WHO Classifies 'Gaming Disorder' As Mental-Health Condition

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The World Health Organization is adding 'gaming disorder' to its comprehensive list of disease classifications. In the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases, the WHO characterized people with a gaming disorder as showing "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior (‘digital gaming’ or ‘video-gaming’), which may be online or offline."

Symptoms include "a lack of control over gaming; giving gaming precedence over other life interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite negative consequences."

Dr. Vladimir Poznyak, who is a member of WHO's Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, explained to CNN that people who suffer from a gaming disorder show similar signs to people who have substance abuse or gambling addictions.

However, he noted that most gamers, even those who spend most of their free time playing games, do not necessarily have the disorder.

"It cannot be just an episode of few hours or few days," Poznyak said. "Millions of gamers around the world, even when it comes to the intense gaming, would never qualify as people suffering from gaming disorder."

The American Psychiatric Association has not recognized gaming disorder as a mental health problem but has said that it is studying the condition and it needs to see more clinical research before it decides whether or not to classify it as a mental health disorder in its own manual of disease classifications. 

While the number of people with a gaming disorder may be relatively small, a 9-year-old girl in the United Kingdom was recently taken to rehab after her parents said she became addicted to the immensely popular first-person shooter Fortnite.

Photo: Getty Images


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