Essay On Psychological Addiction

“Addiction”. The word itself conjures up images of alcoholics, bums, and overdose deaths. Defined by Psychology Today as “the condition that results when a person engages in an activity that at first is pleasurable, but the continued use of it becomes compulsive and/or harmful.”1 One can be addicted to something physical (e.g. Drugs, Alcohol, etc.), or even an activity (Sex, Gambling, etc.). There are two different types of addictions that can potentially form: psychological, and physiological. In a psychological addiction high levels of dopamine, the “Happiness Chemical” are released whenever the activity is done. Examples of this include nymphomaniacs (people addicted to having sex), and ludomaniacs (people addicted to gambling). Physiological addictions form when a person’s brain becomes literally unable to function without the substance due to a physical change in the brain. Examples of this include cocaine and nicotine. I, personally, was diagnosed with a psychological addiction video games. Even though it’s not officially recognized as a disease in the United States, several other countries have accepted video game addiction as a mental illness, and have set up treatment centers for it. When I started this project, I was dreading spending endless hours on research, however when I actually started researching I found a lot of …show more content…
Almost three percent of people who play video games become addicted. That may not seem like much, however it’s the same percent of people who become addicted to cocaine and alcohol. Video games are bigger than ever before. Several different games are broadcast on ESPN, donning the name “E-Sports” (short for electronic sports) drawing millions of watchers. The streaming website, Twitch.com, is currently the third largest drain on the world’s internet. With all this focus on video games, why are the side effects largely