in this video we'll be discussing what is video game addiction we'll discuss what causes it what the signs are how you can test yourself for it what the impact is how many people are struggling and also what treatment looks like [Music] what's up everyone my name is cam and I'm a former video game addict who in 2011 decided to quit and turn things around since then I've started a website called game cores calm to be able to help other people with this issue video game addiction is an officially recognized disorder by the World Health Organization and they classify it as a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior which may be online or offline manifested by impaired control over gaming increasing priority given to gaming to the extent the gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences for someone with gaming disorder they typically will be showing significant impairment and personal family social educational occupational or other important areas of functioning and normally the pattern of gaming behavior will be evident over a period of at least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be assigned although the required duration may be shortened if all diagnostic requirements are met and symptoms are severe so what causes video game addiction video game addiction is caused by a couple different factors the first is actual game design games are designed to be what the industry would call engaging and entertaining and fun but in order to do that they have to increase the amount of time that you're playing and capture your attention games deploy different features like loot boxes and microtransactions to have you spending more money and that creates a greater attachment to the game game design plays an important role in keeping players hooked and is part of the cause of people developing problems with video game addiction but it's not the only part of the story and other underline when two health problems like anxiety or depression can be risk factors ADHD autism low self-esteem can also be risk factors as well so what are the signs of video game addiction the American Psychiatric Association classifies what they call internet gaming disorder based on a set of 9 different criteria now these can be really helpful to understand the severity of your situation but it's important for me to share that if you're concerned at all about whether or not you have a video game addiction please seek the help of a professional the first sign is preoccupation with games this means you're constantly thinking about games you're counting down the hours until you can play next and you're struggling to focus on other things that you need to be doing because you're just constantly thinking about games it's not just the amount of thoughts though and it's the type of them so if you're constantly thinking about games as the only source of yourself esteem the only place where you feel confident then you might be meeting criteria for preoccupation the next sign is withdrawal symptoms are you finding yourself feeling more irritable when you're not playing do you feel anxious or depressed do you feel sad do you experience mood swings do you feel urgent cravings to play some people report feeling headaches when they stop playing games if you're experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you're not playing then that might be a sign as well the third sign is tolerance tolerance means you need to play more and more and more in order to feel the same level of satisfaction that you once did when you were playing with modern games having a lot of different monetization schemes tolerance can also mean needing to spend more and more money in games in order to feel the same level of satisfaction that you once did unsuccessful attempts to control if you've tried to stop gaming or you've tried to reduce your time and been unable to that might be a sign of video game addiction loss of interest in other activities including sports often when we're struggling with a video game addiction we no longer have any interest in other activities that maybe we once did maybe you stopped going to sports maybe you no longer have any other hobbies if you've lost interest in other activities that may be a sign as well have you continued to play despite the occurrence of negative impact if your life is falling apart and you're continuing to gain more and more and more to avoid it that may be a sign that you're struggling the difference between a passion for games and what might be an addiction is continuing to play despite the occurrence of negative impact so if you're continuing to play games but your life is falling apart around you yet you're not going and dealing with those things you're just continuing to play games then that's something you want to watch out for are you lying about how much you're playing or are you spending money you're not supposed to I mean that purchases have you stolen the parents credit card if you're being deceptive about your gaming and you're unable to be honest about it that's a worthy sign are you playing games to escape or relieve a negative mood it's common to play games as a source of being able to de-stress but if you're not going and dealing with your life and you're just continuing to escape in the games then that might be something you want to watch out for and finally if you're playing games despite having jeopardized a school or work opportunity maybe you've dropped out maybe you're getting divorced maybe you've been broken up with and yet you continue the game that's also a sign that you want to watch out for now it's important for me to share that just meeting one of these criteria does not mean that you have a video game addiction it's the combination of multiple different signs that you want to be careful with and again if you're concerned at all about whether or not you're struggling please seek the help of a professional the American Psychiatric Association would propose that if you meet five or more of these signs in a period of the last 12 months then you might be at risk if you struggle with a video game addiction it can have a devastating impact to your life it can affect your school performance you can maybe refuse to go to school or even drop out of college you can lose your friends lose face-to-face interactions feel very socially isolated you can experience mood changes irritability and an increase in anxiety and depression and suicidal thoughts it can cause sleep deprivation and insomnia and you can lose a lot of money and time and even struggle to be able to get or keep a job now if you want to evaluate whether or not you have video game addiction you can go the game course calm and on our homepage we have a test that you can go through and ask these different questions and evaluate the severity of your situation so what does treatment for video game addiction look like research shows that CBT cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven to be able to help people reduce the severity of their video game addiction and there are also a lot of professionals and therapists who specialize in this issue if you go on game course calm we have a directory of specialists who are from all over the world who can maybe be able to help you with your situation there are also some private residential centers and even a public rehab center in the UK through the NHS the message I want to leave you with is if you're struggling with a video game addiction you're not alone and a lot of help is available whether that's through professionals or if you just want to be connected to other peers you can go on game course calm and we have a ton of resources for you including a community forum and links to connect with other professionals remember real life is worth fighting for and never give up hope reach out for help it saved my life and as the potential it'll save yours so reach out for help there's no shame in it that's it for me today guys I hope you have a great day [Music]