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> Hey friends,
> If I can, I wanted to open up a discussion about the recent news of “too much” gaming (Halo is included in this of course) being officially classified now as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, especially since I’ve been a part of the Halo community since the good ol’ original Xbox days.
This one is a bit off topic as it doesn’t directly related to Halo or xbox so I’ll be locking the thread.
That being said;
> recent news of “too much” gaming (Halo is included in this of course) being officially classified now as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization.
Describing the gaming disorder laid out by WHO as “too much gaming” is not only inaccurate, it’s a bit of a disservice to all involved. In order for someone’s behavior or mental condition to be classified as a disorder than among other things it has to be rare, cause significant distress to the person, is at odds with what is culturally acceptable, or cause significant impairment in the functioning of a person’s life. People like to read the DSM or the ICD as a checklist, but things are never that simple. A person isn’t a car where you can read the symptoms and immediately say, ‘it’s the fuel pump.’ People are more complicated and more deserving of respect.
The kind of individuals who might be diagnosed with a gaming disorder would be people who want to stop the behavior and can’t and/or those for whom it has a significant negative effect on their employment, familial or social life, health, etc. It isn’t too much gaming, it’s gaming that prevents people from functioning.
> This news strongly shows the complete lack of knowledge about and the complete bias against gaming, gamers and the gaming community. Yes, there a point where gaming can be unhealthy, but that goes for anything in life.
The news doesn’t have anything to do with how things become classified as disorders or possible disorders. With the ICD, that’s done by teams of doctors with the DSM it’s done by teams of psychologists and psychiatrists. News agencies aren’t the best about discussing mental health issues sensitively or accurately as it is, but whatever bias you feel they have against gamers has nothing to do with the classification.
> What about watching TV or films, I can argue that those activities are far more “mind dead” activities. What about social media?How about riding bikes, any sport in existence, skate boarding, running, going to the gym? If those interests/hobbies start to, by World Health Organization’s own definition, “take precedence over life interests and daily activities” are those things now also a disease? Also, what is a “life interest” and why can’t gaming be defined as one?
> This is an absolutely weak definition that makes no sense whatsoever. They need to define and defend their terms. Even if someone gets to a point where they’re at an “unhealthy” point of gaming, (by the way, at what hour and minute mark does it start to turn into a mental health disorder? four hours? Four hours and 1 minute?
This seems to mostly be you misunderstanding the issue at hand. Instead of choosing to post about it on the internet you could have done some research into it and it would have answered most of your questions. I also covered most of this bit earlier, so I don’t feel the need to rehash it.
> Who makes this decision and how are they qualified to do so?) maybe we should start asking ourselves why that is rather than that being called a disease.
Trained professionals that diagnose and treat people for a living often in coordination with various other colleagues. You seem to take issue with this due to your lack of understanding, you feel gaming itself is being treated as a disorder rather than a door being opened to help treat those who no longer function due to excessive gaming.
> Gaming can be a way for some to cope with depression at any stage or level.
**<mark>No.</mark> No, it can’t…**Major depression is an actual mental disorder that is serious, complicated and often requires proper treatment. Video games are a lot of things; they can be fun, they can distract you, they can make you happy when you’re a bit down, they can educate, they can help you blow off steam, but they cannot treat mental disorders. A video game is not a substitute for mental health care or a solid support structure.
> It’s sad to see that there is still this great misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about gaming and it’s community.
Unfortunately you’re adding to that by choosing to rant rather than learn.
> Yes, just like with anything, there is a point where it’s unhealthy. However, when someone is so addicted to something that it ruins their relationships, jobs, etc. (which, I’d bet, is a very low percentage of gamers, no more than any other hobby.) we should look below the hobby itself and look at the real reason behind the addiction so that we can deal with the actual issue, maybe then we could get to the real problem. If someone is playing video games all day and refuses to do their homework, studying, chores, etc. maybe look at why that is before trying to tell them because they enjoy video games as their main hobby they have a mental health disorder.
> If you made it this far, thanks again for reading this. Again, I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this and discuss this with you guys! I’m curious on what others think of the issue.
This is pretty much openly stating the disconnect in your understanding of the issue. Gaming itself isn’t the issue, it when people can no longer function due to their gaming habits; it is no different than other behaviors that have similar classifications like gambling.