Thriveworks video game addiction counseling in Columbia, SC helps people who have an obsession with playing video games as well as with the more severe internet gaming disorder. People may have mild, moderate, or severe internet gaming disorder if they struggle to control how often or how long they game. The symptoms of internet gaming disorder may include deceiving loved ones about when and how often they play, thinking constantly about gaming, and using video games as a distraction from real-world problems.
Video Game Addiction Therapy in Columbia, SC
Many people are also turning to therapy and meeting with a mental health professional to regain control over their video game use.
Thriveworks Columbia sees many adults and many adolescents who need help with their gaming. Our therapists have empowered many people to overcome internet gaming disorder. If you think you could benefit from video game counseling, reach out to Thriveworks Columbia today.
Recognizing the Signs of Internet Gaming Disorder
Video game addiction—or internet gaming disorder—is a misplaced emotional attachment. Instead of turning to friends, family, and loved ones, people connect with video games or their online avatar. As the connection grows, self-control often wanes. People may experience seemingly uncontrollable impulses to game.
The DSM-5 outlines diagnostics for recognizing internet gaming disorder. These signs share many similarities with other behavior addictions, such as gambling. Depending upon how many symptoms are display, people who engage in the following behaviors may have severe, moderate, or mild internet gaming disorder:
- Misguided priorities: Spending more time and money on video games than one’s family, friends, career, or education.
- Tolerance: Gaming for a longer time period or more often to reach the feelings of pleasure, comfort, or achievement.
- Deceit: Misleading friends, family members, accountability partners, or therapists about one’s gaming habits.
- Avoidance: Evading everyday challenges and difficulties in real life by playing online video games.
- Obsession: Thinking about gaming constantly, whether one is playing or not.
- Withdrawal: When one cannot play or is curbing play, feeling moody, restless, irritable, and depressed.
- Escape: Using video games to relieve difficult feelings such as depression, loneliness, anxiety, sadness, guilt, boredom, or shame.
How Do Compulsive Gaming Habits Form?
There is still more research to be conducted, but some mental health professionals believe that the compulsion loops, or core loops, that are written into many video game’s narratives are contributing to the prevalence of internet gaming disorder. The loops work by giving gamers a challenge with a reward for completion. The reward immediately ties into the next challenge, leading gamers further into the game’s storyline. The reward also releases dopamine within each player’s brain, solidified the brain’s association between pleasure and gaming.
Finding Help for Internet Gaming Disorder at Thriveworks Columbia
Are some of the behaviors listed previously a part of your video gaming habits? How about your child’s? If so, you are not alone. More and more people are having difficulty regulating how often and how long they play video games. And help is available.
If you want to speak with a mental health professional, Thriveworks Columbia has appointments for internet gaming disorder available. We work with children, teens, and adults. We know what it takes to regain control, and we have helped many people find their way.
When you reach out to Thriveworks Columbia, know that we have done our best to make scheduling an appointment as convenient as possible. New clients often meet with their therapists within the same week of their first call. We offer evening and weekend appointments. We also work with many insurance companies.
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