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The World Health Organization to Add 'Obsessive Gaming Disorders' to Its Classification of Diseases

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
edited December 2017 in News & Features Discussion

imageThe World Health Organization to Add 'Obsessive Gaming Disorders' to Its Classification of Diseases - MMORPG.com News

The World Health Organization (WHO) will be adding "obsessive gaming disorders" to its International Classification of Diseases in 2018. The diagnostic manual will be published sometime in 2018, the first update since 1990. "Health professionals need to recognize that the gaming disorder may have serious health consequences" said Vladimir Poznyak, member of WHO's Mental Health and Substance Abuse panel.

Read the full story here



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Comments

  • WizbuizWizbuiz Member UncommonPosts: 215
    edited December 2017
    Played games for 30 years, it's naught but an escapism from the world at hand and instant gratification. Easy access to flow of dopamine and serotonin, yes it will at one point imbalance your human nature, it will keep u from doing things that has more value in life and you might wake up one day thinking what the hell happened to my life such waste on fantasies that does not exist and you will slowly realize you could have put all that time into a career that would have given you access to a larger variety of pleasures and gratification YOU couldent possible find in any game. You will realize this when you'r old. Personally I am glad i didn't destroy my body in the process and always keept up with healthy food and training, whille i saw other people slowly succumb to lifestyle diseases and eventually died. Now i see the addiction slowly forming in my own kids, the urge to play when they wake up. But i managed to contain the addiction in them by adding reallife activities and create a universe in the real world that can be as thrilling and exciting as those gaming companies build. I try to teach them you are a character in this vast world what would level? How awesome would want to be, and what great things do you want to achieve.. Men have a need to be recognized and accepted, we get easily addicted to power and the feeling of being somebody special, and thats what games does to us it gives us a sense of self worth we are accepted and maybe chosen for our skills in the gaming community we take more chances in victory and defeat cuz the penalty is small... The brain can't differentiate between success in a game and success in reallife so it releases the same amount of pleasure chemicals, but the success in reallife will give you much much more pleasure and sense of self-worth throughout ur entire life.
    Viper482klash2defAlomarsylentnyteOsholaseritZajjarwingoodqomaGreatswordand 3 others.
  • GdemamiGdemami Member EpicPosts: 12,342
    ...pseudo-science, a religion of our time.
    Viper482alivenIosevusIselinGobstopper3DWalkinGlennMrMelGibsonAlomar
  • Viper482Viper482 Member LegendaryPosts: 4,064
    Gdemami said:
    ...pseudo-science, a religion of our time.
    I bet that sounded much more intellectual when you typed it. Does the world revolve around you? Just because you never dealt with it does not mean it isn't a thing. I can drink a beer without becoming an alcoholic, pop a OxyContin without becoming an addict....does not make it any less real for others. 
    bcbullyGdemamiSBFordlaserithallucigenocideMrMelGibsonGorweBlacklabelcaliEvilGeek
    Make MMORPG's Great Again!
  • moshramoshra Member RarePosts: 400
    Nope, it means you have to go to a rehab devoid of technology.  You have to join the boyscouts and do stuff outside.
  • AlbatroesAlbatroes Member LegendaryPosts: 7,671
    edited December 2017
    Keep in mind, psychology wasn't regarded as an official science for a long time. Now there's so many branches and branches keep taking form seeing how deeply rooted it is in every aspect of life. Addiction is the same thing in terms of what can be categorized as an addiction. An addiction is usually something that inhibits an individual's ability to function in life, which there are many people who tend to separate themselves mostly from the world just to exist in other worlds. Personally, that was me for 5 years of my life until I found someone ironically through a game and proceeded to re-balance my life from there.
  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 16,983
    Can I use this to go out on disability someday?
    Can we also research the offshoot Obsessive Gaming Forum Disorders?


    eastercowXarkoRovnAsheram

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

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    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

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  • TheDarkrayneTheDarkrayne Member EpicPosts: 5,297
    This is a bit far fetched. Reading books constantly would have the same effect on fitness. Same with watching TV or Movies. Or playing board games.. or just about ANY activity that isn't very physical and holds your attention.

    This is people choosing to do something they want to do and other people telling them they shouldn't do it. It's not like being addicted to drugs or alcohol where there are serious, physical effects when you try to stop doing it... you know, actual physical addiction.

    It's just people not getting the exercise they should because they'd rather play a game, that's all it is. It may well be a bipolar, cyclothymic or depression disorder that causes them to act that way... but it's not a 'video game' disorder.
    HellsprodigyAlexander.BRovn
    I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
  • ConstantineMerusConstantineMerus Member EpicPosts: 3,338
    A psychiatric friend of mine told me today that I have a mental disorder because when others are chewing loudly I get annoyed. Misophonia. 

    I told him he has clinical lycanthropy and should learn to chew like a human being. 
    MadFrenchieAllerleirauhAlomarDagon13Xingbairongeastercow[Deleted User]ZergyMrMelGibsonGorweand 1 other.
    Constantine, The Console Poster

    • "One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
  • Panther2103Panther2103 Member EpicPosts: 5,766
    A lot of hobbies involve the same type of satisfaction, as well as the same lack of something to show for them. I don't mind that I play games a lot. It really helps me stop stressing out after bad days at work or whatever is going on right now in my life. It's always helped. It's just a way to relax for me. 

    I don't care if there's some clinical test that shows that it's a health disorder. Anything that causes someone to think in a different pattern or react to a situation different is a health disorder. Sometimes I would rather sit inside and watch a TV show instead of going on a walk, does that make me have a TV addiction? I don't personally think so. I spend most of my free time playing games, because I enjoy the story or enjoy the competitive nature, and also relax from it. Who cares? 

    I can see some situations being considered a mental health issue, like the family who left their baby to die because they were taking care of their virtual family. Or the people who kill people over games like the dude who curb stomped someone due to Lineage 2 PvP, or people who completely neglect to even eat food because of games. But in that situation those people will find an attachment to any hobby they have, and they might just need help in general as they are obsessive. 
  • hellzerhellzer Member UncommonPosts: 19
    Finally majority of League players will be officially declared retards.
    eastercow
  • Octagon7711Octagon7711 Member LegendaryPosts: 9,000
    Pharmaceutical companies have been in the background getting the goal post moved so they can increase profits by having people diagnosed with more problems.  That way doctors can prescribe more drugs which increases profits for the companies that make those drugs.  Now it's possible to be on medication from childhood to the day you die.

    Interesting articles about how pharmaceutical companies sponsor medical schools and help in training doctors to learn how to push drugs.

    With disorders the first solution shouldn't be life long medication.  Simple things like breathing exercises, yoga, tai-chi, regular meditation, cutting out junk food, and a wide variety of natural pursuits can often help balance the system, without medications and there sometimes negatives side effects.
    MadFrenchieAvarix[Deleted User]MrMelGibson

    "We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa      "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."  SR Covey

  • MadFrenchieMadFrenchie Member LegendaryPosts: 8,505
    edited December 2017
    Pharmaceutical companies have been in the background getting the goal post moved so they can increase profits by having people diagnosed with more problems.  That way doctors can prescribe more drugs which increases profits for the companies that make those drugs.  Now it's possible to be on medication from childhood to the day you die.

    Interesting articles about how pharmaceutical companies sponsor medical schools and help in training doctors to learn how to push drugs.

    With disorders the first solution shouldn't be life long medication.  Simple things like breathing exercises, yoga, tai-chi, regular meditation, cutting out junk food, and a wide variety of natural pursuits can often help balance the system, without medications and there sometimes negatives side effects.
    Preventative healthcare makes no one in the healthcare industry any money, so you won't see a lot of emphasis placed upon it (aside from your doctor's obligatory "you should exercise regularly and eat healthy foods" comments) unless the healthcare industry is forced to focus on it.

    Money makes the world go round.
    Octagon7711Gdemami

    image
  • ThupliThupli Member RarePosts: 1,318
    This is just lame. Fits fine under already existing obsessive compulsive disorder.
    Kyleran

  • AvarixAvarix Member RarePosts: 665
    Octagon7711 said:
    Pharmaceutical companies have been in the background getting the goal post moved so they can increase profits by having people diagnosed with more problems.  That way doctors can prescribe more drugs which increases profits for the companies that make those drugs.  Now it's possible to be on medication from childhood to the day you die.

    Interesting articles about how pharmaceutical companies sponsor medical schools and help in training doctors to learn how to push drugs.

    With disorders the first solution shouldn't be life long medication.  Simple things like breathing exercises, yoga, tai-chi, regular meditation, cutting out junk food, and a wide variety of natural pursuits can often help balance the system, without medications and there sometimes negatives side effects.
    Have to agree. Pharmaceutical companies are out of control. Had a niece who was diagnosed with Clinical Depression after she broke up with her boyfriend. Up until that point, she was fine. This is called sadness, a normal and healthy human emotion. Yet somehow she was diagnosed with depression and immediately they attempted to medicate her. She broke up with a long-term boyfriend. Of course she was depressed, which is suppose to be different from actual depression. It's like we're no longer allowed to be human beings.

    Reminds me of an infomercial I seen the other day. Attempting to sell older women a cream that fixes the saggy, and wrinkly, skin you get under your chin and around your neck as you age. They made it sound like this horrible disease that needed immediate repair. Watching it made me self-conscious and I don't even remotely have that issue. First you have to create a problem, then you can sell the solution.
    Octagon7711[Deleted User]
  • JeffSpicoliJeffSpicoli Member EpicPosts: 2,849
    edited December 2017
    Hi, My name is Thunder, And I'm a obsessive Gamer.......

    • Aloha Mr Hand ! 

  • moosecatlolmoosecatlol Member RarePosts: 1,530
    Isn't that just a symtom though?
  • JeffSpicoliJeffSpicoli Member EpicPosts: 2,849
    Imagine going to a real rehab facility and your sitting around shooting the shit with everyone,

    Guy 1     is like i had 2k a week coke habit,

    woman 2     is like I knew my addiction to heroin was serious when i starting selling my body for drug money

    YOU Ughhh... i spent like 80 dollars this past steam winter sale
    AlomarMadFrenchieeastercowGobstopper3DMrMelGibsonKyleran

    • Aloha Mr Hand ! 

  • HellsprodigyHellsprodigy Member UncommonPosts: 27

    TheDarkrayne said:

    This is a bit far fetched. Reading books constantly would have the same effect on fitness. Same with watching TV or Movies. Or playing board games.. or just about ANY activity that isn't very physical and holds your attention.



    This is people choosing to do something they want to do and other people telling them they shouldn't do it. It's not like being addicted to drugs or alcohol where there are serious, physical effects when you try to stop doing it... you know, actual physical addiction.



    It's just people not getting the exercise they should because they'd rather play a game, that's all it is. It may well be a bipolar, cyclothymic or depression disorder that causes them to act that way... but it's not a 'video game' disorder.



    Exactly i mean i bought a treadmill to use everyday and i game everyday it's also about choice i use video games to keep my mind off depression and anxiety. I am sick of people that dislike gaming blaming it all on games everything is a choice in life people can choose how they wish to live i mean you have people that watch tv all day long nobody is calling them shit.
    Allerleirauh
  • BLNXBLNX Member UncommonPosts: 275
    Slapshot1188 said:
    Can I use this to go out on disability someday?
    Can we also research the offshoot Obsessive Gaming Forum Disorders?

    Great, now every gamer is going to think they have depth via mental illness. You're all still boring!
    In the King's Court, I choose to be the Jester.
  • AllerleirauhAllerleirauh Member UncommonPosts: 496

    you have people that watch tv all day long nobody is calling them shit.
    Exactly, this is how I feel, some people watch TV for hours and hours, and some people like to game for hours. Same difference. However, you are using more of your brain playing a game than you do when you are mindlessly watching TV. So why are they going after gamers? Bias much?
    Currently Playing: Path of Exile

    "I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." ~ C. S. Lewis
  • AllerleirauhAllerleirauh Member UncommonPosts: 496
    DMKano said:





    you have people that watch tv all day long nobody is calling them shit.



    Exactly, this is how I feel, some people watch TV for hours and hours, and some people like to game for hours. Same difference. However, you are using more of your brain playing a game than you do when you are mindlessly watching TV. So why are they going after gamers? Bias much?



    I think this case the difference is as with other obseseive disorders

    - Takes control over your life to where you are constantly thinking about gaming in this case, thats the obsessive part


    Now TV watching done by millions is hardly obsessive, its more done out of boredom.


    Now obsessive TV watching would be the same thing, but thats pretty rare
    "Obsessive gaming" is not a mental disorder. Do people with mental disorders play games? Sure. However, you have to address the underlying mental disorder; whether that be depression, social anxiety, gambling, etc.

    Gaming doesn't cause a disorder, but it could be an outlet for people with various mental disorders, but the same could be said about many activities.

    Again, these are old views held by people of an older generation. That's why TV is considered more acceptable.
    Currently Playing: Path of Exile

    "I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." ~ C. S. Lewis
  • kidopitz27kidopitz27 Member UncommonPosts: 5
    That guy is playing Dota 2 hero Invoker and using a controller!
    Gorwe
  • XingbairongXingbairong Member RarePosts: 927
    So I assume all sportsmen that basically live to train have such a disorder as well or it doesn't qualify because the damage for most of them comes at later years?
    All car enthusiasts as well because we all know that people that love cars can only think about cars(nothing wrong about loving and constantly thinking about your hobby btw!)

    Honestly some times I'm surprised how stupid smart people can be.

    So not only do I have this disorder, but I have the same related to the books I read because most of the time I don't do shit I tend to think about the stories of the books I read(Wuxia/Xianxia fan here, for those of you that know what it means).

    Truth be told doesn't matter if they go along with this crazy ass idea... Nothing will change for me personally except maybe from being a "normal" happy person to a "crazy?!?" happy person. It's all the same as long as I'm happy.
  • gessekai332gessekai332 Member UncommonPosts: 861
    As someone who has been an off again, on again mmorpg player for almost 20 years. I can say that there were many years where I would dive so hard into gaming so that I would basically eat, breathe, sleep, that specific mmorpg. Sometimes the escapism would be really good and help me cope with whatever real life problem I was having at the time but there were times when I lost control for way too long and I stopped talking to friends and family, became less motivated about real life and my grades dropped, and had fights with my girlfriend because I literally did nothing but game. Nowadays I found a balance, I can prioritize my job, exercising and maintaining other hobbies, and my relationships, and I can realize when I am getting sucked too far in for too long.


    I think a lot of what people struggle with is being self aware and admitting that you may actually have a problem. Its the same with any other kind of addiction like smoking and drinking. The hardest part is admitting that a problem does exist and then admitting that it does negatively effect your health, your job, or your relationships with other people.


    You can ask yourself, is gaming a choice or an addiction? For me personally, if I can stop cold turkey for a weekend or even a week without feeling that nagging urge to log on and play, that usually means I am in control and not vice versa.


    In the end, even it is an addiction or a disorder. It is still your choice. Just like how you can choose how much to drink, to eat, to gamble, etc.
    Wizbuiz

    Most memorable games: AoC(Tryanny PvP), RIFT, GW, GW2, Ragnarok Online, Aion, FFXI, FFXIV, Secret World, League of Legends (Silver II rank)

  • laseritlaserit Member LegendaryPosts: 7,591
    There is a key word here folks and that word is...

    "Obsessive"

    All you have here, is another classification of obsessive behavior. 

    obsession:

     a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly: compelling motivation 
    • an obsession with profits 
    • has an obsession with gambling
    https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsession

    Kyleran

    "Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee

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