‘I wasted my £15,000 wedding savings on a video game’ – gaming addicts reveal how the obsession destroyed their lives
Wrecked relationships and wasted money are just some of the devastating outcomes of a video game addiction, according to sufferers
VIDEO GAME addicts have told of how their obsessions "destroyed" their lives amid the classification of gaming disorder as a mental health condition by the WHO.
One anonymous individual revealed that he'd spent £15,000 of wedding savings on the mobile game Game of Thrones Conquest.
"My fiance has no idea and I am too ashamed to say anything. I now have no money left for the wedding," said the gamer, who goes by the username u/Jdhesd4dVT on Reddit.
Meanwhile David from Ireland wrote that his addiction to World of Warcraft left him "damaged mentally, less interested in people and less interested in life" adding "I couldn’t care if I died tomorrow."
His confessional reads like a typical cautionary tale on the subreddit: a thriving community of over 15,000 users who discuss and read up on the addiction daily.
The forum's popularity is just another sign of the slippery slope that can cause those with addictive personalities to develop dangerous gaming compulsions.
And fuelled by an increasing number of medical studies being published on the condition, the World Health Organisation has finally added gaming disorder to its International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
This means that Brits suffering from video game addiction will be able to seek free treatment on the NHS.
The all too real effects of the condition are highlighted on r/StopGaming by adults looking to overcome their obsessions, including a 30-year-old who had a relationship wrecked by his preoccupation with games.
"I repeatedly get pulled back to playing WoW or Diablo 2. I've usually stopped playing each time that I got a girlfriend, but slowly picked back up on my old habits...This killed my first relationship," said the man known as u/shflarion on Reddit.
"If anyone out there has been in the same boat or has a solution to offer, i'm all ears," he added.
There are telltale signs that can indicate if someone is hooked on video games, according to Dr Mateen Durrani, Group Psychiatrist at leading addiction treatment firm .
"Someone addicted to gaming has become socially dysfunctional because of their compulsive need to game," he recently told The Sun.
"The user will have lost their power of choice, in that playing games has completely taken over their life and they are obsessed."
Dr. Durrani also listed the following physical and psychological symptoms that could indicate a gaming problem:
1. Being completely preoccupied about getting back to the game and displaying irritable, restless and even aggressive behaviour when not playing
2. Headaches, fatigue, and in severe cases, diminished personal hygiene and loss of appetite
3. Self-imposed isolation to ensure uninterrupted game play.
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And the WHO suggests that gaming disorder may affect up to six percent of the public.
- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans on (free) 116123 or 020 7734 2800.
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