Is Being a Gamer a Mental Disorder?

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Being a gamer does not inherently mean someone has a mental disorder, as gaming can be a normal and enjoyable part of a person’s life when done in moderation. However, excessive gaming can lead to gaming disorder, a condition recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) that involves compulsive gaming behavior despite negative effects on a person’s life.

Understanding Gaming Disorder

Gaming disorder is characterized by a pattern of gaming behavior that is persistent or recurrent, and it can lead to significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. The WHO includes gaming disorder in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), highlighting its recognition as a serious health condition.

FAQs About Gaming Disorder

The following FAQs provide more insight into gaming disorder and its implications:

1. What causes gaming disorder? Gaming disorder is caused by a combination of gaming-related factors, environmental factors, and individual factors, including demographic risk factors, personality traits, motivational factors, comorbid psychopathology, genetic predisposition, and neurobiological processes.

2. How common is gaming disorder? Up to 4% of gamers are currently addicted to playing video games, with the worldwide prevalence of gaming disorder estimated to be around 3.05%, translating to approximately 60 million people who currently have gaming disorder.

3. Is playing too many video games a mental disorder? Playing too many video games can lead to gaming disorder, a condition that the WHO recognizes as a mental health condition. However, not everyone who plays video games excessively will develop gaming disorder.

4. Why is gaming so addictive? Gaming can be addictive because the reward center in the brain releases dopamine in response to pleasurable experiences or hyperarousal, leading to a strong drive to seek out that same pleasure again and again.

5. Does gaming affect your mental health? Video game addiction has been linked to personality traits such as low self-esteem, low self-efficacy, attention problems, impulsivity, aggression, anxiety, and depression.

6. Is gaming disorder rare? While gaming disorder is considered a serious health condition, it is not extremely common, with only a small percentage of gamers meeting the strict criteria for gaming disorder.

7. Is video game addiction a real thing? Video game addiction is recognized as a behavioral addiction similar to gambling disorder, where the rush of winning becomes one of the main reasons for playing.

8. What are the symptoms of a gamer? Symptoms of a gamer with gaming disorder include thinking about gaming all or a lot of the time, feeling bad when unable to play, needing to spend more and more time playing to feel good, and having problems at work, school, or home because of gaming.

9. How many hours of gaming is healthy? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 60 minutes of screen time on school days and 2 hours on non-school days for kids over 6 years old, and closer to 30 minutes for kids under 6.

10. How much gaming is too much? Playing more than 21 hours every week (approximately 3 hours every day) can start to have a detrimental impact on wellbeing, although this does not necessarily qualify as gaming disorder.

11. How does gaming affect the brain? Gaming can increase activity in brain regions associated with arousal, anxiety, and emotional reaction, while reducing activity in frontal lobes associated with emotion regulation and executive control.

12. How many hours do video game addicts play? Video game addicts often spend over 10 hours a day gaming, leading to sleep deprivation and other negative effects on their lives.

13. Is being a gamer genetic? Research suggests that genetic traits account for a significant variation in time spent playing video games, indicating that genetics can play a role in gaming behavior.

14. How many gamers have a disability? Nearly a third of gamers in the UK and US identify as being disabled, which is nearly double the percentage of disabled people in the general population.

15. Can gaming benefit your brain? Engaging in new activities, such as gaming, can keep the parts of the brain susceptible to memory problems sharp, and certain games can improve memory, strategy, and leadership skills, as well as stimulate creativity and critical thinking.