Play It Again-And Again And Again
Newsweek|July 13,2018

Addiction to video games is a mental health disorder, so why is there no treatment in the U.S.?

Kashmira Gander
Play It Again-And Again And Again

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) officially recognized gaming disorder as a mental illness in June, adding it to the International Classification of Diseases. The condition goes beyond normal playing: People who suffer from it skip meals and sleep—pretty much anything that isn’t a game— to the point of harming their physical health.

The diagnosis has steep criteria. According to the agency, only 3 percent of the 160 million American adults who play games online will become addicted, and that means a person must have exhibited tangible changes in his or her life—like the inability to keep a job or a relationship—over 12 months.

This story is from the July 13,2018 edition of Newsweek.

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This story is from the July 13,2018 edition of Newsweek.

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