Wednesday, November 26, 2008

 

Are You Nuts?! China Will Classify Game Addiction As Mental Illness

China's first Diagnostic Criterion of Internet Addiction has recently passed the expert appraisal stage and in the criterion, game addiction is formally defined as the diagnostic area of mental illness.

According to Tao Ran, director general of the Addiction Department of the Military General Hospital of the Beijing People's Liberation Army, China started to pay attention to the research and prevention of addiction in 1994. Apart from Internet addiction, other addictive situations like gambling addiction, work addiction, shopping addiction, eating addiction, sex addiction, smoking, and alcohol addiction all belong to the range of addiction illnesses. Of those, the number of people who suffer the Internet addiction is the largest. According to the statistics of Beijing Public Security Bureau, about 76% of juvenile criminals are addicted to the Internet.

Tao says the framing of the Diagnostic Criterion of Internet Addiction not only adds a new disease to clinical medicine, but also makes clear that the Internet-addicted should be treated in medical units with psychiatric departments, so as to provide the patients with scientific and effective treatments.

"Internet addiction is treatable. Through about three months' treatment, 80% patients can get away from the addiction," Tao told local media.

The Diagnostic Criterion of Internet Addiction is reportedly framed under the leadership of the Military General Hospital and will be handed in to the Ministry of Health of China for approval. After being approved, the criterion will be adopted in major hospitals across the country. By then, China will become the first country to launch the Diagnostic Criterion of Internet Addiction in the world.


# posted by infomegamedia @ 11/26/2008 0 comments links to this post

Monday, November 24, 2008

 

CHESS grant to focus on reducing addiction relapse

A central characteristic of alcoholism and other addictive behaviors is their chronically relapsing nature. Relapse reduces people's quality of life, puts great strains on family relationships and great burden on society through crime, health care costs and reduced productivity. A five-year, $2.8 million grant awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS) by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism will study ways to reduce relapse through the latest in communication technology.

Principal investigator David H. Gustafson, professor of industrial engineering at UW-Madison, directs the project, titled "Developing and Testing a Computer-based Alcohol Use Disorder Recovery System." This randomized clinical trial will develop and test a mobile phone-based relapse-prevention system that offers support to alcohol dependent people when and wherever it is needed.

The system to be tested is named Addiction CHESS (ACHESS) and is based upon the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS). ACHESS will be delivered through a smart phone rather than a personal computer and will focus on helping patients leaving residential treatment for alcohol dependence.

"Our primary hypothesis is that ACHESS will improve competence, relatedness and autonomy, which will reduce the days of risky drinking over a 12-month period," says Gustafson.

Cost, geographic distance, lack of peer support and time constraints can reduce participation in aftercare programs that focus on relapse prevention. The ACHESS project is built on the premise computer-based support systems can reduce these barriers by providing consistent, 24-hour access to information and support.

ACHESS smart phones will offer more widespread access than a personal computer, offer optional audio delivery to improve access for those who have literacy challenges and will be enhanced with services tailored to relapse prevention. Study participants will have access to peer support groups and addiction experts and will receive reminders and individualized information to encourage adherence to therapeutic goals. They will also have access to one-touch communication with a care manager.

Two hundred eighty alcohol dependent patients will be recruited from two treatment agencies: CAB Health and Recovery Services in Boston and Fayette Cos. in Peoria, Ill. Patients randomly assigned to ACHESS will learn to use it during the two weeks before discharge from residential care.

"Communication technology shows great promise for addressing the aftercare needs of patients who have been treated for alcohol dependence," says Gustafson. "ACHESS also shows great potential for maximizing treatment dollars in a time when budgets for behavioral health care services are in jeopardy."

The Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies is a growing and dynamic mission-driven organization directed by Gustafson. Focused on improving health and quality of life through organizational and individual change projects and research, the center consists of two primary initiatives: CHESS is focused on helping individuals with chronic or life-threatening illnesses improve their quality of life through Web-based support or other kinds of technology; and the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) is dedicated to improving the quality of addiction and mental health services.


# posted by infomegamedia @ 11/24/2008 0 comments links to this post

Saturday, November 22, 2008

 

NIDA's Frontiers in Addiction Research

Meeting Explores Willpower, New Technologies in Imaging, and Brain Development
What: The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, will convene a one-day mini-convention at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. NIDA scientists will present recent findings and discuss future directions in neuroscience. Concepts to be discussed include: how the environment can alter gene function (epigenetics) in addiction and brain development; what determines free will or �free won�t�; and how ground-breaking imaging technologies can reveal gene activation in the living brain, and/or control neurons and behavior.
Why: To bring together scientists to explore the latest research on addiction neuroscience.
When: Friday, November 14, 2008
8:00 a.m. � 6:10 p.m.
Where: Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Renaissance Washington DC Hotel
Grand Ballroom North and Central
999 Ninth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
More Information: For more information on the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, please visit www.sfn.org/press2008. To arrange an interview with NIDA staff, please contact NIDA press officers Dorie Hightower or Stephanie Older at 301-443-6245 or e-mail your request to media@nida.nih.gov.

Event Highlights:

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at www.drugabuse.gov. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA’s new DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or fax or email requests to 240-645-0227 or drugpubs@nida.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

# posted by infomegamedia @ 11/22/2008 0 comments links to this post

Friday, November 21, 2008

 

Avoid addiction through moderation, says Lara Croft game guru

Parents must enforce moderation to keep children from getting addicted to video games, the developer of one of the hottest games to hit the market said Friday.

Vance Wallace, lead designer of Tomb Raider: Underworld, which is set for release later this month ahead of the holidays, admitted gaming could become an obsession for some kids.

"I'm not a politician, a judge or even a parent, but I would say that just like with anything else, moderation is really important whether you're talking about video games or anything in your life – movies, TV," he said.

"You can go overboard with it, but it needs to be taken in moderation."

His comments come just days after the body of gamer Brandon Crisp was discovered in a wooded area near his Barrie, Ont., home.

The 15-year-old ran away on Thanksgiving after his parents took away his Xbox, fearing he would become addicted to the game Call for Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Police don't suspect foul play.

Video games often used as scapegoat: game designer

The tragic tale has again raised questions about problem gaming and the appropriateness of certain video games for youth.

Still, Wallace cautions against blaming video games themselves, and suggests they're often the scapegoat when things go wrong.

"I think that video games are the new Jazz music or TV," he said during a stop in Montreal for Festival Arcadia, dubbed Canada's premier gaming event.

"Whenever there's something that's understood by one generation and not understood by another, it becomes a scapegoat for people and they just say, 'Oh that's obviously the problem."'

Festival Arcadia organizer François Decarie suggested many parents were caught by surprise by the video game phenomenon and have to get more involved.

"I think in general, there's an increased awareness that has to be done on the part of parents who aren't yet used to the new media," he said.

"Movies are rated. So are video games, and I think we need to make parents aware of the ratings so that they know a certain type of game is not for a 12- or a 14-year-old."

Mathieu Pigeon of CyberCap said video games can have a positive impact on youth.

In fact, his Montreal-based organization is using multimedia to help motivate at-risk youth. A program called TransiTion is targeting teens at risk of dropping out of high school, he said.

As part of the program, students are teamed up to produce short videos and daily electronic journals.

"A part of this particular project is to help them learn the basics of multimedia production and by doing that, we're trying to motivate them to stay in school through the realization of team projects," he said.

"It gives kids one more motivation to get up and go to school in the morning."

About 500 high school students have participated in the project since it started in 2003.

Teachers have told him they've seen a difference in attitude among many of the participants.

Pigeon said video games can open a young person's minds to the digital world.

"There is a good side, but some boundaries, some limits are needed," he said.


# posted by infomegamedia @ 11/21/2008 0 comments links to this post

Thursday, November 20, 2008

 

The Sugar Addiction Test


Over the past couple of weeks I have made acquaintance with a Naturopathic Doctor named Scott Olson. Dr. Olson and I share similar passions to get the truth out about certain facts. Dr. Olson has done extensive studies on sugar. He has graciously allowed me to print a story he wrote on Sugar Addictions.

Believe me, he is right on the money. I had this problem about 12 years ago and was able to defeat it. People can be just as addicted to sugar as cigarettes or drugs. I invite you to read, enjoy and learn from this very informative article. My thanks to Dr. Olson go out for allowing me to print it on my blog. The rest is Dr. Olson's story.
__________________________________________________
When I ask a room full of people to raise their hands if the think they are addicted to sugar or not, usually 90 percent of the hands in the room go up. But just what does that mean? While most people agree that they are addicted to sugar, they don’t take sugar addiction too seriously. Sugar addiction, it turns out is every bit as serious as addictions to drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

The following is a test I developed for sugar addiction, give it a try:

· Do you use sugar as a reward? If you give yourself a sugary treat after you have completed a task, or if you give your child a sweet reward, then you have to answer yes to this question.

· Do you use sugar to change your mood? If you feel sad, or tired, or just need a lift, do you reach for sugar?

· Do you eat sugar even when you aren’t hungry? Many people will finish a large meal and feel full and yet still reach for something sweet. Think about the times you have been at a restaurant and ate until you were stuffed and yet still had a dessert.

· Have you ever tried to stop sugar but couldn’t? Maybe you tried a diet like Atkins or South beach, but just couldn’t stick to it. If you felt endlessly drawn by sugar, and foods that act like sugar, then you have to say yes to this question.

· Have you ever taken a small bite of something sweet and had to finish the rest? It goes like this: you pick up the container of ice cream, or chips, or bag of cookies or whatever sweet thing you like. You think you are just going to have a few, but then you end up eating the whole thing.

· After you have stopped sugar, do you binge when you start eating it again? Once again, think back to that time you were on a diet that has no sugars or carbohydrates. The first time you put something sweet back in your diet, did that start you on a binge, eating everything in site?

Scoring this test is not so hard: If you answered yes to one or two of these questions, then you probably have a sugar problem. If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, then you are guaranteed to have a sugar addiction problem. Don’t worry, though, you are not alone.
Addictions are all eerily similar. Replace the word “sugar” above with the word “cigarettes” or “alcohol” or “drugs” and you will find most addicts would agree that these symptoms are identical for their addiction.

The signs of addiction are typically:
· Using the addiction for a reward.
· Using a substance to change a mood.
· Feeling compelled to consume the addiction even though you don’t need it.
· Binging, especially when the addicted substance is removed for a while.

Sugar has all characteristics of an addiction and the scientific community is just beginning to realize that this is true, but they are far from agreeing that sugar addiction is real. But don’t you dismiss sugar addiction as just something we all do. Sugar addiction ultimately means harm to your body: Sugar consumption is associated with increased weight and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and potentially many other diseases.

Getting off your sugar addiction can be hard, but you need to find a way to break free from sugar in all its sneaky forms and move toward a more healthy life.

Dr. Scott Olson is a Naturopathic doctor, expert in alternative medicine, author and medical researcher. Spurred on by his patients’ struggles with sugar addiction, he was determined to discover just how addictive and harmful sugar can be and ways to overcome that addiction. The result of that study is his book Sugarettes, which describes the addictive qualities of sugar and the harm that sugar does to our bodies.

Dr. Scott also maintains a blog (http://www.olsonnd.com/) which highlights the latest in health and healthy living.
Thank you Dr. Olson
Tom Thorne
www.FeelingOutstanding.com

# posted by infomegamedia @ 11/20/2008 0 comments links to this post

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

 

Ally of addicts in recovery

By Patricia Trebe

As medical director of Rush Behavioral Health, an addiction-recovery program for professionals, Dr. Paul Feldman never gave up on patients, often to the exasperation of his colleagues.

"That was the passion and devotion he had," said Dr. Dan Angres, founder and director of the program, now Resurrection Behavioral Health in Downers Grove. "It was much more than a job to Paul when he was with us. He was intensely committed to helping others. . . . He didn't judge and he didn't give up on folks. He was available."

At the residential program that caters to those in the medical field, Dr. Feldman was responsible for the medical and psychological care of the patients and led the team of professionals who ran the program, Angres said.

"He was an incredibly passionate man and very empathetic as well. He understood the recovery process for addiction. . . . The patients loved him, as did the staff. To this day there are hundreds and hundreds of patients who feel they owe their lives to him," Angres said.

Dr. Feldman, 56, of Clarendon Hills died of complications related to a metabolic disorder Saturday, Nov. 1, in Adventist Hinsdale Hospital.

"He was very passionate about what he did because he cared so much," said Marilee, his wife of 24 years. "He was the guy there that never gave up on a patient. He was the guy who would bend over backward when others were starting to give up."

Before the treatment field employed integrated medicine, Dr. Feldman applied his medical degree to "mind, body, spirit healing," said Peg Tilford, former team member at Rush Behavioral.

Tilford recalled one patient who was particularly difficult to help. Dr. Feldman told Tilford they needed to act like patients' parents.

" 'I love them like a father and you love them like the mother, and we are the parents they never had and we believe in them and we love them into recovery.' And that person is now 11 years sober," Tilford said.

"He was very good at just sitting still and watching somebody spin until they exhausted themselves, and he had a way of really letting them know he was there and he wouldn't leave in that kind loving father way. . . . He was able to heal people's souls," she added.

Dr. Feldman was born in Chicago. His father also was a doctor. After he graduated from high school, Dr. Feldman attended Southern Illinois University, where he received a bachelor's degree in theater and worked on his master's in that field.

"But he realized he wasn't going to make it as an actor and decided, instead, to go to medical school," his wife said.

Dr. Feldman completed his medical studies at the school and continued at Rush Medical College, where he received his medical degree in 1987. He finished his residency at the Rush-Christ Family Practice program in Oak Lawn in 1990 and became a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Feldman immediately went into the recovery field and started at Parkside Recovery Program in Woodridge.

He was named one of the Chicago area's top doctors by Chicago Magazine in 1997.

"His personality was quiet and soft-spoken, kind and gentle. He could say things people needed to hear in ways that they wouldn't hear from anyone else. He was so kind in the way he spoke to them, and that's how they started on the road to recovery," his wife said.

He stopped working in 2002 because of his illness.

Other survivors include a son, Aaron; a daughter, Callie; his father and stepmother, Edwin Feldman and Marietta Kuchuris; and a brother, Michael.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church, 4 S 535 Old Naperville Rd., Naperville.

# posted by infomegamedia @ 11/19/2008 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

 

The toll of addiction

BY AMY DRISCOLL

In his memoir about his son's decade-long addiction to methamphetamines, David Sheff reveals the bone-crunching pain of loving an addicted child. Even the everyday sound of a ringing phone triggered anxiety for the whole family: Was his son OK? Arrested? Dead?

Sheff, who appears at Miami Book Fair International on Monday, took his private agony and made it public in Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction (Houghton Mifflin, $24). The author of books and articles -- including the 2005 New York Times Magazine piece that gave rise to his memoir -- Sheff charted in anguished detail the mistakes he made, the pitfalls he didn't anticipate and the factors, genetic in part, over which he concludes he had no control.

Sheff's book tour has tended toward the emotional.

''I'm always struck by the people who come,'' Sheff says from his home in California. ``They feel they have to be there. Instead of a reading or a regular book event, it feels like a counseling session in a rehab. They are there, pouring out their hearts and souls with heart-breaking stories.''

At a recent reading, he says, a couple told the audience they had just lost their child two weeks earlier to a drug overdose.

''They were so raw and open. . . . People in the audience were comforting this couple. Afterward, they were all going out for coffee or dinner,'' he says. ``Even though it's very painful, it's also kind of wonderful to have such dialogue, helping to connect people who need to know they're not alone.''

Sheff has written for Wired, Fortune and Rolling Stone, but he says nothing has come close to the reactions he's gotten from the audience for this book.

METH'S HOLD

Part of the phenomenon has to do with the type of addiction -- crystal meth sends addicts and their families on a more horrific merry-go-round of relapses than most other drugs. Also, Sheff's son, Nic, now 26, wrote his own book, Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines, that describes the toll of addiction from his point of view.

Father and son do some book events together, a scenario with its own set of emotional challenges, Sheff says.

''For me, there's a reminder every time of how lucky we are -- for him, to be alive, and for me to be able to look across the room and see him sitting there,'' Sheff says.

Both books almost weren't finished. Sheff, now 52, had a brain hemorrhage while writing and had to relearn how to put sentences together. His son had a relapse five months ago but caught himself quickly and checked into a rehab.

''At one point it looked pretty unlikely we'd reach this point at all,'' Sheff says. ``One thing I have learned along the way is that recovery is about progress, not necessarily about perfection.''

PAIN IS PRESENT

Sheff says the brain hemorrhage also taught him a new perspective on addiction: pain is part of life, even the pain of a loved one's addiction.

''There are things that you don't think you can live with, but you do. And I had to learn that my son's addiction couldn't become my own obsession,'' he says.

Those who have read his book ply him with questions, he says. Some he can answer. Some he can't.

''My qualification is as a parent,'' he says. ``I'm not a counselor. But I tell people that Al-Anon and counseling helped. There's such enormous relief in not keeping the secret any more.''

Sheff, who tried meth in college, says he still blames himself for some of his son's problems.

''Hopefully, some people can avoid some of the mistakes I made. It took me way too long to realize Nic was in danger for his life,'' Sheff says. ``There's enormous denial, but if I can help break through to people and help them realize the signs of a child or loved one in trouble, that's huge.''

These days, he says, he feels optimistic. He has a close relationship to his son, something he and the whole family -- he has two other children from his second marriage -- are grateful for every day.

Peace, though, remains elusive.

``I'm on guard in a way I never was before because I understand the pernicious nature of addiction. I think I have reached some peace, but it's not a naive peace.''


# posted by infomegamedia @ 11/18/2008 0 comments links to this post

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?