Internet Addiction
My secret is out. People are catching on. The addiction is starting to show. I take my laptop with me to bed. Without a computer close by I don’t feel completely dressed.
I talk to more people electronically than in real space.
But I am not really an internet addict. I only use it for serious purposes. And I could stop anytime. If I wanted to. Really !
Addiction might be a bit strong. I just happen to "like" the Net. But psychiatrists are thinking of classifying it under “ disorders of impulse control ”. Like compulsive gambling or shopping, compulsive eating disorders, or even kleptomania. Netomania has arrived.
There are other electronic addictions. Addiction to Video Lottery Terminals. Television addiction. Computer addiction. Even Star Trek addiction has been described in the psychological literature. (A Romulan plot, , no doubt. )
Netomania crosses the line into a psychiatric disorder when people can’t control their own use of the internet. One example is when they are spending abnormal amounts of time on-line.
Some netaholics will spend up to 100 hours a week surfing, to the exclusion of other activities, their family, and sometimes even their jobs. There is even the Netaholic Diet People lose weight because they don’t want to stop surfing, even to eat. ( A psychiatrist friend of mine lost thirty pounds this way. Yes, psychiatrists are crazy too ! ) "I link therefore I am" is their war cry. Getting them to turn off their modem is like asking them to pull the plug on a loved one.
Netomania is often associated with other psychiatric abnormalities ( in the other people of course – not in me. Trust me.). About half seem to have an anxiety disorder such as “ socialphobia” – a persistent and unreasonable fear of being embarrassed in public. (Actually, I do have this one.)
If you are too shy to go out in public the Net offers an alternative.
Many webaholics are also alcoholics. The Net may even pull them away from the booze, and cyberspace is less harmful than alcohol for most of us.
A fair number of people with internet addiction have suffered from manic depression at some time in their life. Some have experienced uncontrollable bursts of anger. Others may just be bored with their life, their marriage, or their work.
I talk to more people electronically than in real space.
But I am not really an internet addict. I only use it for serious purposes. And I could stop anytime. If I wanted to. Really !
Addiction might be a bit strong. I just happen to "like" the Net. But psychiatrists are thinking of classifying it under “ disorders of impulse control ”. Like compulsive gambling or shopping, compulsive eating disorders, or even kleptomania. Netomania has arrived.
There are other electronic addictions. Addiction to Video Lottery Terminals. Television addiction. Computer addiction. Even Star Trek addiction has been described in the psychological literature. (A Romulan plot, , no doubt. )
Netomania crosses the line into a psychiatric disorder when people can’t control their own use of the internet. One example is when they are spending abnormal amounts of time on-line.
Some netaholics will spend up to 100 hours a week surfing, to the exclusion of other activities, their family, and sometimes even their jobs. There is even the Netaholic Diet People lose weight because they don’t want to stop surfing, even to eat. ( A psychiatrist friend of mine lost thirty pounds this way. Yes, psychiatrists are crazy too ! ) "I link therefore I am" is their war cry. Getting them to turn off their modem is like asking them to pull the plug on a loved one.
Netomania is often associated with other psychiatric abnormalities ( in the other people of course – not in me. Trust me.). About half seem to have an anxiety disorder such as “ socialphobia” – a persistent and unreasonable fear of being embarrassed in public. (Actually, I do have this one.)
If you are too shy to go out in public the Net offers an alternative.
Many webaholics are also alcoholics. The Net may even pull them away from the booze, and cyberspace is less harmful than alcohol for most of us.
A fair number of people with internet addiction have suffered from manic depression at some time in their life. Some have experienced uncontrollable bursts of anger. Others may just be bored with their life, their marriage, or their work.
Treatment of Internet Addiction - the 12 Steps Program
If it is a crazyness, one solution might be Prozac. Or try a little COLA – the Center for Online Addiction.
COLA advertises on-line counseling, self help tests to find out if you are truly addicted, and corporate workshops to help avoid worker internet abuse.
There is also Internet Anonymous.
I.A. has a Twelve Step program – it corresponds to the function keys F1 to F12.
There are those who try to cut down gradually, and there are those who find it easier to go cold-modem.
A suitable psychiatrist might be hard to find – many of them are cyber junkies themselves. They have one of the major criteria for internet addiction themselves – other concurrent psychiatric problems.
Several years ago I organized a course for other physicians to find out how to use the internet to find medical information. ( That is how I get about half the information I quote in these articles. The rest I just make up !)
I invited a psychiatrist friend to come a give a talk about internet addiction. She declined on the basis that she was definitely addicted, but wasn’t interested in being cured.
For an online diagnosis you might try the “Mental Health Home Page”, the creation of Vancouver psychiatrist Dr. Phil Long.
If you find you have anything at all, then your chances of being a netaholic have already increased. Of course being internuts myself I am somewhat familiar with the condition, and would be happy to help if I can.
But don’t come see me at the office – that just makes me nervous. Instead, try my web page, or facebook, or MSN, or Tweet me, or ....
Dr. Patrick Nesbitt @ Maple Ridge
COLA advertises on-line counseling, self help tests to find out if you are truly addicted, and corporate workshops to help avoid worker internet abuse.
There is also Internet Anonymous.
I.A. has a Twelve Step program – it corresponds to the function keys F1 to F12.
There are those who try to cut down gradually, and there are those who find it easier to go cold-modem.
A suitable psychiatrist might be hard to find – many of them are cyber junkies themselves. They have one of the major criteria for internet addiction themselves – other concurrent psychiatric problems.
Several years ago I organized a course for other physicians to find out how to use the internet to find medical information. ( That is how I get about half the information I quote in these articles. The rest I just make up !)
I invited a psychiatrist friend to come a give a talk about internet addiction. She declined on the basis that she was definitely addicted, but wasn’t interested in being cured.
For an online diagnosis you might try the “Mental Health Home Page”, the creation of Vancouver psychiatrist Dr. Phil Long.
If you find you have anything at all, then your chances of being a netaholic have already increased. Of course being internuts myself I am somewhat familiar with the condition, and would be happy to help if I can.
But don’t come see me at the office – that just makes me nervous. Instead, try my web page, or facebook, or MSN, or Tweet me, or ....
Dr. Patrick Nesbitt @ Maple Ridge
12 Step Program for Internet Addiction
The Twelve Keys of Interholics We...
F1: ...admit that we have no life.
F2: ...believe that a Power greater than ourselves can either restore us to sanity or provide us with unlimited, no-cost high speed Internet
F3: ...made a decision to turn our lives over to that Great Webmaster In The Sky ("GWITS").
F4: ...performed a searching moral inventory with the Web search engine of our choice.
F5: ...admitted to GWITS, ourselves and another human being (even if only by eMail) the exact nature of our obsession.
F6: ...were entirely ready to have GWITS remove our shortcomings and remedy our lack of knowledge about the latest IRC chat technology.
F7: ...humbly asked GWITS to allow us to FTP the file updates.
F8: ...made a list of all persons we had neglected, and post it on our personal home page.
F9: ...made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would cut into our scheduled netsurf time.
F10: ...continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, blame it on our outdated software.
F11: ...sought through prayer and meditation to improve our contact with GWITS, by utilizing higher modem speeds and improved bandwidth.
F12: ...had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Keys, tried to carry the message to other Interholics, and ended up making complete pests out of ourselves.
F1: ...admit that we have no life.
F2: ...believe that a Power greater than ourselves can either restore us to sanity or provide us with unlimited, no-cost high speed Internet
F3: ...made a decision to turn our lives over to that Great Webmaster In The Sky ("GWITS").
F4: ...performed a searching moral inventory with the Web search engine of our choice.
F5: ...admitted to GWITS, ourselves and another human being (even if only by eMail) the exact nature of our obsession.
F6: ...were entirely ready to have GWITS remove our shortcomings and remedy our lack of knowledge about the latest IRC chat technology.
F7: ...humbly asked GWITS to allow us to FTP the file updates.
F8: ...made a list of all persons we had neglected, and post it on our personal home page.
F9: ...made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would cut into our scheduled netsurf time.
F10: ...continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, blame it on our outdated software.
F11: ...sought through prayer and meditation to improve our contact with GWITS, by utilizing higher modem speeds and improved bandwidth.
F12: ...had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Keys, tried to carry the message to other Interholics, and ended up making complete pests out of ourselves.
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