Gaming Addiction

Gaming Addiction Symptoms: When Do You Know You Are Addicted?

Grinding and farming are the all too familiar terms that are used for a person who spends countless hours playing computer and video games and only breaks for a quick bite to eat and to go to the bathroom. Binging can also occur, lasting up to as much as 24 straight hours of play at a time. This a warning sign that the person may be becoming a gaming addict. If their performance in school or at work has declined progressively, that is another sure tell classic sign. Gaming addicts that are still in school may show up with failing grades in everything except typing and math because those are skills that come as a second nature to them through their gaming addiction. You may also see role playing. In other words, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) put the gamer in another dimension, one which creates a social outcast in a world of virtual fantasy. This is where they feel secure, this is home to them. They will be completely oblivious to the reality of everyday life because that is no longer where they are mentally. If you attempt to remove the gamer from his world of gaming you are quite likely to encounter massive agitation, irritability, anxiousness, paranoia, insomnia, loss of or increased appetite, seclusion, and massive depression. Former gamers who were once big-time Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) addicts, share sad stories about a time when they literally thought they would lose their minds and souls to games that are the most addictive genre of video games available. They share how they would lie to their parents or their boss, claiming to be ill just to stay home and feed that addiction. This causes failing grades and lost jobs, it cause divorces and ends friendships; this is typical of most addictions. When any form of activity causes a negative consequence, there is a problem. When you have isolated yourself from family and friends and find yourself lying to make excuses about how long you have been sitting in front of the game or why you don’t want to go outside and be with people, or you are sneaking to stay up all night for the passion of the game and nothing seems to matter anymore, my friend, there is a problem. When the very thought of not being able to play a game makes you aggressive and sometimes even volatile, there is a problem. When you can not pull yourself away from the game long enough to sit down and enjoy a meal at supper time, there is a problem. Gaming addiction is becoming more and more recognized as a true problem that society needs to address. There are support groups available and people who can help you. Once you admit that you are out of control, you can get help and get on the road to recovery and join the world again, the one that misses you so very much. You will be so happy that you did.