Game dependency is officially recognized as a mental disorder

The World Health Organization included in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases a new item - "play disorder". The initiator of his contribution was Dr. Vladimir Poznyak. He expects that now specialists will be better informed about the problem of gambling addiction and will help the people suffering from it.

Poznyak singled out three key symptoms of the disease:

• Games prevail over other activities, everything else is pushed to the periphery;

• The patient loses control over the time spent playing games, and also ignores the consequences;

• Abuse provokes disorders in the personal, family, social and educational areas. There may be problems with sleep, eating and lack of physical activity.

That doctors have diagnosed, signs should be saved within 12 months. Episodic manifestations for several hours or days are not considered. But if the condition worsens, the disease can be confirmed earlier. Paznyak argues that despite the prevalence of games, the disorder is observed in a "small percentage" of gamers and, in general, similar to the symptoms that arise when using psychoactive substances and enthusiasm for gambling.

After entering the classification, addicted people can seek medical help. WHO does not yet issue formal prescriptions for the treatment of a new disease and leaves this issue in the competence of national services. The organization believes that the addition of a game frustration encourages more in-depth and detailed research on the topic.