Inpatient Care for Internet Addiction: Is it Necessary?

Is Internet Addiction real? That is the question I am often asked. Of course it is, I reply, but I can see how many people still question if we can truly become addicted to technology.

It is not technology itself that causes the problem but it is in how we have come to use technology in our lives. Look around any airport, school yard, or mall - everyone is staring at their screens.  We have become socially removed. What is the impact of this technology when it does become excessive or compulsive?

In my 20 years of researching Internet Addiction, I have become the world’s leading expert. I say this because it is humbling and not in any arrogant way. I see how my research and academic studies have been applied by researchers all over the globe. I have consulted with hundreds of clinics about Internet addiction recovery and given many workshops to therapists. I say with that authority, Internet addiction is a real problem.

We debate this in America while other countries such as China and Korea have established treatment centers to deal with the problem for years. We lag behind other countries who have established clinics and university-wide studies in an effort to combat a distressing new problem in our culture.

Internet Addiction is real. Treatment is often necessary. It does not stand alone, most often those who suffer from Internet addiction also suffer from other clinical problems such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or social anxiety or phobia.

In September of 2013, I opened the nation’s first inpatient treatment center at the Bradford Regional Medical Center in Bradford, Pa. It is part of Behavioral Health Services Dual Diagnosis Program and we have received calls from all over the world. It says to me how widespread the problem is and how many people are hiding their addiction to technology.

Based on the calls alone, it seems people have such a serious problem with their online use that they have struggled for years in outpatient counseling being seen by therapists who either dismissed the behavior as normal or weren’t sure how to address.

Inpatient counseling is intended for the serious cases of Internet addiction. Treatment focuses on daily individual therapy and 72-hour medically-supervised digital detox is required.

“Do I believe that inpatient care is necessary for Internet addiction?” “Yes,” I exclaim. “Inpatient care is necessary!”

Addiction is addiction. Americans have lagged behind other countries in treating people who may suffer from this problem. We are BRMC are proud to be the first inpatient program in the U.S. to offer such help. While the DSM-5 has only just included Internet Gaming Addiction in Section 3 for conditions that need further research in this last revision, my prediction is that in the years to come, more research will happen, and future DSM revisions will then include Internet Addiction as real condition.   

FAQs Answered on the New Inpatient Internet Addiction Recovery Program at BRMC

I have received several calls from people looking for referrals to the new inpatient program on Internet Addictioin recovery at the Bradford Regional Medical Center. Here are some answers:

What are your recovery principles?
At BRMC, we offer unique and specialized treatment methods for Internet addiction recovery. We view the Internet as a productive tool and unlike other addiction rehab that use traditional abstinence models, we focus on healthy choices that you can make about your own Internet use. We teach you how to go on a digital diet so that you can learn to use technology in responsible ways that add to your life. Family support and involvement is also strongly encouraged.

How can someone get help?
The first step is to determine if there is a problem. A licensed psychologist or social worker trained in identification and treatment of Internet addiction can effectively perform an assessment to determine what level of care is most appropriate. Please call 1-800-446-2583 to speak to a professional.

Who can refer someone to the program?
We welcome referrals from psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, case managers, Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), insurance companies, managed care organizations, MH/MRs, children & youth, probation, friends, family members, self-referrals, and clergy. Referrals are confidential and can be made by anyone. BRMC does not discriminate in accepting patients based on ethnic or national origin, race, religion, disability, age or gender. If you would like further information, please call 1-800-446-2583.

Will my insurance company pay for services?
Unfortunately, Internet addiction is not a recognized disorder covered by insurance. We do provide additional Payment Information on our program and details on methods of payment.

Who has to know about my hospitalization?Only the people you authorize will know about your hospitalization and these people will receive only the information that is necessary for them to continue your care or to give you support once you are discharged.

How long will I stay?
Your time in the hospital depends on what your individual needs are. This is a 10-day program but additional time can be accommodated depending on your therapeutic need. Your individualized treatment plan focuses on what can be accomplished in the shortest periods of time. With this as a foundation for progress, you can continue treatment in an outpatient setting.

Call 24 Hours a Day – 1-800-446-2583

New Internet Addiction Inpatient Treatment and Recovery Program at BRMC

By now the news has been released that we have opened the new Internet Addiction Treatment and Recovery Program at the Bradford Regional Medical Center in Bradford, PA. We are excited to be part of this historic event, as the first program of its kind in the U.S. It is heart-felt for me to see my life's work become a reality and to hopefully build a program that will help many in need.

Internet Addiction

Contact us 1-800-446-2583 116 Interstate Parkway Bradford, PA 16701 Get Directions

The Internet Addiction Program is a part of the Behavioral Health Services Dual Diagnosis Unit at Bradford Regional Medical Center in Bradford, PA. The Internet Addiction Treatment and Recovery Program offers counseling and treatment for adults 18 years of age and older, the program is for those who have been unsuccessful overcoming the excessive use of the internet and electronic gaming on their own. The program involves a voluntary ten-day stay within a secure and dedicated patient unit. Internet addiction is any online-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one’s work environment. Internet Addiction has been called internet dependency and internet compulsiveness. By any name, it is a compulsive behavior that completely dominates the addicts’ life. Internet addicts make the internet a priority more important than family, friends, and work. The internet becomes the organizing principle of addicts’ lives. They are willing to sacrifice what they cherish most in order to preserve and continue their behavior.

We are committed to helping patients develop a healthier lifestyle free from addiction and abuse of electronic media.

The service is the first hospital based recovery program in the United States, and offers the first ever Digital Device Treatment Program in the nation.Our expert clinicians understand technology related behavioral addictions. They work with individuals, couples, and families to help them better understand and recover from an internet, video gaming or technology related behavioral addiction.

This inpatient program provides individual, group and family therapy through a unique, individualized treatment plan, of which aftercare planning, family and referral involvement are key components. Patients will be treated by a multidisciplinary team including psychiatrists, licensed psychologists, certified addiction counselors, psychiatric nurses, social workers, mental health therapists, case managers and support staff.

For seeking admissions to the program, please call the number above to receive our application.

History of my research on Internet Addiction since 1994

Here is an article from the Globe and Mail in Canada on how the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery started. It was a wild time for me. Personally, I was a young graduate fresh from graduate school and I had no idea what I was getting myself into and wow, did the publicity on my work really set a tone. I couldn't believe by age 30 I was doing so many interviews and I can't really say I knew what I was doing.

Professionally, I launched an entire field. I still look back in disbelief. I remember after my friend called me to tell me her and her husband had separated over his addiction to the Internet, I posted a small survey online. At the time (again, think 1994), I received maybe two email per month. The next morning, I awoke to over 40 emails responding to my survey. Most told me woes of how much they had lost because of the amount of time they spent on the Internet. People told me how they lost their jobs because they were online instead of working. People told me how they got separated or divorced because of their addiction to the Internet. Students across the country told me how they were addicted to the very tool that their universities were encouraging them to use. I quickly realized that I had hit a psychological nerve. This was a bigger issue than anyone had thought. I expanded my survey with more detailed questions. I wanted to know what it was like to be inside the mind of an Internet Addict.

I was drawn by the constant stories that followed. Some were amazing, simply amazing! I mean, I couldn't believe that people had lost a spouse or a loved one over the computer but it was true. At first, people told me how much they were addicted to chat rooms and pornography. Again, keep in mind this was 1994 before Facebook, Twitter, or eBay. The Internet was being touted as a revolutionary tool. And that it is. I don't take away any of the vast benefits of this technology. I did become the single voice that showed that there was also a dark side.

The Internet is not a benign tool. It has a life of its own. I was glad that I stuck to this earlier research. I remember that I was finishing up a fellowship at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. I had posted signs at all the colleges and libraries looking for people to participate in my research. I worked alone from my one bedroom apartment. I can't tell you why I kept going. The more I talked to others, the more I realized there was a problem with how much people consumed the Internet. It was the wild west of its day. I did not want to take away from any of the great potential that the Internet had to offer. Still, I knew there was this dark side, as people told me stories upon stories of how it damaged their lives.

I remember people crying on the phone with me or emailing me for help. I started the Center for Internet Addiction shortly thereafter. I knew I needed to a place to support my research and to offer counseling. It was often why people called. I started the center without a game plan. I had no idea what it would become.

I remember collecting all these case studies, still unsure what I was going to do with them. One day, walking through a K-mart in Rochester, I was struck by the idea of writing a book. I went to the local Borders (when they still existed) and bought several addiction recovery books. I am sure the clerk thought I had a problem. I studied each book looking at how it was set up, the ways the writer integrated theories with case studies, and I tried to teach myself how to write a book. The only thing I had ever written before that was my doctoral dissertation.

I completed my first draft in 1997 and went about trying to find an agent. Fifty rejections later -- an agent finally agreed to take me on. Another fifty editors rejected the book proposal until finally John Wiley and Sons agreed to take on the project. It was a thrilling time. My editor was a wonderful teacher. While my first draft needed considerable revision, she taught me and I learned. Eventually, my first book, Caught in the Net was published in 1998. It was met with criticism. I almost stopped studying Internet Addiction. It was hurtful and painful at the time. I was young and all I wanted to help others.

As I traveled across the country, I met people whose lives were changed because of my book. They would come up to me after my lectures thanking me for my work and for validating a problem that at that time no one else believed that they suffered from. I realized I was giving a voice to others who had nowhere else to turn.

I am glad that I stuck it out. Studying Internet Addiction changed my life forever. I am grateful that God gave me the courage and wisdom to do this -- and to hopefully help many who otherwise didn't have a voice.

New Internet Addiction Inpatient Treatment and Recovery Center Opening Soon!

It has been a while since I have had a chance to post on my blog. I apologize. Things have been hectic and crazy. I have been working with the Bradford Regional Medical Center to open the first inpatient hospital-based program on Internet Addiction Treatment and Recovery. I am very excited. The clinic is set to open September 1st, 2013. There is much to do to prepare. I will give you details as soon as I have them, for now, I can say it is the first inpatient treatment center for IA in the United States. We are excited to offer a program like this and I will serve as the Medical Director. I can hardly believe it.

As a refresher, I have been looking at several blog posts on Internet Addiction being included in the DSM-5. I think that there is much discussion still on what are the types of Internet addiction, what is healthy versus unhealthy signs of Internet use, what are the risk factors, and what are symptoms.

Since I have the new inpatient treatment center opening, I thought I would post a refresher that answers these frequent questions. Again, I will be sure to update you once the center is open!!

The first question, what are the type of Internet Addiction? 

Internet Addiction covers a variety of impulse-control problems, including: 

• Cybersex Addiction – compulsive use of Internet pornography, adult chat rooms, or adult fantasy role-play sites impacting negatively on real-life intimate relationships.
• Cyber-Relationship Addiction – addiction to social networking, chat rooms, and messaging to the point where virtual, online friends become more important than real-life relationships with family and friends.
• Net Compulsions – such as compulsive online gaming, gambling, stock trading, or compulsive use of online auction sites such as eBay, often resulting in financial and job-related problems. 
• Information Overload – compulsive web surfing or database searching, leading to lower work productivity and less social interaction with family and friends.
• Computer Addiction – obsessive playing of off-line computer games, such as Solitaire or Minesweeper, or obsessive computer programming.

The most common of these Internet addictions are Internet gaming and Internet sex addiction.

Healthy vs. unhealthy Internet use

The Internet provides a constant, ever-changing source of information and entertainment, and can be accessed from most smart phones as well as tablets, laptops, and computers. Email, blogs, social networks, and message boards allow for both public and anonymous communication about any topic. But how much is too much Internet usage?

Each person’s Internet use is different. You might need to use the Internet extensively for your work, for example, or you might rely heavily on social networking sites to keep in touch with faraway family and friends. Spending a lot of time online only becomes a problem when it absorbs too much of your time, causing you to neglect your relationships, your work, school, or other important things in your life. If you keep repeating compulsive Internet behavior despite the negative consequences in your offline life, then it’s time to strike a new balance.

To relieve unpleasant and overwhelming feelings

Many people turn to the Internet in order to manage unpleasant feelings such as stress, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. When you have a bad day and are looking for a way to escape your problems or to quickly relieve stress or self-soothe, the Internet can be an easily accessible outlet. Losing yourself online can temporarily make feelings such as loneliness, stress, anxiety, depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air. As much comfort as the Internet can provide, though, it’s important to remember that there are healthier (and more effective) ways to keep difficult feelings in check. These may include exercising, meditating, using sensory relaxation strategies, and practicing simple breathing exercises.

For many people, an important aspect of overcoming Internet and computer addiction is to find alternate ways to handle these difficult feelings. Even when your Internet use is back to healthy levels, the painful and unpleasant feelings that may have prompted you to engage in unhealthy Internet use in the past will remain. So, it’s worth spending some time thinking about the different ways you intend to deal with stressful situations and the daily irritations that would normally have you logging on.

Risk factors for Internet addiction and computer addiction

You are at greater risk of Internet addiction if:

• You suffer from anxiety. You may use the Internet to distract yourself from your worries and fears. An anxiety disorder like obsessive-compulsive disorder may also contribute to excessive email checking and compulsive Internet use.
• You are depressed. The Internet can be an escape from feelings of depression, but too much time online can make things worse. Internet addiction further contributes to stress, isolation and loneliness.
• You have any other addictions. Many Internet addicts suffer from other addictions, such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, and sex.
• You lack social support. Internet addicts often use social networking sites, instant messaging, or online gaming as a safe way of establishing new relationships and more confidently relating to others.
• You’re an unhappy teenager. You might be wondering where you fit in and the Internet could feel more comfortable than real-life friends.
• You are less mobile or socially active than you once were. For example, you may be coping with a new disability that limits your ability to drive. Or you may be parenting very young children, which can make it hard to leave the house or connect with old friends.
• You are stressed. While some people use the Internet to relieve stress, it can have a counterproductive effect. The longer you spend online, the higher your stress levels will be.

Signs and symptoms of Internet addiction vary from person to person. For example, there are no set hours per day or number of messages sent that indicate Internet addiction. But here are some general warning signs that your Internet use may have become a problem:

• Losing track of time online. Do you frequently find yourself on the Internet longer than you intended? Does a few minutes turn in to a few hours? Do you get irritated or cranky if your online time is interrupted?
• Having trouble completing tasks at work or home. Do you find laundry piling up and little food in the house for dinner because you’ve been busy online? Perhaps you find yourself working late more often because you can’t complete your work on time — then staying even longer when everyone else has gone home so you can use the Internet freely.
• Isolation from family and friends. Is your social life suffering because of all the time you spend online? Are you neglecting your family and friends? Do you feel like no one in your “real” life — even your spouse — understands you like your online friends?
• Feeling guilty or defensive about your Internet use. Are you sick of your spouse nagging you to get off the computer and spend time together? Do you hide your Internet use or lie to your boss and family about the amount of time you spend on the computer and what you do while you're online?
• Feeling a sense of euphoria while involved in Internet activities. Do you use the Internet as an outlet when stressed, sad, or for sexual gratification or excitement? Have you tried to limit your Internet time but failed?

Physical symptoms of Internet addiction

Internet or computer addiction can also cause physical discomfort such as:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (pain and numbness in hands and wrists)
• Dry eyes or strained vision
• Back aches and neck aches; severe headaches
• Sleep disturbances
• Pronounced weight gain or weight loss

The Role of Asperger’s Syndrome and Violet Videogames in Sandy Hook School Shootings

I am writing as I watch the news coverage on the school shootings. It is terribly sad. It is hard to imagine anyone who could hurt innocent children and innocent teachers trying hard to be good educators.

As I learn more about Adam Lanza, I understand that the shooter suffered from Asperger's syndrome and also played violent video games. My research on Internet addiction shows these two variables can lead to aggressive and violent behavior. I have seen how Asperger's syndrome is a significant risk factor in developing online gaming addiction and work with parents on prevention.

Asperger’s syndrome does not cause violent behavior, although, much has been discussed in the media about its role in the tragic school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary.  It is common that Asperger’s children have a loss of impulse-control, making them unpredictable, and they have trouble processing and expressing feelings. This can make them volatile and angry, as Adam Lanza is described.

Asperger’s children tend to be highly intelligent children who suffer significant difficulties in social interaction. My research has found that these same children are attracted to the Internet because it equalizes their social difficulties in real life by communicating through the computer. Plus, they often become addicted to online games for the mental and intellectual stimulation that they offer.

If the game is a violent game, like the ones that Adam played, this may create violent behavior. Games play is active whereas watching TV is passive. People learn better when they are actively involved. Players of violent video games are more likely to identify with a violent character. Asperger's children as well as children in general are more likely to behave aggressively themselves when they identify with a violent character. Asperger's children lack a clear identity in the real world but online they gain a sense of identity through their gaming characters (earning status and power) which makes these games very addictive.

Violent games directly reward violent behavior, such as by awarding points or by allowing players to advance to the next game level. In some games, players are rewarded through verbal praise, such as hearing the words "Nice shot!" after killing an enemy. It is well known that rewarding behavior increases its frequency.

We should not underestimate the role of violent games in the events of the Sandy Hook school shootings. These games allow players to practice killing and to get into the mindset to shoot and to kill. Given that Asperger’s children have difficulties expressing emotion – these games can feed into feeling of underlying rage or aggression. These games dehumanize people. To Adam Lanza, he may have harbored so much rage and anger that he killed children without thinking of them as human beings. Unfortunately, none of these children had another game life. 

When a Psychologist Writes a Novel...

As a psychologist, I have counseled men and women struggling with extramarital attractions and understand the emotional conflicts those endure who deeply value fidelity but still feel the pull of falling in love with another, even when one party or the other appears to be happily married. These experiences led me to write my first novel, The Eighth Wonder. 

The writing of the book took place while I was recovering from retina detachment surgery. I was housebound for 4 to 5 months. During this time, I was able to use my computer in large print.  Like my main character, Nicole Benson, I had always wanted to write a novel. I finally had the time to do it. It started out semi-autobiographical about my own move to Bradford after getting my Ph.D., but then turned into a love story about two people struggling with grief and loss. While writing the novel, as I mentioned, I was housebound. I needed a place for the characters to meet. I was not familiar with the region. I looked up landmarks – and that is when I discovered The Kinzua Bridge. I had not heard of it nor had I seen it before (or during) writing the novel. The title for the book came to me in a flash that day I wrote the entire story of the bridge and its description based upon web sites I found on it. The first place that I went to after being released from medical rest was to see the bridge in person.

The novel begins as on how I first moved to Bradford to be near my father who lived in Buffalo, New York, and he was dying from pancreatic cancer. Nicole’s personality and the general story of her mother leaving her and being career-driven woman who does not have children is exactly my personal story. Also, like Nicole, I had been emotionally distant from my sister, who was married with children quite young (and also not college-educated like Nicole’s sister). Also, my father’s death is described exactly how it happened that night.

Like The Bridges of Madison County, the “bones” of a story portray the complexities of falling in love when one has been married for a long-period of time. It isn’t always easy to stay married and difficult choices must often be made to keep a marriage together. Sometimes, it means even leaving someone that you love in order to keep a family together. The novel also questions the role of commitment-phobic women who fear abandonment, a trend seen more visibly in women today. Like women portrayed in the Sex in the City series, how do they resolve their feelings of wanting to settle down and be taken care of by a man, yet place a protective emotional wall to keep men at a distance.

Instead of an Iowa farm wife (as in BRIDGES), The Eighth Wonder tells Nicole’s story, who graduates from NYU with her Ph.D. in Political Science. Nicole has sacrificed marriage and children for her career with ambitions of teaching at an Ivy-League school when her life is thrust into chaos. She learns her father has terminal cancer.  She leaves New York City to live in rural Bradford, Pa to take a temporary teaching job to be closer to him in nearby Buffalo.

Instead of a rambling photographer, we meet Tom Ryan, a very stable and settled community-minded Bradford native who manages a large nursing home and is very content with his life. The story deals with grief as Tom is an empty-nester with Rose, his wife of 23 years, but they suffered a terrible loss when their young daughter died from leukemia. After her death, they suffered the long process of bereavement. As parents, their emotions turned from despair into numbness. In Tom and Rose’s case, their feelings became overwhelming and pulled them apart.

After months of being friends, Tom discovers in his heart that he is in love with Nicole and the consequences of those feelings in relation to Rose. He feels the confusion and the fear of being in love with someone else. Nicole’s realization that she is in love with Tom is just as dramatic, due to her fears of abandonment and intimacy, plus, he is married. What is she doing? She can’t possibly be in love with someone who isn’t hers to have. This weighs on them both, even once they talk, they are not clear about what direction to take but know that this relationship is doomed from the beginning.  

When they finally get together it is emotional – they know they should not be intimate, they know they don’t have a future, they haven’t thought about the consequences, yet they can’t seem to stop their feelings. As they try to stay apart, Nicole pines for Tom, then, when her father dies, his inevitable death due to cancer, the first person she calls is Tom.

Without giving away the entire ending, Tom and Nicole face the most painful decision of their lives. For Tom, it is to stay in a comfortable, yet emotionally scarred marriage, or to leave and be with Nicole to start a new life. For Nicole, the choice is to whether to pursue her career goals at a new college or to stay in Bradford to live with Tom (if he was hers to have).

I enjoyed writing The Eighth Wonder. As my first novel, it is so amazing to see my name in print. I have had many people tell me that they couldn’t put the book down. Not just friends, either, but people who have written to me after reading the novel and told me how moved they were by the story. I am so touched to have written such a story. I know I cried writing it. Even when I reread it, I think the characters draw readers in to make the reader laugh, think, and cry. I hope you enjoy reading The Eighth Wonder as I did writing it!  

Sincerely,
Kimberly Young

Studies find Internet Addiction Disorder exists!

It’s official, at least according to researchers at Norway’s University of Bergen: Facebook is addictive.
This may not come as a terrific surprise when you stop to think that the site claims some 500 million users on a daily basis.
But what is surprising is the researchers’ conclusion that Facebook addiction produces symptoms similar to those observed in substance and alcohol addiction. Some studies have found that heavy internet use has actually led to a “rewiring” of the brain with striking similarity to drug and alcohol addicts.
About a year and a half ago more than 400 students were handed a list of six questions relating to Facebook use, with the answers ranging from “very rarely” to “very often.” Responses of “often” or “very often” qualified the respondents as Facebook addicts.
In another study reported by Forbes magazine, 85 percent of 1,000 participants acknowledged using Facebook as part of their daily routine. A third of them said that Facebook let them stay on top of things; two-thirds admitted using it just to kill time. Twenty-five percent said they felt ill at ease if they couldn’t log in regularly. Think about that one.
In still another survey reported by Forbes, about half of 600 respondents said that looking at friends’ pictures on Facebook led them to comparisons and wishing for similar body styles or weights, affecting their self-esteem.
Dr. Harry Brandt, director of the latter study, was quoted in Forbes as saying, “In this age of modern technology and constant access to smartphones and the internet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to remove themselves from images and other triggers that promote negative body image, low self-esteem and ultimately contribute to eating disorders” such as anorexia, bulimia and intense dieting.
Facebook isn’t alone in this phenomenon. Other elements include texting, tweeting, emailing and all the rest.
Internet Addiction Disorder is headed for further study in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, making it a candidate for a “real” disorder.
Newsweek has pulled together a string of disturbing statistics.
The average teen processes 3,700 texts a month, double the 2007 volume.
The average person sends or receives about 400 texts a month, up from 100 in 2007.
One-third of smartphone users go online before getting out of bed.
In a survey of 750 people, most (excluding the 50-plus age bracket) said they check text messages, email or social network at least every 15 minutes.
An early addiction red flag? Spending more than 38 hours a week online.
(The irony of the Newsweek feature is that it offers – via an internet link – help in shielding your kids from tech overload).
The University of Bergen Facebook quiz (choose your answers from “very rarely,” “rarely,” “sometimes,” “often” or “very often”):
• You spend a lot of time thinking about Facebook or plan to use Facebook.
• You feel an urge to use Facebook more and more.
• You use Facebook in order to forget about personal problems.
• You have tried to cut down on the use of Facebook without success.
• You become restless or troubled if you are prohibited from using Facebook.
• You use Facebook so much that it has a negative impact on your job/studies.
More than four “often” or “very often” responses constitute addiction, the researchers decreed.
How did you do?

A moving story about addiction that was shared with me from a UK colleague

Someone You Know is an Addict

It’s estimated that approximately one in five people are born with an addictive personality - meaning they are vulnerable to becoming addicted to a substance or behavior.  This means that there is an excellent chance that someone you know - a friend or family member - is suffering, perhaps secretly, with an addiction problem.

The most serious cases end with the death or suicide or the victim.

This article is part of a campaign by Addictions UK to help addicts, all around the world. Read on to find out how you can offer your support. .

Understanding Addiction

The rapid growth of the Internet in recent years has seen the rise of new addiction problems, including Facebook addiction, online pornography addiction, online gambling addiction, and even Internet addiction. 

Although the word “addiction” is used to mean many different things, what we’re talking about here is more accurately described as “pathological dependence” - a flaw in the brain chemistry that creates an overwhelming and escalating urge to engage in a certain kind of behavior, even if the person knows that their actions are hurting them and they’re desperate to stop.

The condition of addiction can be easier to understand when compared to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).  An OCD sufferer may be aware that, logically, there is no need to repeatedly wash their hands until they’re raw and bleeding, but the compulsion is so strong that they’re powerless to stop. 

Similarly, an online gambling addict may be racked with guilt because, once again, they’ve spent the grocery money on online poker, but no matter what they try, they cannot gain control of their behavior.

Worse still, when an addict’s compulsive behavior is of a type that is considered socially unacceptable, it’s common to hide the problem and try to tackle it privately.  This usually only results in the problem becoming more deeply entrenched.

Treatment is Available

The first step to successfully tacking addiction is education.  The addict may have come to the conclusion that they are a wicked person who is beyond redemption, but learning that their troubling actions are symptoms of an illness that afflicts millions of other people, many of whom have been successfully treated, can rekindle their hope and create a burning desire to obtain treatment.

Talking to a doctor can help; they may be able to recommend a local addiction treatment program.  Alternatively, private treatment can be obtained (see below).

The most important thing is for the addict to recognize that they have a dependency problem and that they cannot enter recovery without professional help.

How You Can Help

At the beginning of this article, we said that there is a strong chance that a friend of family member is suffering, maybe in silence, but that there is a way you can help.

There’s little point in trying to guess who may or not be affected. Addiction afflicts all different kinds of people, and often the person you least expect.

What you can do is help to put this article in front of as many different people as possible. The more people that see this message, the more likely it is that it will reach someone who really needs it.

To show your support for this campaign, please do one or more of the following:

1)      Share this article on Twitter and Facebook.

2)      Go to www.facebook.com/addictionsuk and “Like” this page.

3)      Place a link to www.addictionsuk.com or www.facebook.com/addictionsuk on your website.

4)      Post a comment below this blog post.

5)      Reproduce this article on your blog or website.

Don’t delay.  Spend 2-3 minutes now to do one or more of the above – you could save the life of someone you love.

Another view of Internet addiction

Internet Addiction impacts Brain Behavior - read full study!!

Background

Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is currently becoming a serious mental health issue around the globe. Previous studies regarding IAD were mainly focused on associated psychological examinations. However, there are few studies on brain structure and function about IAD. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter integrity in adolescents with IAD.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Seventeen IAD subjects and sixteen healthy controls without IAD participated in this study. Whole brain voxel-wise analysis of fractional anisotropy (FA) was performed by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to localize abnormal white matter regions between groups. TBSS demonstrated that IAD had significantly lower FA than controls throughout the brain, including the orbito-frontal white matter, corpus callosum, cingulum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and corona radiation, internal and external capsules, while exhibiting no areas of higher FA. Volume-of-interest (VOI) analysis was used to detect changes of diffusivity indices in the regions showing FA abnormalities. In most VOIs, FA reductions were caused by an increase in radial diffusivity while no changes in axial diffusivity. Correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between FA and behavioral measures within the IAD group. Significantly negative correlations were found between FA values in the left genu of the corpus callosum and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, and between FA values in the left external capsule and the Young's Internet addiction scale.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that IAD demonstrated widespread reductions of FA in major white matter pathways and such abnormal white matter structure may be linked to some behavioral impairments. In addition, white matter integrity may serve as a potential new treatment target and FA may be as a qualified biomarker to understand the underlying neural mechanisms of injury or to assess the effectiveness of specific early interventions in IAD.

What is Internet Addiction - Podcast

Here is another recent podcast of a radio interview dealing with the warning signs and treatment involved with Internet addiction.

I Wonder Radio program

Hello Everyone,

Here is a recent radio story on Internet Addiction. I hope this is informative.

What if the Internet Went Down???

WASHINGTON (AP) — If a day without Wikipedia was a bother, think bigger. In this plugged-in world, we would barely be able to cope if the entire Internet went down in a city, state or country for a day or a week.

Sure, we'd survive. People have done it. Countries have, as Egyptdid last year during the anti-government protests. And most of civilization went along until the 1990s without the Internet. But now we're so intertwined socially, financially and industrially that suddenly going back to the 1980s would hit the world as hard as a natural disaster, experts say.

No email, Twitter or Facebook. No buying online. No stock trades. No just-in-time industrial shipping. No real-time tracking of diseases. It's gotten so that not just the entire Internet but individual websites such as Google are considered critical infrastructure, experts said.

"Nobody would die, but there would be a major hassle," said computer security expert Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure in Helsinki, Finland.

If an Internet outage lasted more than a day or two, the financial hit would be huge, with mass unemployment, said Ken Mayland, a former chief bank economist and president of ClearView Economics. Eugene Spafford, director of Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, worries about bank runs and general panic.

Psychologically, too, it could be wrenching.

"I think it's easier to get off heroin," said Lisa Welter of New York City, who weaned herself for a month last year from just the social aspects of the Internet — she still paid bills online — and felt as if she was "living in a cave."

"There would be a sense of loss: What would I do with my time?" said Kimberly Young, a psychologist who directs the Center for Internet Addiction and Recovery.

On Wednesday, certain websites, most prominently Wikipedia, went dark to protest legislation in Congress that would crack down on pirated movies and TV shows. It was a one-day stunt. But it raises questions about our connectedness.

It is possible that hackers, terrorists, accidents or even sunspots could take down the Internet and cause areas to become cut off and unreachable, said Spafford, one of the foremost experts on computer security. The U.S. and other developed nations have multiple and robust routing systems that make it unlikely large areas would be affected, but smaller countries could be vulnerable to nationwide outages, Hypponen said.

The world only has to look back one year to Egypt to see what a sudden unplugging could spawn.

The government of Hosni Mubarak tried to stop protests in January 2011 by switching off the Internet. The shutdown halted businesses, banking operations and — at the height of the demonstrations — the ability of the protest leaders to organize and communicate with one another.

During the five days that the Internet was out, anti-Mubarak activists had to rely on help from abroad to spread their news and update Web pages. The outage harmed protesters' ability to organize or to counter government propaganda that portrayed them as agents of foreign powers, said Ahmed Saleh, who was in charge of managing the Facebook page that was credited with mobilizing thousands of Egyptians to take to the streets.

With the shutdown, the protests swelled as people unable to follow minute-by-minute what was going on took to the streets.

"No Internet meant that more people went down and realized that this was for real. The protests grew, and so did the anger against the government domestically and internationally," Saleh said.

He said the lack of Internet also allowed him to "live the moment" because he was not distracted with tweeting and posting on Facebook or analyzing the situation. This, he said, strengthened real face-to-face connections between people.

Nicholas Christin, associate director of the Information Networking Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, said that while a prolonged Internet outage would be uncomfortable, it might also bring out the best in people.

"I think you would find that people are very resilient," he said. "We would go back to the libraries."

Christin said he has gone a week without the Internet as part of a vacation. The first few days were rough, he said, but then "it was fantastic."

Christin did it by choice. Others had it imposed on them because of weather disasters or financial problems. They weren't nostalgic about it.

For three days, Jill Williams lost the Internet and power because of a California windstorm last month. Her small business requires her to use email to plan events.

"Those three days I felt deprived," she recalled in an email, responding to a Twitter request for anecdotes about going Internet-less. "The Internet has totally consumed my life, both business as well as pleasure."

Wyatt McMahon of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech University was having a hard time Wednesday just dealing with the shutdown at Wikipedia, which he leans on as a first step in his searches in his field, which combines statistics and biology.

If the entire Internet were lost, "that would be beyond catastrophic. Every single day, every single hour, if not every 30 minutes, I am using the Internet for work," McMahon said. "So if anything like that were to happen, it would bring everything to a screeching halt."

New brain study on addiction to violent video games.

The age old debate over the effects of video games on the brain is back. On Monday, the Radiological Society of North America released information on a new research that shows violent video games can effect the brain. At the same time, News.com Australia reported that mental health professionals in Australia are considering video game addiction and internet addition as official mental disorders.

These studies are far from definitive, given the large volume of game studies over the years. But if games are classified as harmful or addictive, that could limit their reach. Parents might proactively decide to crack down on violent video games, which have become a big part of the mass market. Studies like this are a force that could shove gamers back into the closet.

The new research conducted by the RSNA took 22 young men, ages 18 to 29, and instructed 11 of the 22 males to play 10 hours of violent video games for one week and then stop playing completely the second week. Then, the other 11 men were instructed to not play any violent video games throughout the two week period.

Before, during and after the two week period, the subjects were given tests via MRI’s to monitor their brain function. The results showed that after the week of game play, there was less activity in the left inferior frontal lobe during the emotional test and less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex during the counting test. Yang Wang, a medical doctor and an assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine said, “These findings indicate that violent video game play has a long term effect on brain functioning.”

While these findings are coming to light, mental health professionals in Australia are being asked by parents to include video game addiction and internet addiction in the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The professionals might declare the  addictions as an official disorder called pathological internet misuse. If that happens, parents are hoping this will encourage further study on the matter.

The news stirs up old memories of the negative stigma often associated with video games. As video games jump into the mainstream more and more every year, studies and alleged official disorders like the ones mentioned are likely to pop up from time to time and thwart the advance of games as a universal medium. It also shows that, despite a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue of violent video games is far from dead.

A new study Pew Institute finds most teens have seen bad behavior on social media sites:survey

The majority of teenagers who use social networking websites say their peers are mostly kind to one another online, but 88% still say they've witnessed people being mean and cruel on such sites, according to a new study. Fifteen percent say they've been the target of bad behavior on social media sites.

The findings come from a report called "Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites: How American teens navigate the new world of 'digital citizenship,'" which is based on seven focus groups with teens and a survey of 799 youths 12 to 17 and their parents.

The study, conducted by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, found that social media use is widespread among teens, with 95% of 12- to 17-year-olds in the survey saying they use the Internet. Of those, 80% said they use social media sites.

When it comes to bad conduct online, 80% of teen social media users in the survey said they have defended a victim of meanness and cruelty and 79% said they have told someone to stop mean behavior on a social network site. However, 21% said they have joined in on the harassment.

"Social networking sites have created new spaces for teens to interact, and they witness a mixture of altruism and cruelty," said Amanda Lenhart, the study's lead author. "For most teens, these are exciting and rewarding spaces. But the majority have also seen a darker side."

Teens in the survey said they received advice about online safety from a variety of people. Parents were the top source, with 86% saying they have received advice from their parents about how to use the Internet safely and responsibly, and 70% said they have received advice from a teacher or other adult at school.

Teens in the survey reported that parents were also the biggest influence on shaping what they think is appropriate or inappropriate behavior when going online or using a cellphone. At the same time, 18% saidthat no one has influenced them about their attitudes toward online behavior.

Addiction to social networking causes serious mental health issues according to a new study

The Millennial Generation’s, also known as the Me Generation, biggest distinguishing feature is the tech-savvy abilities of its members. Many students cannot remember a time when there was no internet, no cell phones, and most importantly, no Facebook or Twitter. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing; it seems to have gone from a privilege to a given. There are repercussions to constantly monitoring social networking sites that many students are unaware of and that pose significant health problems. One of them is FTAD, Facebook/Twitter Addiction Disorder.
Recent research in the area of addiction has shown that four in five students suffer from significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion and extreme isolation when forced to unplug from technology for an entire day. The study called “Unplugged” was jointly led by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) and the Salzburg Academy. The global experiment was done at 10 universities last year and showed students suffering withdrawal symptoms similar to those associated with drug addictions when quitting “cold turkey.”  The conclusion provided a majority of almost 1,000 college students, in places like China, Britain, and America, who were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day.
One of the American students confessed their overpowering cravings were similar to the “itching like a crackhead,” giving new meaning to the nickname for the popular phone Blackberry: Crackberry. Most of the symptoms of addiction revolve around depression, anxiety, and isolation from the lack of news of what peers are doing.
There is no doubt of the popularity of social networking sites which allow many people to fulfill their basic social needs of feeling loved, accepted and part of a group. Dr. Michael Fenichel attributes the phenomenon of Facebook addiction to “the instant texting component the ability to post pictures and videos, play pop-psychology and pop-culture games and quizzes (applications), follow (slightly less than on Twitter) the every move, decision, feeling, and random thought of everyone in countless networks, and also maintain a homepage/wall for all to see and visit, makes this the best recipe for significant behavioral addiction, as it fills a large and ‘normal’ part of our lives.”
Student Emily Surovy, a sophomore, is an avid Twitter user who says, “[Twitter] puts you on a more personal level with people you’d never talk to in real life and makes you realize that they [celebrities] are people too.”
So far there have been six criteria identified in diagnosing FTAD. At least two or three must be present at any time during a 5-6 month period in order to be diagnosed. The criteria are:
1.      Tolerance, referring to the increasing amounts of time spent of Facebook and Twitter to achieve satisfaction.
2.      After trying to “get rid of Facebook,” it causes distress or impairs social, personal, or occupational functions such as the speed of your internet browser or the amount of time you spend obsessing about who wrote what on your wall.
3.      Important social or recreational activities are greatly reduced and/or migrated to Facebook or Twitter. (Socializing with friends has moved from hanging out in a dorm to only conversing through the Facebook chat feature.)
4.      If you express your affection for your boyfriend/girlfriend through Twitter or Facebook, or use the applications on Facebook to simulate a real date such as the FB Café World.
5.      You have no idea who 8 of the 10 people in your friends list are and you have more than a 1000 friends.
6.      You invite anyone you have met to become friends on Facebook and any notifications, messages, and invites give you a lift in your mood because you feel loved or popular.
As with any addiction, it is no laughing matter and should be addressed as quickly as possible. Gradually wean yourself off of Facebook and Twitter by cancelling the text message notifications, spend a set amount of time on each a day (no more, no less), hang out with friends in person, and call instead of messaging your friends.

The Dangers of Internet Gambling among Teenagers

Internet Gambling has become an increasingly popular form of gaming.  Through online web sites, users can gamble through interactive television and mobile phones. The convenience of 24-hour access, the ease of setting up an online account and the variety of sites from traditional betting, to casino gambling, to lotteries - makes Internet gambling very appealing.

Individuals who start experiencing a problem with Internet gambling become preoccupied with gambling creating a disruption in their personal, family, and social aspects of their lives. Studies found that teen-aged Internet gamblers were more likely to have a serious gambling than other gamblers. Teen-aged Internet gamblers were also more likely to suffer from health and emotional problems such as substance abuse, circulatory disease, depression, and risky sexual behaviors.  According to the National Gambling Impact Commission, young children and teenagers are at the greatest risk to develop a problem with Internet gambling.  They estimated that 16-24 year old males comprise 4% of Internet gamblers and 11-18 year old males comprise 4-7% of Internet gamblers, a significant increase with advent of online casinos (www.ncalg.org). 

Brad, a 19-year old math major at the University of Minnesota lost his scholarship and had to resign from school because of his addiction to online gambling. “I didn’t start out thinking I would get so hooked,” he explained. “I started playing Texas Hold ‘Em after watching a poker show on TV. It was just something I did for fun. Then, I started staying up late, missing classes, spending tons of money; all my time was spent playing the game. It was more than winning and losing money. To be a good player, you’ve got to be smart and I liked the intellectual challenge and competitiveness of the game.”

Brad’s mother became concerned when she discovered Brad’s falling grades.

“I knew it was about the computer,” she said. “But no one seemed to believe me. A counselor at his school told me that it was just a phase but this was more than just a phase.” Parents and partners are usually the first to notice a loved one’s online gambling habit and the range of behaviors is similar to those for any type of gambling addiction:

• Showing increased excitement when going online to find new gambling spots;
• Rearranging schedules to permit more time for online gambling activities;
• Feeling that a change in online gambling activities will bring good luck and subsequently increasing the size of their bets;
• Chasing lost bets to try to catch up;
• Placing larger bets and betting more frequently;
• Boasting about winning and minimizing losses.
• Going online to gamble when faced with a crisis or a stressful situation.

For the addict, these symptoms also result in changes in the person’s personality and routine behaviors. Suddenly there are unexplained absences from work, home, or other responsibilities. The addict becomes secretive, conceals or attempts to conceal how his or her time is spent at the computer, and outright lies about the real nature of his or her computer activity. Often, the gambling addict experiences mood swings, showing extreme highs when they win and extreme lows when they lose. Values go by the wayside and many violate their own principles. They begin to hide money, make secret loans, or make unusual, sporadic, or unexplained withdrawals from family bank accounts. Suddenly they find themselves capable of or actually stealing money from friends and family—then lying about it—in order to bet more, pay off debts, or recoup losses. 

Internet Addiction Among College Students: 10 Startling Trends

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a college campus that doesn’t have Internet. College students use the Internet for research, communication, and other educational activities. Of course, students also use the Internet for social media, news, and even online gambling, activities that can be fun and even enriching, but when overused, become a real problem. Some college students suffer from Internet addiction, unable to step away from the computer or put down mobile devices even for a day. Eighty-four percent of college counselors agree that Internet Addiction Disorder is legitimate, but at the same time, 93% of them have not been fully trained to diagnose Internet addiction, and 94% have insufficient training for Internet addiction treatment. The result? Falling grades, physical problems, and even clinical addiction. Internet addiction is a real problem for college students, and we’ve shared several trends that are worrisome.

    1.  Students have feelings similar to drug and alcohol addiction

1. Two hundred students were asked to abstain from all media for 24 hours, and were then asked to blog about their experiences. The words the students used to describe their feelings during the restriction period were typically the same words associated with a substance abuse addiction: "withdrawal, frantically craving, very anxious, antsy, miserable, jittery, crazy." It seems that these students are addicted to media, particularly in its online form. This is disturbing, but not surprising, as studies have already shown that Google can actually change your brain.

2. College students are especially susceptible to Internet Behavior Dependence

   A college student case study revealed that college students are a "population of special concern" when it comes to Internet addiction, and they are disproportionately vulnerable due to psychological and environmental factors in their lives. When faced with an Internet addiction, college students have a hard time forming their identity and building intimate relationships. Online, students can "develop relationships devoid of the anxiety found in face-to-face relationships," and they "can take on any persona they desire, without fear of judgment on appearance or personal mannerism, and can avoid racial and gender prejudice." This type of adaptive behavior tends to diminish the social capacity of college students, leaving them unprepared for the development of real world relationships.

3. Online poker is prevalent on college campuses

   Online poker joins two addictions together: gambling and online interaction, so its use on college campuses is especially worrisome. The University of Pennsylvania predicts that over 20% of college students play online poker at least once a month, and you can typically see lots of students playing online poker on a college campus. Although it can be a fun game, and many students may be able to maintain healthy lives while enjoying playing online poker, some simply can’t. At the University of Pennsylvania, researchers noted that among college gamblers that played weekly, over half of them had a serious problem with the habit. In some cases, students fail out of classes or gamble their tuition away, even turning to crime to pay debts created by online poker.

4. Students can’t go 24 hours without the Internet

   When 1,000 college students took part in an international study on electronic media, they were asked to go without media for 24 hours. But many students in the study were not up to the challenge. A majority of students did not actually go without media for 24 hours, giving in and checking in with their phones or email. Students confessed, "I sat in my bed and stared blankly. I had nothing to do," and "Media is my drug; without it I was lost. How could I survive 24 hours without it?" The study revealed a physical dependency on media, especially Facebook and mobile phones. Students recognized that typing the address for their favorite sites had become muscle memory: "It was amazing to me though how easily programmed my fingers were to instantly start typing "f-a-c-e" in the search bar. It’s now muscle memory, or instinctual, to log into Facebook as the first step of Internet browsing." Other students recognized physical signs of withdrawal, sharing that "I would feel irritable, tense, restless and anxious when I could not use my mobile phone. When I couldn’t communicate with my friends, I felt so lonely, as if I was in a small cage in a solitary island."

5. Students are surfing, not studying

   Students who spend a lot of time online are likely to neglect their studies. In many cases, students who performed well in school before developing an Internet addiction allowed their grades to crash, only then realizing the impact of Internet dependency. Counselors across the US have identified the problems of excessive Internet use, including: lack of sleep and excess fatigue, declining grades, less investment in relationships with a boyfriend or girlfriend, withdrawal from all campus social activities and events, general apathy, edginess, or irritability when off-line, and rationalizing that what they learn on the Internet is superior to their classes. Students may not realize the problem until serious trouble happens: "They flunk out of college. Their real-life girlfriend breaks up with them because all they ever want to do is play on the Net. Their parents explode when they find out their huge investment in their child’s college education is going to support all-night Internet sessions." By then, it may be too late to recover the damage.

6. The Internet is everywhere

   Ninety-eight percent of students own a digital device. This prevalence throws gasoline on a spark: students who are already susceptible to Internet addiction have access online in computer labs, their dorm, and other places around campus, and on top of that, they have the Internet in their pocket at all times. Knowing this, it’s not surprising to find out that 38% of students say they can’t go more than 10 minutes without using a digital device, contributing to an ever-present existence of the Internet on campus.

7. Internet use can physically change your brain

   In a study of Chinese college students who were online for 10 hours a day, six days a week, morphological changes in the structure of their brains were noted. Scientists found reductions in the size of the "dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area and parts of the cerebellum as high as 10-20%." Although at the same time, there was an increase in the "density of the right parahippocampal gyrus and a spot called the left posterior limb of the internal capsule." These changes happen to the detriment of short term memory and decision-making abilities.

8. Many students need intervention and treatment for their addiction, and it can lead to depression

   We might joke about "Crackberries," but for some, the Internet is truly a significant concern. A study published in BMC Medicine indicated that 4% of the students who participated in their survey met the criteria for having a problem with online addiction. But perhaps the more disturbing fact from this study is that there is a "significant association between pathological Internet use and depression in college students," putting a population that is already at risk for mental instability in a precarious position.

9. Cyberbullies go to college, too

   Although most of the news on cyberbullying focuses on adolescents, the fact is that cyberbullies exist on the college campus as well. It’s not surprising, considering how much time students spend online, and how much impact a college student’s online presence can have. In fact, a University of New Hampshire study reported that one in 10 students was abused online. College students have been the target of sexually violent rants, and one professor at BU had to persuade Facebook to remove his page, which he did not set up himself. Researchers believe that students are especially vulnerable to cyberstalking because "they live in a relatively closed community where class schedules, phones, and e-mails are easy to find." And sites like Rate My Professors may be helpful for students choosing classes, but some comments may be hurtful for faculty members. Thierry Guedj, adjunct professor of psychology at Metropolitan College reports, "It really hurts faculty members badly when they read these things about themselves online. People have become quite depressed about it."

10. Tech conditions can be dangerous to your health

    College Candy’s list of tech conditions that can be dangerous to your health seems to be written as a joke, citing "Blackberry Neck," and "Glazey Dazey Lazy Eye," but these conditions really can be a problem. Using the Internet too much can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, a decline in physical fitness, and as a result, weight gain. Heavy users report carpal tunnel syndrome, eye strain, and headaches. Sleep disturbances can also stem from Internet addiction, as Internet use may lead to later bedtimes and less restful sleep. Additionally, researchers believe that the light from computer screens may affect circadian rhythms, creating a risk factor for insomnia.

netaddiction.com