London: Europe's first
clinic for
gaming addicts is opening in Amsterdam aimed at coaxing addicts out of their fantasy world and back to reality. The clinic is specially dedicated to offer treatment to people suffering due to addiction to video games.
The clinic suggests that that an estimated 20% of gamers, many of which are children, could develop a dependency. Compulsive gamers have similar symptoms to gambling addicts, they say, and risk damage to relationships, health, education and their careers.
The one of its kind eight-bed residential clinic in Netherlands was set up in response to a growing demand for people with gaming addictions.
The clinic run by Smith and Jones Addiction Consultancy, offers a program lasting up to eight weeks, which involves taking away video
games from the patients before starting therapy sessions with psychologists and groups.
It helps patients find other ways to deal with life and they begin to develop true self esteem. The therapy also tries to find replacement activities to fill the void left by giving up gaming.
A 28-year-old South Korean recently died of heart failure last
year after playing a
game called StarCraft for 50 hours at an internet cafe.
"I lived in my room. I have 4 televisions around me, with one X-Box 360, PlayStation 2, X-Box 1 and a Game Cube and a lap-top, where I can play online games. I have no social life, I have no
friends - only cyber-friends," BBC quoted Tim, a 21-year-old who has received treatment at the clinic as saying.
Tim played games for up to 17 hours a day. He could not even wrestle himself away from the screen for long enough to go to the toilet.
"I take an empty bottle and I pee into it," he said.
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