The WHO Identifies Gaming Addiction As A Diagnosis

The World Health Organization (WHO) took a step this week and classified "Gaming Disorder" as a formal diagnosis. Many parents have been concerned about this for years. Also it does not just impact teenagers, as many may think. I have had couples come in for marriage counseling because Gaming was destroying a marriage. For several years the American Psychological Association has said it would be adding Gaming addiction as a formal diagnosis to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, however, so far the APA has not been able to decide on the specific criteria for this diagnosis. What the WHO has done is they have acknowledged what many parents have been reporting for years and helping us to take a step so it is acknowledged as a diagnosis.

The United States appears to be behind other countries in identifying that video game addiction does exist and does create problems for individuals and families. During the Winter Olympics this year, NBC showed centers in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea, where people were going for gaming addiction. These rehabilitation centers have been open for years and have treated thousands of people over the years. Therefore, other countries have acknowledged Gaming addiction that United States parents have been reporting for years.

As a psychotherapist who treats teenagers, I would have to agree with the parents and I say Gaming addiction is real. I have seen teenagers become violent, punching holes in walls or physically threatening their parents, if there video games or cellphones are taken away as a punishment. Teenagers I told me they cannot function without their video games or cellphones and will do anything to get them back. This sounds like and look like a problem to me. A cellphone or PlayStation should not be a teenager's life line.

The statement from the WHO states that the Gaming must be interfering with activities of daily life, such as homework, and be present for at least a year. These guidelines seem sensible to me. Also the WHO cautions that issues such as depression and anxiety need to be ruled out before assigning the diagnosis of Gaming Addiction. Many teenagers who are depressed or dealing with severe anxiety do self-medicate with video games. Finally, the WHO states your child needs to be evaluated by a mental health clinician who specializes in treating and assessing children and teenagers. This is very important because typically children and teenagers do not always have the typical symptoms we associate with depression or anxiety. A clinician experienced in assessing children and teenagers can make the appropriate diagnosis.

I have included a link to a segment on Good Morning America which discusses the diagnosis and other issues I have discussed to assist you in understanding what the WHO is referring to with Gaming Addiction, https://youtu.be/axG1tLdutmY.

The World Health Organization has taken an important step in helping us understand and define a problem many parents have been reporting for years. This is not a bad thing. I view it as a positive step. Technology is moving very fast. In fact, it is moving so fast we cannot keep up with all the new issues we need to deal with as a result of new technology. The more we understand this technology the more we all can benefit and avoid potential serious problems.

Dr. Michael Rubino is a psychotherapist with over 20 years experience treating and assessing children and teenagers. For more information about his work visit his website www.RubinoCounseling.com or Facebook page www.Facebook.com/drrubino3.

What's The Best Time Of Day To Drink Coffee?

If you love caffeine, you may think there's never a wrong time for coffee, but a new study says there is a right time to get the most out of your daily cup.

Researchers from the United States Army developed an algorithm that makes personal recommendations for timing your caffeine consumption, so you can drink the least amount of coffee to achieve the maximum level of alertness, LiveScience reported.

The study found that the algorithm helped people improve their alertness by up to 64 percent - without consuming any more caffeine than normal. On the flip side, it found that with the right dosing schedule, people could reduce their caffeine consumption by up to 65 percent and still achieve peak alertness.

The researchers came to this conclusion by feeding their algorithm into a pre-existing computer model predicting how sleep deprivation, schedule, and caffeine impact alertness during different times of the day.

"We developed algorithms that work together, and they essentially allow us to determine, at the individual level, when and how much the individual should take caffeine to achieve peak performance at the desired time, for the desired duration," said study senior author Jaques Reifman, director of the DoD Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command in Fort Detrick, Maryland, according to LiveScience.

The new findings, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, will be used to enhance alertness for army workers.

They'll also be offered online for anyone to use. Reifman's team plans on incorporating the algorithm into an already existing online tool, 2B-Alert. Currently, 2B-Alert predicts alertness based on how much caffine and sleep someone has had. According to LiveScience, researchers hope to add the algorithm to the online tool before the end of the year to help users determine the best time to drink their coffee.

As a real-world example, Reifman told LiveScience that students could use the algorithm to determine the best time to drink coffee so they're "as alert as possible during the exam."

Until the algorithm is widely available, there are other ways to up your alertness - like with exercise. A study from 2011 revealed that people who worked out for 150 minutes a week slept better and were less groggy during the day.

The right snack will also help increase your energy. Here are 8 surprising foods that'll give you a much-needed energy boost.