Gambling Addiction: The Complex Connection Between Video Games and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

What is Gambling? Gamblers play a strategic role in gambling by using their wits and/or skills to beat the odds. A gambling game is a computer game or video game that entails interaction with a user interface or machine including a keyboard, joystick, mouse, or other motion sensitive device to generate electronic visual output. The output from the game may be used for entertainment, real-time gambling, or in the implementation of certain strategies, tactics, or policies. One of the most popular types of gambling is online gambling, which has become incredibly popular on the World Wide Web.

Video gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry. Millions of people from all over the world are avidly following its trends and fashions. Some of these individuals are professional video game programmers and/or artists, while others are enthusiasts who just enjoy playing. For the latter, gaming represents the ultimate challenge: coming up with unique and interesting concepts, ideas, and ways of implementing them in a video game. In this regard, video game animators are needed by the gaming industry.

According to estimates, more than 10 million Americans have a bachelors degree in computer science, math, science, and physics. Another estimate is that nearly 20 million adults in the United States alone play video games on a regular basis. One interesting fact about these games is that they tend to have a gaming disorder, which includes excessive hand-eye coordination, auditory processing difficulties, and abnormal sense of time and space. In addition, many of these individuals tend to be perfectionists and are extremely irritable when things do not go their way. As a result, many game players are often unable to admit when they are having a behavioral problem and thus turn to self-treatment and avoidance. Such individuals can wreak havoc on a person’s life, as they disrupt work and interpersonal relationships.

Many professionals are treating patients with psychiatric disorders such as substance abuse because many video game players exhibit similar troublesome behavior patterns. These individuals may become excessively attached to games; view them as an outlet for escapist mechanisms (such as social approval, group identity building, or even family bonding), or fail to recognize that their excessive gaming behaviors are problematic. For instance, a player addicted to online racing games may become obsessed with winning every race in the series. Such a person may develop serious gambling problems that lead to self-destructive behavior. Fortunately, treating individuals with this type of psychiatric condition is relatively easy, thanks to the expertise of psychologists and other mental health care professionals.

Many individuals who enjoy playing video games also suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, which involves overwhelming anxiety about even the most remote chance that they may suffer an injury while playing. In order to treat this condition, a patient should seek treatment in an integrated professional-based program that treats both gaming addiction and anxiety. Video game repair specialists work with individuals suffering from OCD in order to help them reduce their addictive behaviors associated with excessive online gaming. In addition, these specialists can help people who are obsessing over video games but do not actually have OCD experience positive results.

Individuals who spend a great deal of time playing video games may develop several related conditions. For example, those who continuously crave the rush they receive by winning virtual prizes may develop pathological thoughts about money and credit, which translate into feelings of financial insecurity and social rejection. This can exacerbate the problem by causing people to avoid successful real-world interactions (such as paying bills) in favor of playing virtual games. In addition, those who excessively spend time playing games may develop substance abuse problems that lead to depression, social anxiety, and the inability to make healthy food choices. Gamers who develop symptoms of these disorders may benefit from seeking expert help.