AMA to vote on "internet/video-game addiction" as medical condi...

I can't believe they are even considering making this a legit diagnosis.

Oh sure, come up with another addiction for them to prescribe more pills into us!

Bet there's a big company behind this saying "We have this amazing drug..."

Also, I wonder if this "addiction" would allow for people to file for disability compensation, as any person with a medical addiction can file and be approved. Wouldn't that mean 18 yr old Joe Blow would never have to work because he can't step away from the Wii?

Uh huh.
We know what's next. The Pushers'(med doctors) report will convince their suppliers (drug companies) to manufacture a drug to treat this addiction.
It is a matter of (a lack of) self-discipline or having someone around to pull the plug on the time-waster, not a medical-related issue.

this is a true sickness. my first thoughts were not for a drug therapy. they were for what i witnessed on a college campus. there was an entire room of students, not all teenagers, playing 'wow' for 4 days, around the clock- my own son was there. there were over 45 players. they do it all the time. they have elaborate computer systems to do so. now you know where their financial aid is going, not on pizza. anyone who thinks this is a joke doesnt know someone who plays these games. they are for real. they are addicted. they are time consuming. these players discuss these games as the rest of us would discuss world politics or the price of groceries. they only want to play and cant understand why the rest of us dont get it. im not sure about the medical diagnosis pouring drugs down their throats. i dont see that as an answer to anyones problems. im just here to state that this is a real problem and you only have to look to your neighborhood college campus to believe it. i was shocked. the more i spoke to the students, the more surprised i became. you can imagine the impact on their grades.
people should educate themselves on true facts before making comments. been there, seen that.

I used to spend alot of time playing video games and computers games. Thankfully, the wonderful world of dating saved me from that route. I'm not against doing things by yourself, like gaming, or meditating, or shooting sprees; but they really should be limited and balanced to interaction activities with live humans (and I don't mean networked gaming either).

I have the cure !!!!!!
Throw the game out and turn off the internet connection.
Use the library if you need to study something for school.
As for the so called doctors that want to label people all the time, I believe they should be labeled too.
Quacks come to mind.
That will be $1,000 for the consultation.
Please pay on your way out.

The American Medical Association is a political organization run by idiots.

Wow, now we are going to come up with a reason why people play too much video game and market a pill for the fix….$$$$$ chi ching $$$$
Next there’s going to be a diagnosis for people who love to take too much vacation

And how soon can we expect new drug applications to treat this "condition."

this is not a sickness, its a bunch of dweebs living in a fantasy land. Want action, join the Marines, get laid, buy a Harley !! Next thing you will see will be some wacko dressed like a middle ages warrior attacking his campus with a sword !! and it will become a legal defense to crime, and a welfare supported medical condition

mom wrote:

this is a true sickness. my first thoughts were not for a drug therapy. they were for what i witnessed on a college campus. there was an entire room of students, not all teenagers, playing 'wow' for 4 days, around the clock- my own son was there. there were over 45 players. they do it all the time. they have elaborate computer systems to do so. now you know where their financial aid is going, not on pizza. anyone who thinks this is a joke doesnt know someone who plays these games. they are for real. they are addicted. they are time consuming. these players discuss these games as the rest of us would discuss world politics or the price of groceries. they only want to play and cant understand why the rest of us dont get it. im not sure about the medical diagnosis pouring drugs down their throats. i dont see that as an answer to anyones problems. im just here to state that this is a real problem and you only have to look to your neighborhood college campus to believe it. i was shocked. the more i spoke to the students, the more surprised i became. you can imagine the impact on their grades.
people should educate themselves on true facts before making comments. been there, seen that.

give me a break

So, according to the AMA and the APA, "video game addiction" is a mental disorder, and homosexuality is normal.

Excellent, now they can spend Billions on developing expensive drugs to churn tremendous profits perscribing them to gullible families, and close down factories that provide natural and cheap remedies.

This morning I have headache disease (need to go to the doctor for a pill to rectify it), and maybe I should be diagnoses with "Anti-Medical Establishment delusionary disease". And you wonder why medical insurance goes up 40% a year!

Just FYI for everyone who thinks that this is a conspiracy to push a new drug: there are no drugs today that cure addiction of any kind. I doubt video games are addictive in the clinical sense, but if they are, these doctors won't be getting anything for it. There is no cure, medication, or therapy for addiction.

This is typical, if there is a bad habit out there, there's an army of doctors and psychiatrists willing to call it a disease or syndrome so they can start treating and charging money for it.

There's already a name for doing something to the extent that the rest of your life suffers, it's called obsessive/compulsive disorder. Do we really need 50 more "diseases" on the books?

I play video games, a lot. I'm 44 years old and if I want to do that, then it's my time and my dime. I work, pay my bills, pay my taxes and what I do with my free time is my own business. These guys need to start working on Cancer or something important instead of trying to angle for a new research grant.

I don't have time for this nonsense. I have to get working on my Netherdrake.

"…and we have made of ourselves living cesspools, and driven doctors to invent names for our diseases."
- Plato

I work in a public library. It is evident that about 20 percent of our regular computer users have some level of addiction to the Internet. Most do not. We have privately discussed internet addiction and wondered when it would be professionally addressed.