Treatment For Video Game
Addicts
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 9, 2006
An addiction center is opening Europe's first clinic for video game addicts,
offering in-house treatment for people who can't tear themselves away from their
electronic amusements.
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.
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.
Unlike most other kinds of 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.
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.
