Detox clinic for gamers to open in Netherlands Video games can be as addictive as drugs, says program director By FIA CURLEY The Associated Press Updated: 4:45 p.m. CT June 8, 2006 AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - 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. Bakker already has treated 20 video game addicts, aged 13 to 30, since January. Some show withdrawal symptoms, such as shaking and sweating, when they look at a computer. His detox program begins in July. It will run four to eight weeks, including discussions with therapists and efforts to build patients’ interests in alternative activities. “We have kids who don’t know how to communicate with people face-to-face because they’ve spent the last three years talking to somebody in Korea through a computer,” Bakker said. “Their social network has completely disappeared.” It can start with a Game Boy, perhaps given by parents hoping to keep their children occupied but away from the television. From there it can progress to multilevel games that aren’t made to be won. Addiction can start young Bakker said he has seen signs of addiction in children as young as 8. Hyke van der Heijden, 28, a graduate of the Amsterdam program, started playing video games 20 years ago. By the time he was in college he was gaming about 14 hours a day and using drugs to play longer. “For me, one joint would never be enough, or five minutes of gaming would never be enough,” he said. “I would just keep going until I crashed out.” Van der Heijden first went to Smith & Jones for drug addiction in October 2005, but realized the gaming was the real problem. Since undergoing treatment, he has distanced himself from his smoking and gaming friends. He says he has been drug- and game-free for eight months. Like other addicts, Bakker said, gamers are often trying to escape personal problems. When they play, their brains produce endorphins, giving them a high similar to that experienced by gamblers or drug addicts. Gamers’ responses to questions even mirror those of alcoholics and gamblers when asked about use. “Many of these kids believe that when they sit down, they’re going to play two games and then do their homework,” he said. However, unlike other addicts, most gamers received their first game from their parents. “Because it’s so new, parents don’t see that this is something that can be dangerous,” Bakker said. Tim, a gamer who is currently under treatment, agreed to discuss his addiction on condition of his last name not being used. He said he began playing video games three years ago at age 18. Soon he wouldn’t leave his room for dinner. Later, he began taking drugs to stay awake and play longer. Finally he sought help and picked up other hobbies to occupy his time. Symptoms of addiction are easy to spot, Bakker says. Parents should take notice if a child neglects usual activities, spends several hours at a time with the computer and has no social life. Bakker said parents of game addicts frequently echo the words of partners of cocaine addicts: “’I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what it was.”’ © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13210136/
whats the world coming to....i was pretty addicted to diablo 2: LoD, 2-3 hours a day playing, but i quit on my own as well.
There is noway someone can be freakin' ADDICTED to videogames! I mean you gotta get bored eventually and you gotta do other stuff
I have a friend or two who could benefit from this. (actually, since they bothered to come out long enough to make friends with me, they're probably just wasting a lot of time with the games... not addicts of the very worst kind like what's being described.) People can be addicted to any kind of compulsive behavior. Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are well-known because they have their own chemicals that affect the brain. But we produce endorphins, our own chemicals, when doing anything that makes us feel better. You can get psychologically addicted to that... as well as just the fact that people who bury themselves in one kind of behavior are looking for escape from their problems (or replacement for their poor spiritual life). This is why you have people addicted to gambling, shopping, sex, overeating, whatever can make you feel good for a little while. No surprise that this popped up, since it's socially acceptable stuff that lots of people do in moderation, and most of the addicts are young kids for whom this is one of the more acceptable outlets...
It's only a matter of time before we see a Clutchfans detox. If you joined in 2006 and have like a thousand posts already we both have a problem. "It started innocently enough. A post here, a post there. Then comes echoing other posters replys almost word for word so I felt good inside. Then comes replying to threads I don't even care about just so I don't feel like other people are posting more than me... then... I started posting in the D&D. I dont even know what a politic is. I just ran out of places to post man!!"
It's beneficial that the detox center is in the Netherlands, that way they can turn these addicted game nerds onto things like sex and drugs. You know, show them their is more to life then playing games, like getting a girl to play with your joystick.
"Uh, my name's Joey but, uh, I'm not an addict. Nono, really, really, listen, listen to this. I got in trouble with my computer, right, okay, and my lawyer told the judge that I'm an addict, but I'm not addicted to my computer! No really, really"
videogames nowadays (i.e. world of warcraft) are dynamic, more complex, and with the installation of new updates, have more things to do/accomplish. so there's pretty much no way you can get bored the the game since you will hypothetically never be able to "finish" it. to me, videogames is very similar to gambling because of the fact that videogames and gambling entail no intake of chemicals/drugs that will make u addicted. however, gambling addiction is synonymous to alcoholism and drug addiction...it will be only a matter of time that videogames will enter the fray of the categories of addiction.
