Many teens and adolescents face co-occurring drug and video game addictions, or video game addictions alone. Zelus Recovery focuses on addiction treatment for adolescents at the young adult outpatient treatment center in Idaho. Learn more about the harm of video game addiction and how we can help.
What’s the Harm of Video Game Addiction?
Many teens eventually develop other interests and ween themselves off video game binging. However, there are many threats to children’s health and welfare when it comes to excessive video game use.
This electronic habit can lead to the following results:
- Loss of vision
- Decreased cognitive ability
- Aggressive behavior that mirrors video game landscapes
- Poor school performance
- Poor social skills
- Long-term effects of video game addiction
The harm of video game addiction extends to the following impacts:
1. Sleep Deprivation
When school or work takes up the majority of the day, those addicted to video games tend to binge late at night. Prolonged periods of sleep deprivation make it harder to fall asleep naturally. This can have a negative impact on your health.
2. Poor Personal Hygiene
When you engage in obsessive video game playing, you probably overlook personal hygiene. This can lead to dental disease, acne, and illnesses that force you to turn your attention back to the real world.
3. Isolation And Seclusion
The harm of video game addiction includes a tendency to keep company with yourself alone. Isolating yourself inside the digital world of gaming prevents you from forming meaningful friendships. One of the main symptoms of video game addiction, seclusion has a lasting impact on your socialization skills.
4. Depression
Depression can slowly seep in when you become dependent on video games for a sense of self-identity and accomplishment. Many people find out only years later that something has gone wrong in their lives. Further, a vicious cycle of cause and effect begins. You play video games to relieve depression, but it eventually makes you feel even worse.
Find professional depression treatment and video game addiction help at Zelus Recovery.
5. Stress
You can become so obsessed with games that you place enormous pressure on yourself to achieve goals and reach the next level. This can lead to anger and misery over something meant for entertainment only.
6. Arthritis And Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Physical impairments resulting from video games include arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. The overuse of the thumb, in particular, may spur osteoarthritis later in life. Similarly, the repetitive motions of video games put video game addicts at high risk for carpal tunnel syndrome.
7. Unhealthy Eating and Inactivity
Along with poor hygiene, unhealthy eating results from misplaced priorities. Fast food, sodas, and unhealthy snacks can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other serious conditions. Inactivity leads to numerous health problems besides weight gain. Therefore, it’s important to exercise regularly to keep your joints limber and your metabolism active.
8. Denial
Many avid gamers lie about the time they spend gaming. This is a symptom of fully developed addiction. Eventually, you may even convince yourself that you have your addiction under control. That can prevent you from getting the help you desperately need.
When practiced in moderation, playing video games also has positive impacts. It can help you develop fine motor skills and cognitive ability. It may even be a good outlet for aggression. As in many other cases, the key becomes developing the self-discipline to meet your other responsibilities. Additionally, those who can’t control their habits need to quit playing video games altogether.
Video Game Addiction Help in Meridian, Idaho
If you or someone you love is an adolescent or young adult suffering from substance abuse or video game addiction, check out our addiction treatment therapies. That’s the first step to recovery. At Zelus Recovery, we start by sharing the harm of video game addiction and teach clients the beauty of life without obsessive habits that steal your time and happiness. Contact us at 208.518.0797 to get started on your recovery from video game addiction.
