Detox Clinic Opening for Video Game Addicts

Blue6 writes "An addiction center is opening Europe's first detox clinic for game addicts, offering in-house treatment for people who can't leave their joysticks alone. Video games may look innocent, but they can be as addictive as gambling or drugs, and just as hard to kick, says Keith Bakker, director of Amsterdam-based Smith & Jones Addiction Consultants." I'm pretty sure the amount of time I've spent in the world of Azeroth in the past year counts as addiction. Someone tell my parents I still love them, while I mine this ore.

Comments

Newspeak

[lga]

"Addiction Consultants" - is that what we are calling drug dealers now?

Joysticks

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't leave mine alone either.

Re:Joysticks

[AstrumPreliator]

They have a different clinic for that joystick problem.

Re:Joysticks

[sa1lnr]

And we are all here posting on it. ;)

Re:Joysticks

[jank1887]

Addiction hurts others either directly (e.g., your DUI example) or indirectly (e.g., skipping work so you can mine that ore or beat it to Jenna Jameson for the 5th time today...). Or leaving your little kid alone in the bathtub so you can squeeze in "just 5 minutes" more computer time (for either of the above). Or neglecting "insert responsibility here" so you can "insert addictive activity here", adversely affecting others around you, usually familiy members who depend on you in some way. Sure, you didn't plow through a crowded sidewalk with your car, but it doesn't mean your addiction doesn't hurt anyone else.

Re:Joysticks

[Walt Dismal]

I'm not addicted to porn. I could have stopped *any time* I wanted to since puberty, in the last 45 years. I'll demonstrate right now... stopping...stopping... almost stopping...almost stopping..trying to stop... trying ... ARGGGGGGHHH! ARGGGGGHHHH! Give me BACK my pictures of Cmdr Taco, the bearskin rug, and the bullwhip. NOW! {quiver} {pant} Damn your soft, succulent lips, Rob Malda!

Quaking in my boots

[mo'o ahi]

Hi, my name is Mo and I'm a Quake addict...

Re:Quaking in my boots

[scsirob]

Hi Mo..

Re:Quaking in my boots

[WildWon]

Hi Mo.

DUPE

[ClamIAm]

A whole three days ago...

addictions

[Susceptor]

can't we technically qualify anything as an addiction? I mean if you define an addiction as a habbit that leads to anti-social behavior, then anything from excessive porn watching to video-games to overeating can count as an addiction. Maybe we (as in everyone) have to realise that anything and everything we do in life can potentially be an addiction (ie something we do excessively to divert our attention from the problems in our lives) Just ask the workaholics who work 14 hours a day instead of playing quake 14 hours a day. BTW, I'm a "recovering" game addict as it were. I was in the top 10% of my law school class, then i picked up WOW, big mistake. I passed, but boy did my grades fall. That game litteraly came close to ruining me financially. I ditched it and deleted my char's. Bottom line with games like WOW is thins, if a friend calls you and asks you if you want to go out and you say no because you want to lvl your 55 lvl druid to 56 by grinding in an instance with you guild, then you have a problem.

Re:addictions

[Aqua OS X]

An addition takes place when you keep doing something despite known and persistent consequences.

An if my undergrad psyc classes serve me correct, it is absolutely possible to become addicted to something that is not an ingested chemical of some sort. It's not like you experience a video game, sex, passively. You're brain released serotonin, dopamine, etc through experiencing things.

That said, to become addicted to something like a game or sex you usually have some other problems in your life. You usually need to be set up for an addition like that. At least that's what Dr. Drew would have me believe while I'm listening to Love Line while being a workaholic at midnight.

Re:addictions

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

can't we technically qualify anything as an addiction?

I read recently that the concept of addiction is not a well defined one. One persons addiction is anothers mild indulgence. Frequently addiction is only applied to socially undesireable or prohibited indulgences. For example, despite its frequent use to excess, users of alcohol are rarely described as "addicted", and are instead given a specific label of "alocoholic".

The argument I read traced the origins of the concept of addiction back to the the Enlightenment. Essentially, the author argued that the concept of addiction was a direct successor to the concept of demonic possession. Where previously someone was regarded as being posessed as an explanation for their behaviour, now in the new, rational world, they were described as being "addicted" to a substance or behaviour.

People often tell me I'm addicted to video games. These same people can spend up to six hours a night, three nights a week, consuming alcohol and other substances. Some smoke, some watch an hour of football seven days a week. Some buy dozens of specialist magazines, spend hours on hobbies, go to car shows. Most watch ten times the amount of television I do.

There's always been a question of when an avid interest ends, and an addiction begins. In my expierience, nine times out of ten, it begins in the eye of the beholder.

Re:addictions

[antifoidulus]

An addition takes place when you keep doing something despite known and persistent consequences.

Next thing you know they are multiplying their time spent on line, dividing their family and significantly subtracting from their overall quality of life.


Sorry, I'll put the pun vehicle back in the garage were it belongs.

Re:addictions

[Harker]

The same thing could be said about video game addiction. :)

H.

Re:addictions

[Random Destruction]

Annual causes of death in the US:
Tobacco 435,000
Alcohol 85,000
Sexual Behaviors 20,000
Marijuana 0

Well it may be debatable, but I think its a pointless debate. I know more people do these other things than smoke pot, but let's multiply the pot number by five trillion to make up for the difference. Oh look, pot is still safer than sex.

*Taken from drugwarfacts.com, original sources:
Source: Mokdad, Ali H., PhD, James S. Marks, MD, MPH, Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc, Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000," Journal of the American Medical Association, March 10, 2004, Vol. 291, No. 10, pp. 1238, 1241.
and
Source: Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), available on the web at http://www.samhsa.gov/; also see Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A. Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999), available on the web at http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed/; and US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition" (Docket #86-22), September 6, 1988, p. 57.

Re:I think the editors need to go to a clinic

[grammar fascist]

Seriously. You'd think they'd try their own search or something :P

Why would they do that? It gives us the opportunity to repost smart things someone else said in the other discussion without getting modded Redundant.

For instance, I might state:

- I'm sure Jack Thompson will use this to leverage his arguments
- It'll be sandwiched between two hash-bars on Main street
- They'll just be trading a gaming addiction for another kind of addiction, like AA does swapping alcohol for Jesus
- Most "12 step" programs are quacky and don't work
- That if you're in Amsterdam and you can't find anything more interesting to get addicted to than games, you really do need help
- Gaming isn't a "drug," but it does stimulate pleasure centers and thus can be addictive (like sugary foods, I guess)
- You could probably pay Chinese and Korean powerlevelers to shoot you right up through that 12-step program for a small fee

But I'd just be karma-whoring.

Re:errrr... Am I qualify for this?

[Susceptor]

you are probably thinking of sex addicts :) You know, you can be a sex addict even if you don't have "sex" per se since masturbation technically counts, so if you are..playing with your joystick... twice a day, then you just might qualify for some sort of program.

funny

[7o9]

how about just linking to all funny comments from 3 days ago? i'm not addicted to dupes

Our Loyal Gaming Industry...

[HotBlackDessiato]

...pays taxes and creates jobs in key congressional ridings. It cannot therfore be producing anything synonymous with drug addiction.

Ask big-pharma how this concept works:--)

Best way to cure the game addiction.

[forgotten_my_nick]

Stick them in a room with Daikatana.

Great...

[od05]

Now they just need to open up one for slashdot addictions and I'll be all set...

Pedantry alert

[tygerstripes]

Missed the earlier article, so I'll post in the dupe.

You can't "detox" from a non-chemical addiction. A detox clinic is somewhere you go to make it nigh-on impossible to obtain whatever chemical it is that your body is used to and, thus, craves.

While clinics do also have programs and counsellors to help deal with the underlying cause of the addiction - eg emotional stress, habit or associative behaviour - these are to help prevent addicts from returning to their chemical addiction. These services are also available outside of a detox clinic.

For a purely habitual addiction - whether it be sex, gaming, work or anything else without a direct chemical impact - you can only provide the counselling. Detoxing, making the object of your obsession unavailable, is just a way of providing a stop-gap for weak-willed people to break their habit while they're in counselling, and calling it a detox clinic is a way for those same people to legitimise their pathetic behaviour. I really don't have much sympathy, and I wouldn't expect any if I were in that situation.

Don't talk to me about adrenaline highs or any of the self-induced psychosomatic hormonal impacts of addiction; that's just the physiological aspect of a neural, habit-forming process. It's a million miles from chemical addiction. They really can't be compared.

Re:Pedantry alert

[Psychotria]

I agree with much of what you say. I think you don't understand the meaning of Detox though.

A detox clinic is somewhere you go to make it nigh-on impossible to obtain whatever chemical

Not true. The body becomes dependant on the drug (homeostasis etc), and therefore stopping taking the drug can be dangerous, as the body has become adapted to the constant supply of the drug. Not being able to obtain the drug in Detox is irrelevent. Benzodiazapemes probably _would_ be available in a detox for that drug.The point of detox is to reaccustom the body to a life without drugs. And this is different to all the psychological stuff.A better definition would be: A detox clinic is somewhere you go until the chemical is gone from the body and the physical effects of withdrawal are gone.

Re:Pedantry alert

[ClamIAm]

Damn man, it's really funny when a self-confessed pedantry post is completely wrong. If "detoxing" means making it impossible to obtain whatever you're addicted to, it's pretty damn logical to consider a place helping people get over a non-chemical addiction as a "detox" clinic.

And non-chemical addictions can most definitely be as strong or stronger than chemical ones. Just because it is different, does not mean it is "a million miles" away.

Re:Pedantry alert

[Stalyn]

All changes in behavior are equivalent to changes in brain chemistry. Therefore all addictions are chemical.

However I think the chemical addiction you refer to is where a person is addicted to a foreign chemical substance. Yet the only difference between addiction to a foreign substance and a foreign stimuli is the external contributing factor which changes brain chemistry. The root of addiction lies in the change of brain chemistry.

Heroin is addictive because of the change in brain chemistry that results from adding heroin into your system. The same could be said for external stimuli, like video games. The external stimulation results in a change in brain chemistry. This change is what is addictive, not the substance or stimuli itself.

internet

[Sv-Manowar]

They should think about making one of these for internet addiction too. Think I'm joking? try going a week without going online, or even visiting slashdot for that matter. It has become integral to our lives, but to a point where people can spend all day surfing instead of getting sunlight or exercise. Not that I'm complaining, it suits me just fine.

Re:internet

[ZeroExistenZ]

Think I'm joking? try going a week without going online

Put 90% of all households without tv for a week...

It should prove quite interesting as people will have on average 3 hours extra time, when nearly everyone feels they have "no" time.

I don't own a tv myself anymore, it's dead time. Sleeping is more efficient way to rest and living a life yourself is more forfilling then projecting yourself into an emulated life watching these "reality"-things then gazing into a lightbox.

There are more things like this, I'm sure.

Re:internet

[drspliff]

I did that recently actually while in hospital, after about two weeks I was really starting to feel very very stressed.

I don't think that it was actually the lack of internet use that was causing it though, at the same time I'd given up smoking (after about 5 years of smoking heavily), and was under the impression that 1) there was a computer somewhere with internet access in the hospital and 2) I'd be able to find an internet cafe.

Neither worked out and I ended up being given the runaround by hospital workers who either didn't speak English or all gave me conflicting answers. But to this day I haven't started smoking again (and I'm presuming my willpower is a bit stronger than others).

Re:internet

[dlZ]

Neither worked out and I ended up being given the runaround by hospital workers who either didn't speak English or all gave me conflicting answers. But to this day I haven't started smoking again (and I'm presuming my willpower is a bit stronger than others).

In regards to smoking, that's great! I quit for a few years, but then I stupidly started back up (I won't try to justify why, either, because there is no good reason, really.) Quitting this second time is proving to be a lot harder than the first, too. I'm going to do it, though, because I don't want to live my entire live with a smelly cig hanging out of my mouth and all the health "benefits" that come along with it.

Re:More detox programs coming soon:

[Anonymous Coward]

4. How to not hate the world is 86463 easy steps
Step 1: Get laid.

One million reasons to hate the world...

Re:I think the editors need to go to a clinic

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

I'm sure Jack Thompson will use this to leverage his arguments

Gaming is a gateway drug to MURDER ADDICTION!!!!

Re:I think the editors need to go to a clinic

[fatduck]

I went to this "gaming addiction rehab clinic" and they told me that it doesn't matter if I'm addicted to World of Warcraft and sacrifice my relationships with family, friends, co-workers, fellow denizens of planet earth, as long as I think about Jesus all 24 hours of playtime per day.

Re:I think the editors need to go to a clinic

[James McGuigan]

Welcome to World of Jesus, you have just found the magic scroll "Walk on Water" and "Reserection after Crucifiction". To the east is a large table containing several loaves of bread and many bottles of wine. To the north is a hill where convicts are being crusified. To the south is a shallow lake. To the west is a garrison of 5 roman soildiers walking towards you. You have 97 hit points and 42 magic points remaining. You smell a wumpus is nearby. What do you wish to do?

Leave 'em alone

[Opportunist]

Seriously. Why is it anyone's business? You want to spend 18+ hours a day playing WoW? Ok. I don't understand, but then, few people understand some of my pastimes.

What's the problem? That he becomes "anti-social", that he "has no life", that he "wastes his time senselessly"? If that's the concern, why do we still have TVs?

If you're a "concerned parent" (read: worried that your neighbors might think you're a bad parent), you can't simply take away something and not replace it. It's like pulling the pacifyer out of your baby's mouth and wonder why the child's screaming while you walk away to return to doing whatever you prefer doing instead of spending time with your kids.

I think it's the usual "I don't understand it and especially not why it's fun to do it for a lenghty period of time, I can't enjoy it for a longer period of time, so the conclusion is it must be an addiction and they don't really WANT to do it" bullshit.

If you want your kids to turn away from computer games, give them a reason. Don't only pull the plug, or you could be REALLY dealing with addiction problems soon when they're looking for substitutes.

Re:Leave 'em alone

[deacon]

Indeed. But culture in general is going the other way, unfortunately. As C. S. Lewis said:

"Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Now that the "War on Smoking" (I never have, btw) is in it's final stages, and the "War on videogames" is well underway, we are starting the "War on Food".

First, they came for the smokers, but I did not speak out because I was not a smoker.

Then they came for the foi gras eaters, the people who use "unhealthy" frying oil, drinkers of Mountain Dew, eaters of Doritos.

Most of this is already happening/happened in Chicago. The logical limit of this slippery slope is that foods deemed "unhealthy" are going to be prohibited by law. The argument will be made in two parts. First, that people who "selfishly" consume these foods are burdening the rest of society. Further, it will be claimed that the price of bacon does not reflect its true cost, since bacon consumers use more public services due to poorer health. The second part of the attack will be to claim that bacon is "addictive", and that since people are powerless to avoid eating it, it must be banned. When bacon is outlawed, only outlaws will have bacon.