Everyone has a hobby. They can range from singing to collecting coins. Hobbies however, can become an addiction as well. In January earlier this year, a 32 year old male was found dead in a Taiwanese Internet cafe. The man had died due to a three day gaming session. Most people have probably heard of the term "gamer" before. If you have not, it means a person who plays video games constantly. Gaming has become more interesting with the new feature of online multi-player gaming. Some games give you the ability to speak to people in the game while others do not. The American Psychiatric Association had released the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which contained a rather rare disorder. Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is what the disorder states. There are nine stages to this disorder. They are absorption in the game, withdrawal symptoms, increasing amounts of time spent on them, not knowing when to stop playing, loss of interest in other hobbies/activities, having acknowledged that you have psychosocial problems, no caring for hat family members, therapists and others say about the addiction, using gaming as an escape from reality or negative mood and lastly loss of job, educational/career opportunity or relationships. This is a huge chunk of stages for this disorder. Some gamers may have experienced these stages but not fully categorized in them. Having a hobby is good but you have to monitor how much time you spend on that hobby or it will become an obsession.
-Ebony McPherson
-Ebony McPherson