addiction

Italian Boy ‘Addicted’ To Playstation, Says Actual Doctor

8:20AM Stuart Houghton | 13 year old Lorenzo Amato was rushed to hospital by his father, where doctors at first thought he may have been suffering from a stroke or brain disorder. But no – after closer examination, the medics diagnosed ‘Playstation Addiction’. More »

Video Game Addiction Support Group Opens In London, Canada

9:00AM Stuart Houghton | The US-based support group, On-Line Gamers Anonymous has opened its first chapter in Canada. Brad Dorrance – founder member of the London, CA chapter – came to the group after his 12-hour a day habit contributed to the breakup of his marriage and lead to an attempted suicide. More »

Virtual Crack House Aids Drug Rehab

1:20AM Mike Fahey | As a gamer, I’ve been through many virtual-reality crack houses in my time, usually with guns blazing. Duke University professor Zach Rosenthal, however, has an entirely different way of dealing with crackheads in virtual reality – curing them. “What we’re trying to do is take people into a virtual crack-related neighbourhood or crack-related setting and have them experience cravings, just like they would in the real world,” Rosenthal said. Therapists then wait for the cravings to subside and associate it with a trigger such as a specific sound, conditioning the addicts to associate said sound with the cessation of cravings. The idea is that when the addict encounters real-world sensations they can call a phone number to hear the tone, and the cravings go away. More »