Gaming Addiction

From my brain

Found this on the WoW forums. Originally posted by Druzo of either Llane or gasp Perenolde.

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This may sound strange but I'm a medical doc who plays WoW. I've completed my internship and residency and I'm currently beginning to specialise in psychiatry.

Firstly, yes WoW is highly addictive on a number of levels (mainly psychological but also physiological with likely increases in serotonergic neurotransmission and probably endorphin release in key brain areas). The addiction of WoW is related to its complex nestled reward system; both classical and operant conditioning are at work here. The types of rewards vary tremendously from immediate and expected rewards (such as linen cloth from humanoids) to rare and unexpected rewards (such as epic items). Laboratory animal studies as well as human studies indicate that the second type of unpredictable reward leads to more compulsive behaviour (ie: greater addiction). Furthermore, WoW is a social activity and part of the compulsion to play involves wanting / needing to keep up with guildies. It may satisfy unfulfilled external social needs from a more convenient introverted sphere.

'Addiction' or 'dependence' to use the correct medical term is a clinical composite of a repetitive activity with a distinct withdrawal syndrome when the activity is ceased (ie: discomfort, urges, recurrent thoughts of the activity). The activity is pursued to the exclusion of all other activities, even if it results in direct self-harm. The closest parallel would be gambling (I have gambling-addicted patients who use casino computer games as a substitute for real-life gambling - and yes they play all night). I don't think it is fair or reasonable to compare computer game dependence to drug dependence as drugs have direct physiological effects (unlike WoW where the effect is likely indirect).

The other complex issue which leads to the compulsion to play is what psychoanalysts call 'projection' - whereby a person projects themself (or someone they know or aspire to be) onto someone else; or in the case of WoW their epically geared pally. Narcissistic injury occurs when the projection is damaged in some way; this process explains the internal guild aggro dramas that take place when raid-looting. Projection is also the reason why guys play female characters - they have an unsatisfied need to express the unconscious Jungian feminine aspect to their nature. They will of course flatly deny this 9 times out of 10.

But let's not forget that WoW is a lot of fun and just a game. It can be highly amusing at times and I have found it to be a good form of stress release at the end of the day. Perhaps it helps that my fiancee plays too. The caveat is I suppose that we are both 'casuals'; we don't raid (watching health bars in MC is rather dull); I've only ever reached rank 5 in PvP; we muck around with low lvl alts, etc. I don't play this char much anymore. Am I addicted to WoW? The answer is no according to the medical definition above - to me it's just something to relax with from time to time. I am aware that there are other players like us who have lives outside WoW and I suspect that we comprise the majority of players.

So my advice is if you are addicted to WoW or feel that it is cramping your lifstyle / love life / ambitions - either quit or play in moderation. Quitting will likely entail finding a substitute activity which is fine as long as you don't choose drugs (or gambling)! No there are no medications for computer game addiction that I am aware of (although naltrexone has proven to be of use in gambling addiction, but I doubt you'll find a doc who will prescribe you that for a computer gaming problem - lifestyle modification always comes before pharmacotherapy).

And if you are a guy playing a female character and feeling wierd about it, then I'd be interested to hear your story as projection is a fascinating phenomena.

Just my 2 cents worth.