looking for another group.

The different types of self-help groups share three structural characteristics in that they are:

• Usually peer led – Although some self-help groups have a professional or counselor as leader, most are peer-led. Individuals who participate as members take turns leading the meetings, but do not have authority in the group. Leading and sharing are not requirements. Members can simply listen and share, as they feel comfortable.
• Open-ended – self-help groups have no attendance requirements. Although, regular attendance may be encouraged, people attend when they feel the need and their schedule permits.
• Little or no participation cost – individuals may donate funds, if able, to cover costs of refreshments or the cost of meeting space. It’s through these voluntary member donations that the groups sustain themselves.

Types of Self-Help Groups

The various types of self-help groups range from regular, informal meetings of two or three individuals to large, organized groups with a national presence. Some of the most common self-help group models include:

Twelve Step Groups – Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), founded in 1935, developed this popular type of self-help group. The 12 steps provide a guide for recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, and a number of other addiction-like behaviors.

AA and the other 12 step programs modeled from it work from a spiritual basis that guides participants to turn their lives over to a “higher power,” like God or other spiritual guides. Relinquishing control to a personal higher power is essential to recovery in these programs. Participants remain anonymous, only giving first names when sharing with the group.

Members must also admit powerlessness over their alcohol or drug addiction. Group members offer support and guidance to one another as they work through the 12 steps on the road to recovery. In addition, to help with alcoholism, other 12 step programs include Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), Gambler’s Anonymous (GA), and Overeaters Anonymous (OA), and more.

Online Groups – online support communities represent a growing trend in the self-help movement. These groups include chat rooms, forums, and closed social networks. One benefit of these is that they provide around-the-clock access to support. Occasionally, a professional moderates online groups, especially during certain planned discussions, but a great many are organized and run by peers. Check out the HealthyPlace Online Forum to see the wide variety of topics discussed there. The Internet offers a vast array of these online groups that address just about any mental illness or challenge you can think of.

Traditional Support Group – these support groups usually meet in a community meeting room or other public space. They address specific mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and many more. You can also find groups that offer support to people living with a mentally ill loved one. Getting together with others who have experienced similar challenges and adversity can help ease the stress and feelings of isolation when you care for a mentally ill family member. Likewise, people with mental health issues can benefit greatly by socializing with others with the same illness. A traditional face-to-face support group offers a safe place to do so.

Benefits of Self-Help Groups

Those who participate in self-help groups are 50% less likely to be hospitalized due to their mental illness than people who simply go to therapy or other community programs that do not include self-help strategies. That amounts to an immense savings in medical costs alone.

Further, these programs provide a social support system for members, which is especially helpful for people with conditions that tend to isolate them. The mutual help aspect of self-help groups helps the person providing help as well as the person receiving it.

According to a study conducted in 1995 by the Center for the Study of Issues in Public Mental Health, self-help group participation increases self-esteem and gives a higher personal confidence of recovery. People who participate in these groups regularly have reduced symptoms and are more likely to return to work.

The question, “Am I addicted to video games and gaming?” isn’t always easy to answer. First, gaming disorder and the concept of video game addiction are still new, so researchers, mental health professionals, and gamers themselves are trying to figure things out. Also, as with any addiction, when you’re immersed in gaming, it can be difficult to tell if you have a problem. Use this questionnaire as a tool to help you answer the question, “Am I addicted to video games and gaming?”

Am I Addicted to Video Games, Gaming? Consider These Criteria

Before you complete the questionnaire, some important concepts will help you put your own experiences in context.

Dr. Mark Griffiths is a professor in the School of Social Sciences at Trent University in the UK. He studies behavior addictions, including gaming disorder and addiction. Griffiths identifies specific criteria for Internet addiction and video game addiction:

• Gaming is all-consuming and becomes the center of your life (known as salience)
• Gaming gives you a buzz, pulls you out of a funk, or otherwise changes your mood
• You get used to the effects of gaming, so if you want that buzz, you need to play more (known as tolerance)
• You feel distress and discomfort when you try to stop playing for any amount of time (withdrawal)
• If you do take a break from playing, you fall back into your gaming patterns very easily (called relapse).

To help determine if you’re addicted to video games and gaming, consider Dr. Griffiths’ five criteria. You can also use the below tool to assess whether gaming is a problem in your life. (If you're a parent concerned for your child, see How to Help Your Child Addicted to Video Games.)

Am I Addicted to Video Games, Gaming? A Self-Assessment Questionnaire

When you’re caught up in gaming (or any other behavior), it can be hard to see problems and struggles in yourself and your own life. If you’re asking, “Am I addicted to videogames,” it can help to have a way to reflect on what you’re experiencing.

This “Am I Addicted to Video Games, Gaming” questionnaire is designed to walk you through some of the gaming addiction symptoms and signs of addiction to video games. This is not a formal psychological assessment and is not meant to diagnose. Instead, it will help you answer, “Am I addicted to gaming?”

1. Am I male? (Almost half of video game players are female, but the nature of their gaming makes them less likely to become addicted.)
2. Am I in my teens or twenties? (Gaming addiction can happen at any age, but this range is most common.)
3. Do I find it harder to relate to others?
4. Do I feel out of control, like I want to stop but I can’t?
5. Do I play video games so I don’t have to deal with things that stress me out?
6. Has gaming replaced things that I used to have fun doing?
7. Am I losing sleep because I’m up late playing games?
8. Is my health starting to suffer (feeling tired, achy, generally unwell)?
9. Is my mental health starting to suffer (Do I feel upset, sad, or anxious more than I used to)?
10. Have I gained weight (from lack of exercise and/or poor eating habits)?
11. Am I withdrawn, isolated from people and activities?
12. Do people annoy me and make me mad so I get into more conflicts than before?
13. Have my grades started to drop?
14. Have I been fired from work because I don’t show up or am too tired to do my job?
15. Am I skipping school or work to play videogames?
16. Does gaming make me feel better or forget my problems?
17. Have I been aware of problems in my life but believed that gaming isn’t the cause?

It can be effective to write down your answers because it lets you think about them and answer them in more detail. It can also put your thoughts in front of you, out of your head, so you can see them differently.

Take your time with this questionnaire. Your first thoughts might be to brush off the question or minimize the answer. That’s normal. Answering honestly will help you help yourself take back your life.

Above all, answer these questions without being hard on yourself. The questions aren’t meant to judge and condemn, and they’re not negative. They’re just a tool to help you understand what’s happening. In asking, “Am I addicted to video games and gaming?”, if you discover that you are, you can then begin reclaiming your life (Addicted to Video Games and Online Gaming: What Now?).

article references

Basic Information on HIV and AIDS

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a condition in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off infection. AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells--cells that normally protect us from disease. The HIV virus weakens the immune system leaving the body vulnerable to infections and other illnesses, ranging from pneumonia to cancer.

The virus is spread when HIV-infected fluids of one person pass into the body of another person. Infection can occur through unprotected sex (anal, vaginal, or oral); through use of contaminated needles, syringes and other piercing instruments; and from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery, or breast feeding. In the U.S., screening of the blood supply has virtually eliminated the risk of infection through blood transfusions. Some people fear that HIV might be transmitted in other ways (such as through air, water, or insect bites); however, no scientific evidence to support any of these fears has been found.

HIV-Related Mental Health Problems

Mental health problems can affect anybody, but people with HIV are more likely to experience a range of mental health issues over the course of their lives. More common are feelings of acute emotional distress, depression, and anxiety which can often accompany adverse life-events. HIV can also directly infect the brain causing impairment to memory and thinking. In addition some anti-HIV medications can have mental health side effects.

Emotional distress

Receiving an HIV diagnosis can produce strong emotional reactions. Initial feelings of shock and denial can turn to fear, guilt, anger, sadness, and a sense of hopelessness. Some people even have suicidal thoughts. It is understandable that one might feel helpless and/or fear illness, disability and even death.

Support from family and friends can be very helpful at these times, as can professional help. It is important for people with HIV to talk about their feelings. Physicians, including psychiatrists, as well as knowledgeable and supportive friends and loved ones can help. Remember that any strong and lasting reactions call for some kind of assistance and that there is always help through counseling.

Depression

Depression is a serious condition that affects thoughts, feelings, and the ability to function in daily life. It is twice as common in people with HIV as in the general population. Depression is characterized by the presence of most or all of the following symptoms: low mood; apathy; fatigue; inability to concentrate; loss of pleasure in activities; changes in appetite and weight; trouble sleeping; low self-worth; and, possibly, thoughts of suicide. There are many different types of treatments for depression, including antidepressants and specific types of psychotherapy, or "talk" therapy. Treatment, however, must be carefully chosen by a physician or a mental health professional based on the patient's physical and mental condition.

Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of panic or apprehension, which is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, agitation, nervousness, headaches and panic. Anxiety can accompany depression or be seen as a disorder by itself, often caused by circumstances which result in fear, uncertainty or insecurity.

Each person with HIV and each experience of anxiety is unique and must be treated as such. Many drugs offer effective treatment, and many alternative remedies have proven useful either alone or in combination with medication. Among them bodywork, acupuncture, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, aerobic exercise, and supportive group therapy.

Substance Use

Substance use is common among people with HIV infection. Unfortunately, substance use can trigger and often complicate mental health problems. For many, mental health problems predate substance use activity. Substance use can increase levels of distress, interfere with treatment adherence, and lead to impairment in thinking and memory. Diagnosis and treatment by a psychiatrist or other qualified physician is critical as symptoms can mimic psychiatric disorders and other mental health problems.

Cognitive Disorders

Direct or indirect effects of the HIV virus can affect brain functioning. Some medications used to treat HIV infection can also cause similar complications. In people with HIV infection or AIDS, these complications can have a significant impact on daily functioning and greatly diminish quality of life. Among the most common disorders are HIV-associated minor cognitive motor disorder, HIV-associated dementia, delirium, and psychosis. Signs of trouble may include forgetfulness, confusion, attention deficits, slurred or changed speech, sudden changes in mood or behavior, difficulty walking, muscle weakness, slowed thinking and difficulty finding words.

People with HIV who have any of these problems should discuss their concerns with their physician immediately. New anti-HIV therapies in combination with psychiatric medication can reverse delirium and dementia and markedly improve cognition; however, special care must be taken to ensure that the drugs do not interact with HIV medications. Psychotherapy can also help patients understand their condition and adapt to their diminished level of functioning.

Conclusion

HIV infection and AIDS affect all aspects of a person's life. People with HIV/AIDS must adapt to a chronic, life-threatening illness and corresponding physical and mental challenges. In addition, they often face a myriad of emotional demands ranging from stress, anger, and grief to helplessness, depression and cognitive disorders. If you have concerns about your or a loved one's mood, memory, thinking process, or other mental problems associated with HIV discuss them with your doctor or counselor. Treatments are available and can greatly improve the quality of life. With comprehensive and compassionate care, many mental health challenges can be overcome with support, counseling, and understanding.

Because HIV infection and AIDS are associated with a number of physical, psychiatric and psychological issues, it cannot be sufficiently reviewed in a brief summary. Please consult your physician for further information. This summary is not intended to stand on its own as a comprehensive evaluation of HIV and AIDS.

Most likely, if you’re addicted to video games and online gaming, you’ve noticed that gaming has begun to negatively interfere in the quality of your life. Being addicted to gaming or addicted to a video game isn’t about spending time playing; instead, it’s about suffering consequences but continuing to play anyway, perhaps because you can’t stop or video game withdrawal is strong. Now that you’ve noticed this, the next step is to begin to take back your life. You don’t have to stay addicted to video games for the rest of your life.

Addicted to Video Games and Online Gaming: Treatment Uncertainties

Gaming disorder and Internet gaming disorder (as defined in the World Health Organization’s forthcoming ICD-11 and the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5) are new addiction disorders. It has become evident that people can become addicted to online gaming as well as stand-alone gaming, so mental health experts are seeking answers and ways to provide help.

Because it’s new, much is still unknown, including exactly what to do to treat gaming addiction symptoms. That doesn’t mean, though, that you can’t do anything about it. On the contrary, there are many things you can do to overcome this addiction and reclaim your life. A good place to start is with the negative consequence you’re experiencing.

Addicted to Video Games: The Impact on Your Life

Being addicted to video games can mess up things in your life.  This addiction can:

• Increase stress in almost all areas of your life, which harms mental health and wellbeing
• Decrease or eliminate time you spend in other fun leisure activities
• Cause you to miss school, work, activities you used to love, and interactions with people you used to hang out with
• Decrease achievement and performance in school and at work

These categories are broad. You may notice other, more specific, ways gaming has interfered in your life.

These consequences are a good place to start once you’ve noticed that you’re addicted to video games. As yourself:

• What is causing me the most problems?
• What is it that I want to take back first? (Your grades in school? Friendships? Involvement in an activity?)

Trying to take back everything at once can be overwhelming, frustrating, and discouraging. Selecting one area as a starting point will help you gradually recreate what you want in your life (How to Quit Video Games, Gaming. How Tough Is It?). These tips can help:

The Three R’s of Recovery from Gaming Addiction

Rather than focusing on trying to quit gaming, turn your attention to putting more of what you want back into your life. After you’ve explored the above questions, work on the answers with the three R’s of recovery:

• Retrain you brain
• Reach out
• Replace the games

Retrain your brain by weaning gradually. Incrementally reduce the playing time and intensity. Set limits on your gaming time. When your time is up, pack up your console or make your computer less accessible, and put away accessories. This makes it so you can’t easily resume play.

Changing your room environment also helps retrain your brain. Replace game-related posters, magazines, and novelties with things that represent your other interests. Rearrange your space. Make the gaming area less comfortable.

Reach out to others to rebuild connections. Gaming can be isolating. Begin reconnecting with friends and family. Reaching out to support groups such as Online Gamers Anonymous can be helpful, too.

Replace video games with other enjoyable activities. When you’re addicted to video games, simply trying to avoid playing them won’t work. Have something to do when you put away your system will distract you and provide something positive as a replacement.

When you first realize you’re addicted to video games and online gaming, it’s hard to know what to do about it. But video games don't have to ruin your life. Changing the negative consequences by retraining your brain, reaching out, and replacing the games with something you enjoy will allow you to take back your life.

article references

Self-help for mental health refers to the collection of publicly available information focusing on helping people overcome psychological issues in conjunction with, or without, professional face-to-face counseling. Mental and emotional health is linked to how we cope with stress and other factors that influence lifestyle choices. Psychological self-help can give you tools that deepen self-awareness and help you cope with everyday life in healthier ways.

If you have a loved one with mental health challenges, you can seek self-help advice and proven self-help strategies that give you a better understanding and deepen empathy toward your mentally ill loved one.

You can find self-help resources in the library, on the Internet, or through community self-help programs, such as support groups. Typically, you should only rely on self-help therapy if you have mild to moderate mental health issues. For more severe problems that have a significant negative or debilitating impact on your life, seek professional help.

Why Use Self-Help?

Self-help has some key advantages over professional counseling in that it’s inexpensive, convenient, and you can tailor the program to your own schedule. Self-help books, ebooks, articles and Internet sites focusing on mental health can increase your knowledge and understanding of your behaviors and thought processes. They can help you gain conscious awareness of how your thoughts and experiences influence your current behavior.

If you’re seeing a mental health professional, he or she can recommend self-help activities and self-help exercises that you can do in-between visits. This helps you stay on track with your therapy and can strengthen efforts to replace unhealthy behaviors and responses with healthy ones.

How to Find the Right Self-Help Information or Group

There are thousands of self-help books, articles, Internet websites, and groups available. Some are excellent and provide accurate, authoritative information, but many fall well short of this ideal. So how do you know which ones to choose?

If you’re looking online, make sure an accredited professional has reviewed the articles and information on the site. For example, Harry Croft, MD, psychiatrist and medical director for HealthyPlace.com, reviews all information for relevance, accuracy, and timeliness on the site. When choosing a book, make sure it’s written by someone with experience and authority in the area of focus (Online Mental Health Self-Help is Available and Effective).

Self-help support groups are made up of people sharing a common concern or issue. Some self-help groups meet face-to-face with members; others meet online with a moderator present. They conduct their self-help meetings in an effort to share, connect, and learn from one another in a supportive and safe environment (List of Self-Help Groups).

Sometimes a professional counselor leads the group, other times these groups are led by a peer who has made great progress in overcoming the mental health problem. The main criteria here are to make certain the setting is safe and the group members are supportive and open.

So a simple, easy to remember self-help definition might be: self-help involves helping yourself to knowledge and understanding so you can become proactive in creating a better life and future for yourself.

Perhaps you’ll find this surprising: excessive time spent gaming is not among gaming addiction symptoms. While spending lots of time playing video games isn’t necessarily healthy and can contribute to gaming problems, including addiction, time spent gaming isn’t a criterion for gaming disorder or addiction.

According to counselor and writer Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo (2017), “There is a difference between someone who enthusiastically participates in a hobby in their free time and someone who compulsively engages in a behavior.” Gaming addiction falls into the compulsive behavior category.

You can’t tell with certainty if you’re addicted to gaming based on the amount of time you spend, but you can tell by the way your playing is affecting you and the way you’re living your life. Beyond this, you can determine if you have symptoms of gaming addiction in adults and adolescents.

Important Considerations in Gaming Addiction Symptoms

A list of symptoms can be a useful tool in helping you determine if you’re addicted to gaming. Before we get to that, though, it’s important to put gaming addiction symptoms in context. Gaming is a behavior that becomes an addiction when it is all-consuming. The games take up more and more of your time, and your performance in school or at work begins to decline.

Hallmark symptoms of gaming addiction are

• Impaired control over the activity (you can’t control things like when you play, how often you play, how long you play, the intensity of your gaming, and other related factors)
• Increased amounts of time spent gaming (How Many Hours of Video Games is Too Much?)
• Escalation of gaming despite problems it causes

The continued gaming, even when you know it’s causing problems, is one of the key signs of gaming addiction. Each of these signs can be helpful in identifying gaming addiction symptoms. When these are present, mental health professionals begin to consider symptoms.

Online Gaming Addiction Symptoms

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the authority on mental illness published by the American Psychiatric Association, has a section dedicated to conditions that are being researched for designation as a mental disorder. Internet gaming disorder is one such conditions, and it already has a set of symptoms associated with it.

According to the DSM-5 (2013), there are nine symptoms of gaming addiction. You might have an addiction if, over a period of 12 months, you experience five or more of these online gaming addiction symptoms:

• Preoccupation with gaming and games
• Withdrawal symptoms when not playing
• Development of tolerance, or the need to spend longer amounts of time playing to get the same benefits and enjoyment
• Unsuccessful tries to reduce participation in gaming
• Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities and hobbies, sole focus is on gaming
• Continued playing despite knowing there’s a problem
• Lying to others about the amount of time spent playing
• Use of video games for escape or to get out of a negative mood
• Loss of relationships, jobs, school performance, and/or other once-important aspects of life                         

If you’re experiencing at least five of these symptoms, and they’re persistent, you might be addicted to gaming. You can also know if you’re addicted by looking at the consequences of gaming.

Gaming, Symptoms, and Consequences

A gaming addiction, as indicated by the above symptoms, can have dire consequences on someone’s life. In addition to considering how many of the official symptoms you have, consider, too, what problems you’re facing because of gaming.

Gaming can lead to negative effects such as:

• Anxiety is related to gaming addiction, including social phobia
• Depression
• Poor impulse control
• Sleep difficulties
• Health problems due to decreased physical activity and nutrition
• Relationship problems, including marriage problems and loss of friendships (see My Husband is Addicted to Gaming: You’re Not Alone)
• Declining academic or work performance
• Truancy or absenteeism
• Declining self-care
• Vision and hearing problems

Knowing gaming addiction symptoms will help you determine if you’re addicted. Look, too, at the negative effects of your gaming. If you are facing a lot of negative consequences but can’t stop gaming (this is one of the symptoms of a gaming addiction), you might have a gaming problem. Problems, including gaming addiction, have solutions, and treatment for addiction to gaming is available (Video Game Rehab: Inside Gaming Addiction Treatment Centers).

article references