| This applies to all of you | |
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Balian - ex-Student |
Accept change Korea with Australia Detox clinic for video game addicts to open in Netherlands FIA CURLEY Associated Press Writer Tim, 21, a game addict who only wanted his first name used, poses after therapy at Smith & Jones Addiction Consultants in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, June 1, 2006. In July, Keith Bakker, director of Smith & Jones will open Europe's first detox clinic for video game addicts, offering in-house treatment for people who can't stop gaming. (AP Photo/ Evert Elzinga) AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - An addiction center is opening Europe's first detox clinic for video 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 console. His detox program begins in July. It will run four to eight weeks, and will include therapy sessions, wilderness excursions, healthy lifestyle workshops and possibly medication. Research into video gaming is still in its infancy, and researchers haven't agreed on how to define addiction. But many experts say it's clear many of the young people who show dependency on video games are in trouble. "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. Bakker said he has seen signs of addiction in children as young as 8. About a dozen clinics already exist in the United States and Canada, and even one in China, as excessive gaming increasingly is being recognized worldwide as an ailment requiring treatment. Elizabeth Woolley, who founded the Safe Haven halfway house for addicted gamers in Harrisburg, Pa., welcomed the idea that treating addicts is spreading to the Netherlands. "Thank God that somebody has finally recognized this is an issue," she said. Jeroen Jansz, associate professor of communications research at the University of Amsterdam, estimates about 80 percent of boys aged 8 to 18 play some type of video game. Forty percent play at least 2 1/2 hours a day. In a 2005 study, Jansz said gamers are overwhelmingly males, especially in violent games where adolescents find "a safe private laboratory where they can experience different emotions." 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 under treatment, agreed to discuss his addiction on condition that his last name not be used. He said he began playing video games three years ago at age 18. Soon, he would not 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. Richard Wood, a professor of International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, is skeptical about viewing heavy gamers as addicts. Wood says that gaming may be a symptom of a problem, but should be seen as a problem itself "just because a person does the activity a lot." Bakker, however, says symptoms of addiction are easy to spot. 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.'" _______________ What man is a man who does not make the world better. |
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Carve - Student 
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Quote: Then again.. I don't even notice the effects of caffiene and will actauly avoid it going into my system, cause I don't like anything that is ment to alter the way you think and feel going into my system anymore anyways. Hippy. _______________ © |
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bono_bob - Student |
Quote: lol the MMORPGs are the worst!! They are so addicting! There is so much to do on those games, and when you accomplish something, its easy to fill that void you have IRL. And you can make some really close friends online too which makes it even more addicting! Its a vicious cycle I tell ya!!!  I got WoW, played it for a month even enjoyed the game.. but *grins* I canceled my account before teh fre emonth ended. There, I have proved that I am not addicted to video games. ( also when im gounrded for video games which can happen often is for like a whole week, and I really dont show any sympoms of 'withdrawal' i may show 'stress' that's just cause im a bit peeved off :p ) Then again.. I don't even notice the effects of caffiene and will actauly avoid it going into my system, cause I don't like anything that is ment to alter the way you think and feel going into my system anymore anyways. _______________ "Darkness is simply the absence of Light" "Is it not easier to snuff out the light completely than to make no shadow or darknes at all and create pure light?" "Is there a limit to Light?" - Jawa Jedi from a galaxy far far way of the one Lucas describes ( not in that galaxy ) |
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bono_bob - Student |
lol the symptoms: "has no social life" really gives me kicks. NO DUH SOME OF US HAVE NO SOCIAL LIVES! :p (actauly recently ive started conversations in video games, and it's amazing what you can do when you humiliate your self callign yoru self a geek for someone else's amusement.. I always loved the shirt: "Im not a geek! I'm a lvl 20 paladin."  _______________ "Darkness is simply the absence of Light" "Is it not easier to snuff out the light completely than to make no shadow or darknes at all and create pure light?" "Is there a limit to Light?" - Jawa Jedi from a galaxy far far way of the one Lucas describes ( not in that galaxy ) |
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Maher - Jedi Knight 
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and yes only WoW users _______________ Still here | My Lightsaber |
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Pink_Mintaka - Student 
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Quote: lol the MMORPGs are the worst!! They are so addicting! There is so much to do on those games, and when you accomplish something, its easy to fill that void you have IRL. And you can make some really close friends online too which makes it even more addicting! Its a vicious cycle I tell ya!!! Once again "This applies to WoW users" and yes, only WoW users.  |
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NotSoLittleCaesar - Student 
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Lmfao, im not addicted, i enjoy it, but i have a social life lmfao :p _______________ Quote: I mostly agree oh Lord of the squeezy mop
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Maher - Jedi Knight 
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 Just crazy, Free will, Social...etc People games are for fun but they never replace own life... _______________ Still here | My Lightsaber |
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Senor Hat - Student 
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It's all true I just hope my Mum and Dad don't see the story _______________ I have beaten The Internet. The end guy was hard. |
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Smilykrazy - Retired 
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lol the MMORPGs are the worst!! They are so addicting! There is so much to do on those games, and when you accomplish something, its easy to fill that void you have IRL. And you can make some really close friends online too which makes it even more addicting! Its a vicious cycle I tell ya!!! _______________ RIP MOM 06/29/58-07/31/08 Married to Koyi Donita 4/30/11 |
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Wicek - Nugget 
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What's social life? Btw. good that someone made that! |
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Pink_Mintaka - Student
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"This applies to WoW users" |
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SaZ - Student 
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i know im addicted to games to some degree but i really know that my thoughts are with reality so im safe for now. _______________ playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana This comment was edited by SaZ on Jun 10 2006 12:40pm. |
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Masta - Jedi Council 
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Lets blame the MMO's! _______________ Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here! Married to Kain. |
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Smilykrazy - Retired 
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LoL! There are quite a few people on FFXI that I can think of that are addicted to it. People that wake up and play FFXI until the go to sleep, and do it all day every single day. I feel bad for people like that. They have no RL and no jobs. Scareh! _______________ RIP MOM 06/29/58-07/31/08 Married to Koyi Donita 4/30/11 |
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