Healthy gaming and Gaming addiction are often difficult topics for families and individuals to navigate!
How much gaming is a healthy amount?!
How do we set and manage boundaries?!
What should be the rewards or consequences?!
There’s always a blow-up over the gaming!!
What Is Gaming Addiction?
Video game addiction (internet gaming disorder) is characterized by severely reduced control over gaming habits, resulting in negative impacts on daily functioning, including personal, social, educational and occupational responsibilities. While millions of people play video games, only a small percentage develop video game addiction.
Whether internet and video gaming addiction should be classified as an addiction or mental illness is debated among researchers. Many researchers consider video game addiction a behavioral addiction similar to gambling disorder, in which the rush of winning becomes one of the main reasons for playing. Researchers estimate that video game addiction may affect between 1.7% and 10% of the U.S. population. The estimated range is large because many researchers disagree on the diagnostic criteria for internet gaming disorder.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of video game addiction (internet gaming disorder) include:
- Poor performance at school, work or household responsibilities as a result of excessive video game playing.
- Withdrawal symptoms, such as sadness, anxiety or irritability, when games are taken away or gaming isn’t possible.
- A need to spend more and more time playing video games to get the same level of enjoyment.
- Giving up other previously enjoyed activities and/or social relationships due to gaming.
- Being unable to reduce playing time and having unsuccessful attempts to quit gaming despite the negative consequences it’s causing.
- Lying to family members or others about the amount of time spent playing video games.
- A decline in personal hygiene or grooming due to excessive video gaming.
- Using video games as a way to escape stressful situations at work or school or to avoid conflicts at home.
- Using video games to relieve negative moods, such as guilt or hopelessness.
Our Services
- Group Support – Get support for your family in a weekly group of parents
- Psychoeducation – Learn about trends and resources in healthy gaming. Help your kids learn healthy gaming habits
- Parenting Consultation – Meet with Theresa individually for support