Where To Find Help if You’re Addicted to Gaming

Addicted to gaming help is available. However, it can be difficult to know where to find help if you’re addicted to gaming. This struggle is gradually changing, though, thanks to several factors. Research is increasing awareness of the addictive nature of gaming. The World Health Organization has included gaming disorder as a new diagnosis in their International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Edition (ICD-11) to be released in 2019. Also, the American Psychiatric Association has defined internet gaming disorder and recommended it for further study in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). With this deepening understanding of gaming addiction, help for those addicted to gaming is increasing (Am I Addicted to Video Games, Gaming?).

Treatment Options for Addicted to Gaming Help

If you’re addicted to gaming, you can seek help through formal counseling and programs. Many professional programs and services use cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help change the negative thoughts and behaviors of people addicted to gaming. Find formal treatment, whether it’s CBT or a different approach, in such places as:

• Counseling centers, therapy offices, mental health clinics. Search for addictions counselors in your area here.
• Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) work with the family as a system to help treat everyone who has been hurt by gaming—the gamer and those in his family. Check for MFTs in your area here (when you contact someone, be sure to inquire to see if they treat gaming addictions).
• Treatment centers and rehab programs are springing up to provide intensive treatment for severe video game addictions. Learn more and search for a program in your area here.
• Wilderness therapy is another effective treatment option for video game addiction. This is intensive group treatment out in nature led by a mental health professional specializing in gaming addiction and outdoor treatment. One example is Second Nature Wilderness Family Therapy; conducting an online search for wilderness therapy for gaming addiction will yield more examples.

These programs are all in-person services. Addicted to gaming help can be found online as well.

Online Support Groups for Addicted to Gaming Help

Online support groups can be useful resources and work well to supplement in-person treatment or to take the place of it when no in-person help is available. Such groups exist to help people create and foster positive connections and help each other through the withdrawal period and beyond.

Some noteworthy online support groups for video game addictions include:

• On-Line Gamers Anonymous (OLGA). OLGA is an online support group, forum, and resource center for people addicted to gaming. It uses a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous.
• Game Quitters is a resource started by someone who has been there. Cam Adair started this online support program that now draws over 50,000 people from 91 countries monthly. Join the forum, participate in the 90-day video game detox, and get valuable information and tips to stop gaming.
• Recovery.org is for people with all types of addictions, including video game and internet addictions. Use their forums to give and receive support, take advantage of their helpful videos, and learn helpful, practical information about video game addiction and recovery.
• Stop Gaming forum on Reddit is an open chat forum for excessive gamers who are trying to stop. This one is simply a platform with no resources provided nor any information on quitting gaming. Many people find the unstructured, open chats to be beneficial, while others find it too superficial and untrustworthy. If you’re an avid reddit user, you might enjoy this forum, but if you’ve never used reddit, you might prefer other online support groups.
• Computer Gaming Addicts Anonymous (CGAA.org) provides online meetings, in-person meetings in limited communities, support groups, and discussion forums. CGAA also has a non-emergency helpline to answer questions; alternatively, you can e-mail questions to CGAA for a swift response.

Addicted to gaming help is available and is becoming easier to find. Whether you prefer in-person support and treatment, online help, or both, programs are available to help you take back your life.

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