Hi, my name is Siope. I'm with Smarter Parenting and today I'm going to talk to
you about some interesting things that are occurring in the mental health field
but also with addictions. Now a draft was released this year, 2018, by the W-H-O
the World Health Organization and for a new version of the ICD which is the
International Classification of Diseases. Now, they're considering including into
the ICD, which is going to be released this year, something called Gaming
Disorder. Okay. So what is the ICD. Now the ICD is a guide that contains codes and
definitions for physicians and for mental health professionals to know how
to diagnose a person with a disorder or a physical ailment.
Now, it's also used to help track diseases and diagnose further issues
that may happen. And this actually correlates because that's what's used
actually to said to be sent to your insurance company. So they bill through
this code and they know exactly what you're being treated for. And then they
can decide how much money they need to spend on treatment for you. Now, the last
version of the ICD was completed in 1992, so it's been a while, but this
introduction of this new Gaming Disorder has a lot of people wondering if it's a
good idea, if it's bad idea, and within the community of mental health
professionals they're split on whether or not this should be included or not,
okay. So what is Gaming Disorder? That's probably one of the first things that we
need to address. Now Gaming Disorder, and I'm going to be
quoting from reports actually that discuss what they're classifying as
Gaming Disorder. Gaming disorder according to the draft document
describes a "pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior so severe that
it takes precedence over other life interests." Okay. So basically what it's
saying if you are playing games and not doing other
life interests, then you may have a Gaming Disorder. I think we all have
a friend, or it may be us, that once we're in a game, a video game, we tend to
want to see it through. That-that seems to be normal. But if it comes to a point
where you're avoiding everything else in order to continue to play that game, then
that could be a problem, okay. Now some countries have already identified this
as a health issue. Many, including the United Kingdom, have actually created
clinics to address this type of behavior. Now, it suggests the abnormal gaming
behavior should be in evidence for around 12 months. However, if you start to
see very severe symptoms you can diagnose it earlier than that. Now some
of the criteria for the diagnosis include, impaired control over the game-
over gaming. So this means frequency, intensity, and duration. It also states
that there's increased priority given to gaming, right. And then a continuation or
escalation of a person engaging in the game itself.
Now the ICD is used around the world and even here in the United States, however,
for mental health professionals here in the US, we largely use something called
the DSM. Which is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders.
And that came out, actually the fifth edition came out in 2013. Now it said
that Gaming Disorder was something that needed further exploration but didn't
give it a very specific place in in the disorder. So you can't be diagnosed with
it and you can't receive treatment for it here according to the DSM, okay.
So further study is is necessary and I think that that's where most mental
health professionals and other professionals are trying to gauge or we
can really solidify that this is a needed diagnosis. Now, I will tell you
that a lot of countries, and I had mentioned before the United Kingdom,
they're grappling with this issue. South Korea actually
has a huge gaming community and because of an addiction that some of these
people have, they've actually put restrictions into place for that. There's
a law in South Korea banning access for children under 16 years old
from online games between midnight and six o'clock in the morning. So interesting
that they've actually moved this to the political realm. And that's something
that if it becomes an official diagnosis could actually seep into the
dialogue for politicians in regulating how this all works out.
Japan is another country that has a lot of gamers and they are grappling with
this issue. So they actually have instituted where players are alerted if
they have been gaming for too long. That they are playing too long.
It says here players are alerted if they spend more than a certain amount of time
each month playing a game. So it's interesting that they can play and yet
they're being notified, kind of like Netflix. You know you get that thing that
pops up, "Are you still watching?" So they're getting that too in Japan saying,
"Hey, are you still playing?" Well you play too much, you know and they're
trying to regulate them. China is probably the other one and the big
internet giant over there, ten cent, has actually limited the amount of time
children can play on video games through their service. So you can see that people
have recognized that there is a problem, and there is; but, is it gaming disorder
or is it behavioral addiction? And that's, that's, kind of where the debate is, is, at.
Now UNICEF in 2017, so just last year, cautioned against using the concept
of addiction to apply to technology. Now others questioned whether or not this
actually replaces behavioral addiction. Now again, is doing the game and playing
the game the issue, or does the person who's playing the game have a behavioral
addiction problem. Okay. Which one is it? And by labeling it one, one thing, you
know, are we discarding the real issue. For example,
if we were to take the person who is diagnosed with Gaming Disorder and that
person stops playing games are they cured? Or do they move to another
behavior that's just as addicting? Whether it's overeating, sex, you know
exercise, are they doing something else that continues on that behavior. Are they,
are they resolved here and they're fine, or do they actually transfer that to
something else. Substance abuse would be another one. Okay. So that's the dialogue
going on between. There's just not enough studies out there for us to make a
concrete and universal acceptance that this is the disorder. Gaming Disorder is
the problem. Now the American Psychological Association, the American
Psychological Association, did provide a provisional diagnosis for Gaming
Disorder but there were some problems with it. Okay. They wrongly stated that
gaming addiction is like alcohol or substance abuse. And that immediately set
off a firestorm with people saying, well I don't know, are you comparing
playing a game to using heroin, or using cocaine, or doing these illicit drugs. Are,
do, are they the same? And right now there are studies going on that are
researching how games are affecting the brain, and there are some similarities
and what is being activated and how the brain is responding to stimuli. However,
to correlate the two is kind of a leap and it's it's super unreliable to do
that. To make comparisons that are almost like apples and oranges,
you know. So anyway, just be aware that the discussion here in the United States
is an ongoing thing as well. However with the ICD introducing this in, it's almost
like it's interjecting itself into the American culture, because physicians
use the ICD when they diagnose somebody. So just be aware that that's going on.
Now, I'm gonna play devil's advocate at this point. There is another side to this.
And I had talked about these countries having these issues. There are instances
where people have actually died playing video games. I mean this is a real thing
that has happened. I'm, for example, in 2015 a man from Taiwan, he died in an
internet cafe during a gaming marathon. Now he had been playing for three days
straight, and autopsies reports found out that he had a cardiac arrest.
Now that was due largely to exhaustion as what they say. Now, strangely he died
in the internet cafe among other gamers and nobody figured out that he was dead.
That was, it was weird, but the report said that nobody knew. It was actually a
worker in the cafe that came up and touched him and noticed that his body
was stiff and then he called the paramedics and police. And then, it was
reported that when the police and paramedics came they were shocked that
none of the gamers responded or reacted to what was happening. And they were, they
said that everyone just kept playing their game, like nobody was paying
attention that some guy had died in this internet cafe. So really, really
interesting, okay. So the report said the police paramedics arrived and other
gamers continued as if nothing had happened.
Now, this death was actually the second death in the same month, which is
probably why there was an uproar, in people saying we need some type of
regulation of this industry. Or gaming needs to be regulated, externally
regulated. And that explains why there's a push in Asia for all these regulations
in, I had mentioned, South Korea and Japan and in China. Now, some people believe
that this whole push with the World Health Organization to make this
disorder into the ICD, is moved by political
reasons, largely from these countries. Now they're not saying exactly which
countries, but our guess is from those countries that are having bigger
problems with this issue. So you know what is really going on because it isn't
one of those things that we've had a lot of studies about, and we still need
long-term studies to determine if Gaming Disorder really is a disorder we need to
address, or, if it's really just behavioral addiction that we're working
with. Okay. Now what does this mean to you as a consumer or as a parent. Well, I had
mentioned a lot of things of how it could affect you. Insurance for example.
And how insurance covers Gaming Disorder, because it really is something that is
preventable in that you just don't play a game.
Could, could insurance companies come and say, "Well, you know, here's the stipulation
and how we're going to treat this and what we're gonna cover for this," right? If
your child is dealing with with that, the other aspect is what's happening in Asia
where you're having politicians move in to regulate how games are being used and
consumed. Now I don't know about you, I do like to play video games on my phone,
every once in a while, or on my tablet. It's not, it's not an addictive thing. I
don't, it doesn't take precedence over other things in my life. But to feel like
the government is gonna regulate how that works, and actually my device may
shut down if i play too much, is is bothersome to me. i just don't feel like
that is an appropriate thing for the government to be regulating on how I
consume games. So those are some of the things
that you as a parent need to to be aware of. And whether or not Gaming Disorder
needs to be diagnosed. Now again, i just want to state there's not a ton of
studies out there. There's a big push for this to be included right now, but
there's not enough studies out there to prove
Gaming Disorder is an issue. And so, until we can get that, I would err on the side
of diagnosing it with behavioral addiction. Largely, because we don't know.
And again I use that same example from before. You know, if you stop a person
with a gaming disorder from playing video games are they cured or does that
move over to a different addiction behavior that they may have. We don't
know, right. And that's where studies need to come in. Okay. So, I've shared with you
what's kind of happening in the world of Gaming Disordered, and this is
specifically important for parents, especially with young children. We tend
to give them electronics, during downtime, and it creates this environment
where they're being stimulated by these devices. And how much are we creating an
environment where they could possibly become dependent on those for, to
self-soothe, and to relax, and to function. So you know, gauge yourself. Jump on the
Smart Parenting website for more information on what we've discussed here,
and understand, and join in the dialogue of how this is coming to fruition,
especially with technology. And give us your opinion. Is Gaming Disorder the
issue, and is it a diagnosis that you think is valid. Because we all have a
friend we know that is super addicted to video games. Or, is it a behavioral thing.
Are they addicted behaviorally to things and are they precondition to being
addicted to other things, not just gaming, but other things as well. I don't know.
Let me know. Leave comments below if you're watching us on YouTube. If you're
on our website you can leave a comment on the website. You can also send us an
email at smartparenting@smarterparenting.com. Which is super slow, but send us your comments. We
would love to hear from you and get your feedback on what is happening with this
new diagnosis. And we'll keep you updated when they finally decide if they're
gonna include it in the ICD, we will let you know. Alright, this is me for this
week and I'll talk to you again next week.
you