Thursday, January 12, 2006
ONLINEAHOLICS
It’s official; at least in America. There is such a thing as onlineaholics or Internet addiction disorder as coined by psychotherapists who specialize on its treatment.
Mental health specialists estimate that 6 percent to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million Internet users in America have a dependency that can be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction. Therapists and rehabilitation centers treat Web addicts with the same methodical approaches, including 12-step programs which are used to treat chemical addictions.
According to a New York Times article, Hooked on the Web: Help is on the Way, “There is at least one inpatient program, at Proctor Hospital in Peoria, Ill., which admits patients to recover from obsessive computer use. Experts there said they see similar signs of withdrawal in those patients as in alcoholics or drug addicts, including profuse sweating, severe anxiety and paranoid symptoms.”
The report also mentions the prevalence of other technologies that contribute to behavioral addictions such as the BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices, sometimes called CrackBerries because they are considered so addictive; the Treo cellphone-organizer; and cellphone text messaging.
The hospital's treatment program places all its clients together for group therapy and other recovery work, whether the addiction is to cocaine or the computer, the report claims.
Labels: Internet matters
posted by Señor Enrique at 6:49 AM
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