People who crave for computers first thing in the morning and obsessively check emails in the middle of the night are suffering from "Internet addiction disorder", according to researchers at Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Pinhas Dannon, a psychiatrist from the university's Faculty of Medicine, and his colleagues have now launched a mini-campaign around the world to warn doctors about the dangers associated with excessive Internet use.
The researchers say that Internet addiction can be better diagnosed and treated if it is grouped with other extremely addictive disorders, such as gambling, sex addiction, and kleptomania.
Mental health professional have of late classified Internet addiction as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a mild to severe mental health condition that results in an urge to engage in ritualistic thoughts and behaviour.
"But we are saying that we need to look at Internet addiction differently," reports Dr. Dannon on behalf of his colleagues from Tel Aviv University and the Be'er Ya'acov Mental Health Center.
"Internet addiction is not manifesting itself as an 'urge.' It's more than that. It's a deep 'craving.' And if we don't make the change in the way we classify Internet addiction, we won't be able to treat it in the proper way," he added.
Dr. Dannon warned that teenagers and people in their mid 50s, who are suffering from the loneliness of an "empty nest", are at the greatest risk from Internet addiction disorder.
The symptoms of Internet addiction in both groups are vague and are often difficult to diagnose. Sufferers may experience loss of sleep, anxiety when not online, isolation from family and peer groups, loss of work, and periods of deep depression.
Dr. Dannon said that Internet addiction could be treated effectively only if it was treated like any other extreme and menacing addiction, such as kleptomania and pathological gambling.
He stressed the need for educating mental health practitioners in schools and workplaces about the risks of Internet addiction. He said that the awareness about the condition could be spread through workshops.
According to him, Internet addicts are inevitable and a product of modernization.
"They are just like anyone else who is addicted to coffee, exercise, or talking on their cellular phone. As the times change, so do our addictions," he said.
Dr. Dannon and his colleagues' findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Source: newKerala.com
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