There is an opinion that usually comes up when people talk about addiction to television and computer games, namely that it is the games' fault. That the games themselves are so infernally designed that they create addiction and destroy people's lives.
Peter Jonsson, almost 50 years old, has a different opinion.
I never realized I had these problems until I was an adult.
Played all night long
The problem in this context was depression. A great interest in gaming at an early age developed into something else.
I ran away from reality. I stayed up all night. I ran away from the failures you experience when you don't function, you don't keep your house clean, you don't pay your mortgage, you don't take out the trash, you don't wash the dishes properly.
The games are not the triggering factor. For me they became the facilitating function that kept me in a depressive behavior.
Madeleine Tügel, chairwoman of the Swedish Association of Gambling Addiction, recognizes the components.
It is often an escape from other mental illnesses.
According to the Public Health Agency, three percent of Swedes engage in risky gambling. This refers to gambling, i.e. gambling for money.
Tügel says that the line between gambling and computer games, and addiction problems in either category, has become a gray area, especially among boys, usually young boys.
“It's not free”
She sees a changing global gaming market as part of the explanation. Gone are the games of the 1990s with a beginning and an end. Instead, games are now, like Netflix or Spotify, ever-present subscription services.
You have mobile games that are free but with microtransactions that make them not free. It's not free, you become the customer.
You buy yourself advantages. It's not just like gambling, it's gambling.
Peter Jonsson agrees that the gaming world in general has undergone a change.
With today's gaming culture, yes, you're at risk, because most games are built to always be present, to always be consumed. My problems are being sold to more people today.
He himself didn't need the "new" form of gaming to get hooked.
"I was an early adopter. I've always played games without end. I've always been the eternal consumer who couldn't let go of anything until 100 percent of everything was done," he says.
In games, often mobile games that are constantly updated, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with everything. There are always new levels, new weapons, new characters, and new rewards.
Feedback directly
The reward mechanisms in games don't exist in everyday life. In games you always know if you're doing well or not. You get immediate feedback.
"I have this problem, with procrastination and depression, it becomes a kind of consequence myopia," says Peter Jonsson.
Quitting playing completely has not been an option.
There are people who exercise themselves to death, there are sex addicts, there are so many ways to self-medicate your feelings. It's like comfort eating. The solution is not to stop eating food, but to stop comfort eating bags of chips because you feel bad.
Neither Peter Jonsson nor psychologist Per Bore, who works at the Gaming Project in Region Skåne, say that there is universal advice that works for everyone.
Many of my patients feel unwell, but not always in a way that is immediately visible.
He emphasizes that the problems should be taken seriously, but he prefers to talk about problematic computer gaming rather than addiction.
The picture is complex. Change is often a process that takes time, especially when gambling has served an important function. Often they know what they need to do to feel better, but then it is difficult to achieve it.
Peter Jonsson puts it another way:
"It's about making the impossible possible, and the possible normal - that journey has been long and difficult."
"You only have to gain from owning this behavior yourself instead of being owned by the behavior."
Withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness or irritation when there is no opportunity to play.
Inability to reduce or stop gambling.
Loses interest in other activities.
Lying to others about how much you gamble.
Playing to deal with difficult emotions.
Work or relationships are at risk due to gambling.
Source: Sahlgrenska University Hospital
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified gambling addiction as a disease in 2018.
Addiction is characterized by the person's impaired ability to control their gambling and gambling taking priority over other interests and activities.
Despite the negative consequences of the behavior for the person, they continue and the gambling may escalate.
For a diagnosis to be made, the behavioral pattern must be of such severity that there is significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning and must normally have been evident for at least 12 months.
Source: WHO
