Now lemme give you a case:
A man has lost everything after being fired as a succesful manager of a huge bank, reasons unknown. He loses his wife, since she doesn't wanna be with a no-good like him, he loses his child because the wife takes him, the divorce takes most of his remaining money and he is considered a bad omen in the business world because of what happened at the bank. He then starts drinking alcohol to fill the void and becomes an alcoholic.
What made him become an alcoholic? The alcohol or the miserable life?
He is indeed addicted, but blaming the alcohol solely for this problem is not helping him out. If they make him quit alcohol he is no longer a drunkard, but he is still miserable and might therefore tend to other ways of calming down like drugs, gambling, maybe even suicide.
How to help him:
Don't solely make him quit alcohol. Of course moderate the amount he drinks so that it can no longer be considered an addiction and then Help Him Get Back On His Feet. The major problem with blaming the means is that the cause of the addiction is often overlooked and therefore helping them out of their addiction alone doesn't help at all.
1. Do you feel that you need to play online games as a way of dealing with anxiety or depression in your general life?
No.
2. Are you preoccupied with gaming so much that you are distracted from the priorities in your life, such as relationships, school or jobs?
Gaming's a part of my relationships. I can't meet up with my friends everyday IRL due to schedule conflicts, but I can spend a few hours on GW with them chatting and joking as we go finish a mission.
3. Have you lied to your friends or family to conceal your obsessive thinking about gaming?
No. Love the assumption of 'obsessive', by the way.
4. Do you get restless and irritable when you are away from gaming or feel that you are restricted from your next gaming event?
I like my books more than I like gaming. I get irritable when I have nothing to read. I suppose this means I'm addicted to books. The beautiful thing is, my major absolutely justifies it.
5. Have you attempted to stop or cut back your gaming behavior, but failed because of the anxiety, depression or general stress you experience?
No.
6. Do you feel you need to play online games because it gives you the self-esteem and confidence other activities don’t?
I have less confidence in game sometimes than I do normally.
7. Have you lost or damaged a relationship, such as affectionate, sexual or parental connection because of your obsession, lying or distorting your behavior of gaming?
No, it's been good for keeping in touch with RL friends who game and who aren't in Singapore or don't have much time to slack save for maybe a couple hours per day.
8. Have you diminished your goals, such as grades, sports, money, etc. because of your obsession with gaming?
No. (Hey, my essay on gaming got me an A-...)
9. Have you lost or damaged job opportunities because of your obsessive gaming behavior?
N/A?
10. Have you lost or damaged family and community relationships because of your gaming behavior?
...isn't this like, the umpteenth relationship question...
This whole thing reads to me like:
1. Are you obsessed? You are, aren't you? You ARE. Tell me you are.
2. So, are you having bad relationships with someone? Your parents? Oh, no, not your parents? Your aunt? Your sister? Your brother? Your significant other...?
I'm sorry, but Dr. Phil doesn't deserve the title of Doctor... He is a giant failure, only made popular by overweight American women who feel that he can somehow change their lives, when in fact, the only thing that can change their miserable lives is to stop going to McDonald's for dinner, and taking their fat children with them. THAT IS A BIGGER ISSUE!
Dr. Fail can take his quack, pop psychology and shove it where the sun don't shine as far as I am concerned. All of the questions are setup to reflect his views, instead of being impartial and unbias. This guy couldn't make a questionnaire to save his own life, much less make any real judgment on a person.
Though, I feel compelled to answer this:
2. Are you preoccupied with gaming so much that you are distracted from the priorities in your life, such as relationships, school or jobs?
Yepperoo! I lost my job and murdered my girlfriend all in the space of 2 weeks thanks to WoW! Totally changed my life guize! I think I will think about killing myself next week when I take a break from WoW because I can't cope with reality. Pardon me while I go raid...
Truth be told, most people I knew/played with in GW, with the exception of 3 (you know who you are), were overweight (yes, it's a bad thing), had shit jobs, and not much in terms of social lives.
MMOs are designed to be addictive, they're designed to be jobs unto themselves. A game like Wii sports is completely harmless (it's not beneficial, don't even try that "it's exercise!" malarkey), a game like Manhunt2 just overloads you with violence to the point where only 12 year olds and creeps think it's cool, but mmos, the most successful of which are not played casually, can have very serious detrimental effects.
I suggest you look up the NYTimes Magazine (it's a supplement to the Sunday paper, normally their best stories for the week) article on MMOs.
There's a reason for stereotypes, mainly because they're true.
inbefore WELL I AM COMFORTABLE WITH MY BODY AND IF I ENJOY DOING IT IT'S NOT A WASTE OF TIME.
I am in great shape, have an excellent job, and a vibrant social life. Soo... stereotypes are just that, stereotypes. I also don't believe I am the exception to the rule....
Also doesn't change the fact that Dr. Phil is a quack, and shouldn't have a degree (he would make a great plumber though...)
1. Do you feel that you need to play online games as a way of dealing with anxiety or depression in your general life?
Nope. I play when I am either bored or just want to talk with some friends online.
2. Are you preoccupied with gaming so much that you are distracted from the priorities in your life, such as relationships, school or jobs?
Nope. I do good in school and my relationships are awesome.
3. Have you lied to your friends or family to conceal your obsessive thinking about gaming?
Nope, not even once.
4. Do you get restless and irritable when you are away from gaming or feel that you are restricted from your next gaming event?
Sometimes yes.
5. Have you attempted to stop or cut back your gaming behavior, but failed because of the anxiety, depression or general stress you experience?
Nope.
6. Do you feel you need to play online games because it gives you the self-esteem and confidence other activities don’t?
Nope.
7. Have you lost or damaged a relationship, such as affectionate, sexual or parental connection because of your obsession, lying or distorting your behavior of gaming?
Nope.
8. Have you diminished your goals, such as grades, sports, money, etc. because of your obsession with gaming?
I guess but not really.
9. Have you lost or damaged job opportunities because of your obsessive gaming behavior?
Nope. Still in school
10. Have you lost or damaged family and community relationships because of your gaming behavior?
Nope never. I am always willing to hang out with my family and attend family gatherings.
"There's a reason for stereotypes, mainly because they're true."
I would respectfully ask if you might want to rephrase that. its very bad to stereotypes, more so thinking its true. Because Its not, people stereotype because its easy, grouping them together, tear them apart, make them feel inferior.
"One reason people stereotype is that it is too difficult to take in all of the complexities of other people"
People also tend to stereotype because of the need to feel good about oneself. Stereotypes protect one from anxiety and enhance self-esteem. By designating one’s own group as the standard or normal group and assigning others to groups considered inferior or abnormal, it provides one with a sense of worth.
read if you like don't read if you don't like to the wiki thingy
"There's a reason for stereotypes, mainly because they're true."
I would respectfully ask if you might want to rephrase that. its very bad to stereotypes, more so thinking its true. Because Its not, people stereotype because its easy, grouping them together, tear them apart, make them feel inferior.
"One reason people stereotype is that it is too difficult to take in all of the complexities of other people"
People also tend to stereotype because of the need to feel good about oneself. Stereotypes protect one from anxiety and enhance self-esteem. By designating one’s own group as the standard or normal group and assigning others to groups considered inferior or abnormal, it provides one with a sense of worth.
read if you like don't read if you don't like to the wiki thingy