Digital gamers may suffer from emotional stress and brain impairment if they become addicted to them.
Why Game Addiction Matters and What We Can Do About It
The brain is affected by gaming in a similar way to other behaviors and drugs that can cause addiction. As with any addiction, gaming addiction can also have negative consequences on the brain, even though playing games is fun and awesome for developing the brain.
Furthermore, game addiction might stress the body and upset the brain if it is not addressed timely.
All addictions create withdrawal signs when we attempt to stop them. A good indicator of addictive gaming behavior is to notice withdrawal symptoms like anxious thoughts and feelings when we can’t play. If people addicted to playing games stop cold turkey, they might feel irritable and restless for a while.
While the World Health Organization added “gaming disorder” to the International Classification of Diseases a few years ago, the American Psychiatry Association’s manual, the DSM-5, still does not cover this disorder.
WHO defines “gaming disorder” “as a pattern of gaming behavior (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”
According to the International Classification of Diseases, “for gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behavior pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.”
When PCs were new in the mid-1980s, I came across a game called Tetris. Compared to the video games people play these days, Tetris was a very simple game, just sorting the dropping blocks in different shapes and placing them to save space.
The more area on the screen is created in agility, the better performance the gamer can make. Then PCs had color screens, and Tetris looked more eye-appealing, creating more addictive effects.
Even though it was such a simple game with no plot, I got hooked on it when we got PCs with color screens. First, I played it at work during my break for 10 to 20 minutes, satisfying my needs. Then, when I came home after work, I found myself playing for a few hours.
After a month, the addiction started. Sadly, my wife found me playing Tetris at 6 AM when she returned from night shift work one day. I told her about losing track of time and reality. Unfortunately, I had to go to work at 8 AM with no sleep. It was an awful experience that taught me a valuable life lesson.
Interestingly, I was not the only one who got addicted to Tetris in those days. I heard similar situations from numerous colleagues in the office. Of course, we all laughed about it with humor lightening it a bit, but we all knew that it was a serious issue for our mental health.
In those days, like many victims of gaming addiction, as an adult professional with tertiary qualifications, I couldn’t stop myself from the addictive behavior of a simple game.
I found myself justifying the time spent by making excuses like my agility and brain performance increased. In hindsight, I understand that my brain was creating new neural connections causing the addiction by strengthening the cognitive circuit.
Nowadays, computer games are highly sophisticated and more intriguing to the brain. Since I learned my lessons in those days, I always played computer games with caution.
The key point for me was timing my game by setting an alarm clock. I primed myself that when alarms rang, I stopped playing even if I was in the middle of solving a plot. It was painful initially. However, acting mindfully, I managed the stress of quitting prematurely.
Inspired by my addictive behavior, in the early 1990s, I studied addiction as part of my cognitive science studies.
During my research, I came across illuminating studies from various disciplines about the role of addiction in the brain causing mental health issues and even physical disorders if not addressed. I plan to share my insights in future articles.
During my research, I came across the traumatic effects of addiction on the brain. I started researching the implications of trauma in the human cognitive system.
There was evidence that traumas might have caused brain impairment in addition to causing other health issues. One day, a distinguished medical professor joined one of the doctoral seminars as a guest lecturer.
I asked him about his perspectives on trauma for the brain. He smiled lightly and said he hadn’t heard the term trauma in medical school, let alone studied it.
So I understood that dealing with trauma was only assigned to specialized professionals like psychiatrists and psychotherapists.
This knowledge gap in the literature inspired me to learn more about traumatic situations and their impact on the brain.
One key finding was that abuse in childhood plays a critical role in starting and growing addiction to search for the love needed for survival.
Traumas form when bad things happen and good things don’t happen in childhood.
We all experience traumatic incidents in our younger years or later in life. Some of us recognize childhood traumas in later years, and some of us bury them in our psyche.
For example, I wrote about one of my childhood traumas which caused me addiction to perfection, making me feel imposter syndrome for many years.
I specifically mention trauma in this article because unaddressed traumas make us more prone to addictions. In my case, when I got addicted to Tetris, I did not resolve my traumatic memories.
However, after settling them in later years by undertaking psychotherapy for my traumas, my addiction tendency was significantly reduced.
In later years, I investigated game addiction in the brain by using myself as a case study. I love training my brain using games.
Computer games might increase cognitive reserves to reduce the effects of neurodegenerative disorders as we get older, as I touched on in this article titled Five Tips to Become Less Prone to Neurodegenerative Disorders.
However, addiction to computer games is real, even though the American Psychiatry Association hasn’t included it in the DSM-5.
Not only did I experience it in my life, but I also observed game addiction in my friends, colleagues, and family members. I also read hundreds of articles giving insights from case studies.
Addiction appears to be the main concern for computer games. But they also have other side effects. I managed my addictive tendency to play games.
However, in later years, I noticed that playing computer games can also increase stress by overloading the brain if not managed well. I did experimentation in 2007 when I got inspired by the cognitive effects of Lumosity on my brain.
It was extensive experimentation. But in a nutshell, when I intensely played computer games for a week and got my blood tests checked, I noticed that my cortisol levels doubled.
Furthermore, my sleep patterns adversely changed when observed via the smartwatch app. I felt more irritated and had difficulty focusing on my tasks. I couldn’t go into the desired flow state quickly.
After this experimentation, I learned that excess computer games, even if they are used for good purposes to activate brain regions, can cause mental fatigue.
This is because the brain has limited energy. It does its best to reserve the energy as regulated by homeostasis.
So, keeping the brain active is terrific, but overdriving it might cause serious health issues.
Make Your Brain Healthier with Ten Lifestyle Approaches
Mental health disorders are severe, causing mortality and suffering, yet we have viable solutions to lower the risksmedium.com
What can we do?
We know we are addicted when games become the center of our life. If we risk our work and relationships due to games, it is a clear indication of addiction.
If we play games to escape from negative feelings, it indicates our addictive conduct noticeably. The best indicator of addictive gaming behavior is to notice withdrawal systems like anxious thoughts and feelings when we can’t play.
Cutting pleasure from our lives is unfair. We need fun as it is a fundamental need for humans. To prevent addiction, first, we need to accept that computer games can be addictive, even though addictive effects vary from person to person.
Then, scheduling playtime and sticking to it is essential to prevent addiction. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is successfully used to overcome addictive behavior.
Observing our stress during playtime is important. Recording our feelings before and after games can provide us with valuable information and insights when we analyze them.
A mindful approach to gaming can reduce stress and prevent us from addictions. Too much fun, like anything else in life, is not good for our health. We need to be aware of the punishment pathways in the brain.
Undoubtedly, playing computer games is fun for many people. However, it is not worth stressing ourselves and mocking up our cortisol levels. Excessive cortisol levels can impair the function of the brain and cause numerous health issues.
Truly, we don’t need to play for long hours to activate brain regions to create cognitive reserves. Just five to ten minutes of an enjoyable workout can do the job during the breaks.
In addition, we can regulate our emotions and gain cognitive flexibility with an awareness of addictive behavior mindfully with self-compassion.
Understanding the DeltaFosB concept is essential to deal with addictions effectively. I documented my research in an article to give you valuable insights.
What DeltaFosB Is and Why It Matters in Solving Addiction Problems
Using a simplified approach, I describe the addiction process, the dopamine system, and a critical genetic component…medium.com
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Depression Has More to Do with Addictions and Less with Economic Conditions.
Depression Has More to Do with Addictions and Less with Economic Conditions.
Lower the risk of depressive disorders by addressing addictive behavior timely and effectively.medium.com
If you enjoyed this article about the brain and have time, you might also check my stories about the health of other organs. The body and mind are connected tightly.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Be Your Own Therapist in 10 Steps.
A supplementary self-therapy approach during challenging times can empower us for quick recovery and maintain mental…medium.com
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Finally, After Burning Her House, Georgia Found Enlightenment
Hilarious Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Keep the Gray Matter Giggling
8 Psychological Points I Had to Unlearn and Relearn the Opposite
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
New Writers: Enhance the Chance of Boosting By Using This Checklist
A comprehensive checklist and guide for aspiring writers and bloggers planning to write online writing platforms based…medium.com
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on cellular, mitochondrial, metabolic, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
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