<p>What is a NOLS program? This sounds like something S1 would love.</p>
<p>"If nothing you do can get him to stop, then I suppose you could try medication "</p>
<p>Awwww c’mon… you think there’s a medicine for this???</p>
<p>BTW, this comes up regularly in my practice, with the irritable and aggressive behavior being my “benchmark” for “clinically significant”. It comes up in my home as well. I like to believe setting limits & expectations early (ie. before getting online services, allowing internet access, xbox live; our families nemesis), and sticking to it helps-it is so much easier to let it go. I believe keeping TV’s, videogames, and computers out of bedrooms help, and I always try to support face to face socializing when opportunities present themselves. For my son, this would be preferable but he has limited access to transportation. This of course, is about prevention, which is always easier than treatment, sorry to say.</p>
<p>Good luck, ctmom. </p>
<p>One strategy in the conversation that you might stress is what this situation is doing to you. In his obsession with the WOW community, he may not care that his grades have slipped, he’s not getting enough sleep, he’s not socializing as he used to. He’ll feel that it’s his choice to spend his “free” time on the game, making most of his time “free” time by minimizing how much time is needed for homework or sleep or other inconsequential (to him) things. But stress to him that the situation has GOT to change because it’s making you ill, creating stress and anguish that damages your health and makes you less “there” for your other kids. His behavior on this game has to change for your sake and the sake of the whole family not just because it’s for his own good. The problem is bigger than him and maybe seeing that will help him give it up. </p>
<p>I’ve also come to agree with an earlier poster that perhaps the whole family needs to pull together and just “go dark” on the internet for a few months. Pare the need to use the internet down to what is crucial and then schedule trips to the library (free use) or short trips to a place like Kinkos (I think a half hour is about $5) to do school research or check email. It could be a cheaper solution that having to send S to a residential program to break the habit.</p>
<p>ctmom - best of luck with this…you seem to have a good plan and good understanding of the situation. Just think how many parents there are in this world who would just shrug their shoulders and detach. Your son is lucky you aren’t one of these parents…and some day he will appreciate what you are doing to help him now.</p>
<p>ctmom- Good luck and stay strong. My son also was living in his room and was becoming more aggressive. He is a great kid, so I told him I did not like the person he was becoming…but nothing helped until we terminated the account. It definitely is an addiction, and I wish you strength for what surely will be a battle…</p>
<p>Awwww c’mon… you think there’s a medicine for this???</p>
<p>there are medications for obsessive compulsive behavior
& there are treatments for destructive behavior & I think an addiction that interferes with someones formerly healthy choices- could be considered destructive.
[Computer</a> Addiction Services](<a href=“http://www.computeraddiction.com/]Computer”>http://www.computeraddiction.com/)
[Detox</a> For Video Game Addiction?, Experts Say Gaming Can Be A Compulsion As Strong As Gambling - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/03/health/webmd/main1773956.shtml]Detox”>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/03/health/webmd/main1773956.shtml)</p>
<p>I think there are many types of compulsive behaviors that some might say are spectrum disorders, but if you look at acutal clinical repsonse to medications for these behaviors ( please post if you find one) I think you might find looking for a pill solution may be a distraction from what really needs to happen. As you might be able to tell I absolutely believe this is a clinically significant problem, but your links seem to agree with me that the treatment is behavioral ( or cognitivep behavioral), and not “psychopharmacological”. This is quite important with obsessive compulsive disorder as well. Don’t get me wrong; I beleive in psychotropics and I prescribe them all day long. I just hate to see them overshadow the harder work. This is the problem I have with the subspecialty of “psychopharmacology”.</p>
<p>Ironically, I am sneaking back to cc while I am supposed to be completing my continuing medical education on addiciton!</p>
<p>My son spent more time on games than I liked, but he always got his work done, did amazing ECs etc, so I let it rest. The OP’s son is on a different level and good advice has been given here. I would add that if there’s a group like Al-Anon for families of gamers, that might help you. In fact, just Al-Anon might help. Get help for yourself so you can deal with this. We are with you, but people who specialize in addiction treatment can help on a different level.</p>
<p>Thinking of you, ctmom. And hoping for some positive movement. You are a courageous and good parent.</p>
<p>while I would agree that if the addiction can be managed with external controls and behavior modification, SSRIs have been found to be effective with compulsive behaviors like shopping, gambling & bulimia
[Antidepressant</a> Helps Alleviate Compulsive Shopping Disorder, Stanford Researchers Find](<a href=“http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/07/030717090529.htm]Antidepressant”>Antidepressant Helps Alleviate Compulsive Shopping Disorder, Stanford Researchers Find | ScienceDaily)</p>
<p>sometimes it does take medication to allow the patient to learn new behaviors</p>
<p>I also found it interesting that the estimation was the 40% of those who play WOW are addicted.
I guess that explains all those daily customers at the corner internet coffee shop.</p>
<p>Thank you for that link and since that study is four years old I can see if there was any long term follow-up and the size of the inpact on outcome. I am very interested in how I can help kids and their families and will be surprised and dissapointed if this information proves clinically useful and is not being shared among my collegues. I hope the OP finds it helpful as well. Again, I am not against psychotropics, and am not here to take away from any successful treatment responses. I try to remind myself that this is not the place for that. On the other hand, hose of us in practice often find it useful to note the following;</p>
<p>“The study was supported by a grant from Forest Laboratories, Inc, which manufactures citalopram.”</p>
<p>[Obsessive</a> Compulsive Disorder at JHU](<a href=“http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ocd/treatment.html]Obsessive”>http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ocd/treatment.html)</p>
<p>that might be interesting too
I agree that medication has its own problems, I noticed that I developed some OCD symptoms for about 3 months after I went off of Paxil for example
[ClinicalTrials.gov</a> - Information on Clinical Trials and Human Research Studies](<a href=“ClinicalTrials.gov”>ClinicalTrials.gov)
am I reading that right? is there a concern that SSRIs are causing OCD in kids?</p>
<p>I think they can cause depression in kids. Weren’t there some suicides attibuted to the use of antidepressants, or am I thinking of something else?</p>
<p>Thank you for the information, Shrinkrap. I think you quoted the most important line in the report.</p>
<p>Yes, but studies have shown the increase of suicide after the information about suicide risks was published, and prescriptions for teens decreased. There is no clear answer, except that anyone on antidepressants needs to be monitored closely.</p>
<p>I haven’t heard the OCD thing before.</p>
<p>I certainly don’t mean to be focusing the advice on this thread to use of medication; on the contrary. Yes, SSRI’s reduce the intensity of the need to act on obsessions, but look at the data on effect size ( how big a difference compared to placebo, which in itself is pretty effective) of cognitive behavioral therapy on reducing compulsive behavior. I haven’t looked at the link on the SSRI’s causing increased symptoms, but overall, treatment of problems this complexity require treatment on many fronts.</p>
<p>and just for the record, video game addiction, shopping, gambling, are only theoreticcaly linked to ocd; this thread was about video game addiction and the treatments studied have been behavioral.</p>
<p>If you think your child could become physical with you and he has changed as much as you say he has in just 4 months, then you do need to change therapists. If you cannot cut the internet off, or control how much time he spends on there, it may be time for drastic measures. The most drastic measure I can think of would be in or out patient admission to a program, but be prepared for anger with a capital A. I wish you all the best. Being a parent is not for sissies.</p>
<p>As a gamer myself, you should talk to him and get him to “snap” back into reality. That’s all it takes really. Uninstalling the game does nothing, the account information is saved in internet servers.</p>
<p>Three intersting “hits”; you might want to look at the ten page document from the AMA, and the comments on the “Shacknews” site.</p>
<p>[Video</a> Game Addiction: A Medical Disorder?, American Medical Association Seeks To Have Obsessive Game Playing Declared A Psychiatric Disorder - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/21/health/main2965003.shtml]Video”>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/21/health/main2965003.shtml)</p>
<p>[AMA</a> Backs Down From Video Game Addiction - Shacknews - PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and downloads](<a href=“http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/47603]AMA”>AMA Backs Down From Video Game Addiction | Shacknews)</p>
<p>[AMA</a> to Vote on Formal Classification of Video Game Addiction - Shacknews - PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and downloads](<a href=“AMA to Vote on Formal Classification of Video Game Addiction | Shacknews”>AMA to Vote on Formal Classification of Video Game Addiction | Shacknews)</p>
<p>My mom didn’t put any restrictions whatsoever on video games when I was 12. I never played video games, I don’t play video games, and I’m not about to start, ever. I never saw the need to. However, my friends, whose parents placed limits on video games when they were younger, they still play video games, albeit not to the degree that’s talked about here. On the other hand, there’s a person I know that my mom knows who flunked out of college because of video games. He also happened to have very strict parents. My parents were quite liberal about it…my mom had me taking computer classes when I was 10 or something, and told a tech-savvy person she knew to PUT THE GAMES ON THE COMPUTER. She felt that it was necessary to know a little about these things to socialize. But I never touched them, not out of restraint, but because they never struck me as interesting.</p>
<p>Although, the thing that he needs might be to hit rock bottom. Most kids will STOP whatever destructive behavior before they hit rock bottom; some kids will continue destructive behavior even AFTER they hit rock bottom, but some just need to hit bottom to snap into reality. Some kids go nowhere near rock bottom (like me). :)</p>
<p>I truly appreciate the immense outpouring of responses and private messages, I know everyone here is well meaning and truly my heart swells with gratitude knowing i have such support. The idea of medicating him to me at this point is out of the question, that would be the last resort possible. Sending him away to a outpatient facility is also out of the question, I would disconnect my internet for good way before I would consider any of the above. I will not give up, I want my son back, the way he was, and deep down I know he too wants to be that person again. I am determined to get to the bottom of this and uproot this evil in his life at any cost. Today was a crazy day as we ran around all day to get ready for a family wedding, we are just back a little while ago, I told him tomorrow there are going to be some major changes in place and that i will go over everything with him tomorrow after school. I am prepared to disconnect internet and cancel the account first thing. I know this is the cold turkey approach and some do not agree, but I have to do whats in my heart, and something tells me to first try to come up with an agreement of sorts and if that does not work then its goodbye to the internet for good. It will be a huge inconvenience for myself and siblings but we all want him to get out of this, so we will do what it takes. Thank you again so very much and I will certainly keep you all posted. Good night…</p>