Britain's first gaming rehab opens

By Ellie Gibson Published 4 November, 2009

New 12-step programme designed.

The UK's first rehabilitation clinic for people addicted to gaming has opened in Weston-super-Mare.

According to the the Telegraph, gaming addiction can lead to "malnutrition, relationship breakdown and postural problems". The rise of online gaming is said to have led to an increase in the number of addictions.

Now Broadway Lodge, a clinic which usually treats people for problems with drink, drugs and gambling, is taking on those who can't put down their controller. Gaming addicts take part in a 12-step programme which involves activities such as group therapy, watching videos, and "therapeutic tasks including vacuuming and washing up".

Bossman Brian Dudley said patients have included a 23 year-old man who was playing games on his PC for up to eight hours per session until his parents intervened.

''We developed a treatment for him which followed the 12-step (abstinence) approach, but you can't tell someone never to use the internet again," Dudley said. ''So we go through all the issues surrounding gaming use and ensure there are triggers through which an addict recognises their usage has become a problem."

Symptoms of gaming addiction, Dudley reckons, include becoming more aggressive, irregular eating and sleeping habits and social exclusion. Research into how many people suffer in this way is ongoing, "'But I would stick my neck out and say between five and ten per cent of parents or partners would say they know of someone addicted to an online game," said Dudley.

Broadway Lodge counsellor Peter Smith said some people can become so absorbed by online games they forget to eat, "And drift towards an anorexic and undernourished state."

He added, "You have a relationship with characters in the game that give you an artificial feeling, created by your body's natural endorphins, when you have killed some monster or solved a problem."

ELSPA boss Michael Rawlinson spoke out in defence of gaming, saying, ''Playing video games is becoming increasingly mainstream in the UK and we firmly believe in the positive impact playing games can have.''

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (40) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #1 2 years ago

    It's run by the Real Hussle team isn't it?

    Sorry but this isn't a 'rehab' at all, theres PROPER rehab centers out there for PROPER serius addictions, this is just trying to jump on the 'WoW factor' side to make money...

    You want to know the real cure for 'gaming addiction'? PERENTAL CONTROLS and the fact consoles/pcs aren't the proble, it's the parents who dump their kids in front of them expecting it to take care of them socially and being the child up themselfs.....

    Same reasoning behind the whole '18 rated' issue - we don't need a nanny curture, we need parents with bloodly commen sence!

  • PlugMonkey #2 2 years ago

    Bossman Brian Dudley said patients have included a 23 year-old man who was playing games on his PC for up to eight hours per session until his parents intervened.

    Pfft. Fucking part-timer.

    The issue there isn't that he's addicted to games, it's that his parents haven't told him to get out and find a fucking job. That's the only thing standing between me and playing games for up to eight hours a session, or indeed anyone else in the world and them persuing whatever their leisure activity is for up to eight hours a session.

  • CosmicFuzz #3 2 years ago

    Not everyone lives with there parents, remember, so parental controls won't work. And it is starting to show it's head, wasn't there a death in China where someone was addicted to WoW?

  • CosmicFuzz #4 2 years ago

    Christ some terrible grammar in my previous post...

  • rodpad #5 2 years ago

    ^
    And adults?

  • Velios #6 2 years ago

    I know people that regularly put in 15 hour days on EVE Online, I know people that have gotten divorced because of the game too, and lost their jobs over it - it's far more common for games (especially MMO's) to fuck people up than is widely reported.
    Edited by 1 at 04/11/09 @ 08:58

  • Vanmunt #7 2 years ago

    Weston Super Mare........... what a shit hole, full of smack heads, Brummies and OAP's.

  • qoobah #8 2 years ago

    So you still expect parents to tell their 23 year old child what to do? I don't know about you, but from where I come from you're pretty much expected to take care of yourself at that age.

    And that's the issue - oftent it's not the little kids who get addicted because contrary to what we'd like to believe, they DO get some parental control. It's the older ones, early and mid 20's that get so hopelessly stuck up due to personal/social issues. MMO gaming is as good at making you forget about your troubles as alcohol, and that's why older gamers are susceptible to it too.
    Edited by 1 at 04/11/09 @ 09:06

  • andywilkie35 #9 2 years ago

    To break the addiction, some of these nerds need to get a job.

  • spidermanalf #10 2 years ago

    @ Vanmunt - And gamer addicts!

  • Bulbatron #11 2 years ago

    Forgetting to eat, eh? This gaming addiction thing sounds good. Beats exercise. :-)

  • FortysixterUK #12 2 years ago

    Gaming addiction?
    Pathetic and weak minded no lifer is more like it.
    ....oh...hang on........

  • M_of_the_sys #13 2 years ago

    Indeed gaming can be a big distraction to your life. If you have the will power to get your priorities straight i.e. Cook dinner, clean the house, do your washing, enjoy social activites and enjoy games when you have the free time - or make free time for the games as long as you do what you need to do, then it's ok. However, I can understand how easy it is to get sucked into a game. Time can fly by and before you know it, a quick game has turned into an all night session and you've not done what needs to be done. I do think this is only something you can learn through experience but I hope the rehab helps people.

    @CosmicFuzz

    Someone did indeed die after playing too much WoW. I think it was because they forgot to eat. God knows how this could happen. It's easy enough to make something quick even if it's not so healthy. At least it keeps you alive. I couldn't concentrate on gaming if I were hungry.
    Judging by the size of some people at the Eurogamer Expo though, this doesn't seem like a widespread problem.

  • Doctor_What #14 2 years ago

    >>According to the the Telegraph, gaming addiction can lead to "malnutrition, relationship breakdown and postural problems".

    Ironically, the same things can also cause gaming addiction too.

  • Tomo #15 2 years ago

    This just in... gaming makes you ANOREXIC, not a FAT LARD ARSE who never does any EXERCISE.

    Are there rehab clinics for people who watch too much tv?

  • Underdoseuk #16 2 years ago

    I wonder how many of these addicts will be sharing gamertags while there watching videos and being forced to clean the place. At least they can be sure they will be on most nights

  • Tonne #17 2 years ago

    Plugmonkey is right, that guy isnt a gamer, he's a lazy bum who needs to get a fucking job.
    8 hours is a short time, when im playing games like Forza 3 or Borderlands. I can play for 10 to 12 hours straight no problem.
    when i was still in school i could play games for 18 hours a day, just wake up have breakfast take a shit and go gaming, pause the game go have lunch and go back gaming same with dinner

  • PlugMonkey #18 2 years ago

    Someone did indeed die after playing too much WoW. I think it was because they forgot to eat. God knows how this could happen.

    No, it was lack of sleep. It takes weeks to starve, and I'm pretty sure you'd notice.

    If you don't sleep for a few days though - easily managed if you're hopped up on caffeine - I don't think a lot of people realise that you start running the risk of just dropping down dead.

  • M_of_the_sys #19 2 years ago

    when i was still in school i could play games for 18 hours a day, just wake up have breakfast take a shit and go gaming, pause the game go have lunch and go back gaming same with dinner

    Is this the social exclusion the article mentions?

    @PlugMonkey

    Thanks for clearing that up. Is it not too much pressure on your heart or something?

  • metalangel #20 2 years ago

    My problem isn't so much the amount of time I game so much as the amount I drink while doing it ;)

  • PlugMonkey #21 2 years ago

    I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, whether it's a heart thing or a brain thing or what. Sleep is generally very badly understood. When we did it at uni (which was admittedly a while ago now and I haven't exactly been keeping up with this stuff), no-one seemed to know precisely why we need to sleep at all.

    It's one of those odd things you just wouldn't think was possible though - like the 'hold your wee for a wii' woman who died from drinking three litres of water. You'd think eventually you'd just pass-out, but you can just shut down altogether. 0_0

  • VicViper #22 2 years ago

    @Plugmonkey

    Its it nessary to process the previous days memory, althought that affect sanity more than actual health. Then again it seems that given enough stupidity humans can really break the limits of the human body and common sense.

  • kongzi #23 2 years ago

    this is a bunch a crap... the real problem with these people is the social issues that make them stay in the house where there's nothing to do but sit around and play games, not the games. But yeah, society is going this way.. all our kids are either ADD or autistic and completely fucked up. So we all need help now where mankind hasn't needed it in over 10.000 years...

  • Ornithophobe #24 2 years ago

    people can become so absorbed by online games they forget to eat, "And drift towards an anorexic and undernourished state."

    That's odd, everyone I've ever known who has played mmos excessively has been in severe danger of being harpooned in a case of mistaken identity.

    Edited by 2 at 04/11/09 @ 11:00

  • Fab4 #25 2 years ago

    The only rehab they need is a quick, sharp slap to the back of the head.

  • Skurmedel #26 2 years ago

    I suspect games are more like alcoholic than narcotics. They don't make you addicted on their own, but combined with the right social problem they become an addiction. It's the same with food and shopping really.
    Edited by 1 at 04/11/09 @ 11:56

  • Grayvern #27 2 years ago

    Even with a job a decent amount of friends, going out drinking, and exercise. I could still fit at least 24 hours gaming in a week. What I dont get is what the 8 hours a day guy did with the rest of his time

    They dont treat people for tv addiction anf yet the average person still watches for 20 hours a week. I could do 20+ hours a week reading fiction, they dont treat reading addiction. I tihnk that they run a seroius risk of misdiagnosing many people who have obsessive disorders.

    Also consider the fact that its in a sea town. Where a lot of the time theyre really is little else to do.

    Kongzi in the past youll find that many of the people you mention as new were imprisoned used as light entertainment or were simply let to die. Just because something has become over classified does not mean that it does not exist.

    Edited by 1 at 04/11/09 @ 11:57

  • RobotRocker #28 2 years ago

    Good old poop sockers.

    Thing is, the mass media loves this as its an "outrageous" aspect that they can run with and make it shocking to the older generations who dont quite understand it. People loosing their lives to videogames ranks up with losing them to drugs or alcohol in some cases. Particuarly with bad WoW addictions.

    At the same time, society is breeding a "nanny" culture where parents dont want to see their kids get snatched by nonces/knifed by gangs/taking drugs etc, etc. Videogames are an acceptable way to keep the kids indoors and out of danger and breeding a comfort zone in videogames like Alcohol and Drugs. So in essence, we are encouraging this culture too.

    We don't have a proper answer to it yet and its an area that requires more good research and study like the Byron Report. But "Rehab" clinics are certainly not the answer. Particularly since its a sickening trend that's being brought over from China and America where kids have either died in these "camps" or been brainwashed by religious and political overtones. Its wrong that something unregulated and under-researched is allowed to operate here and I hope the government steps in .

    /I know its the Torygraph reporting, but fuck the Daily Mail by proxy.

  • IneptPercy #29 2 years ago

    I must say when I was single and Halo 2 was about it I probably was addicted.

    Now I see that regular sex is much better.

  • Vortex808 #30 2 years ago

    Without wishing to appear facetious, but at 23 i seem to recall my main priorities were going to the pub and trying to get laid, along with going to work and paying the bills.

    These days due to work and family life, I'm lucky if i can game 8 hours a week, never mind a day! Anyone want to start up a sort of reverse rehab for those life-impinged gamers who don't get enough time for gaming to retreat from their family and life commitments for a week or two? A bit like respite care for full-time carers perhaps.....

    .....maybe i need to call this clinic, what was it's number again????

  • agparrot #31 2 years ago

    /shifts uncomfortably.

    I have some vaguely uncomfortable memories from my youth of Weston Super Mare beach, my friends Ford Sierra, and doing stunt driving on the beach, at night. Gaming is probably a better hobby to have than that. I accept that I am addicted to games, I suppose, and who hasn't experienced the shaky excitement of awaiting the release of their new 'fix'?

  • jedman #32 2 years ago

    I think that gaming addiction is an issue that needs to be addressed, like any addiction. It varys from person to person, just like other adddictive things, drink, drugs, sex, tv and so on. For some people it can become an issue, for others not, I guess the important thing is to have the help available for people who need it but not blow the issue it out of proportion because some people can maintain a healthy moderation between gaming and other areas of their life. I for one have experienced all the effects of gaming addiction the article states, postural problems, social exclusion, poor eating habits. When you do things like eat your meals as fast as possible so you can get back to gaming and spend most of christmas day not spent with your family but gaming, then that sounds like an addiction to me. But I learnt the lessons and now I dont play games till ive got everything else sorted. Still playing games is probably better than watching tv all day, at least your engaging your brain.
    Edited by 1 at 05/11/09 @ 10:45

  • monkeywithnoeyes #33 2 years ago

    its a terrible desease. I wonder how long it will be till i can sue somebody over my "gaming addiction"

  • butler` #34 2 years ago

    Haha 8 hours per session. That's the norm for high-end WoW raiders. Followed by some arena for afters.

  • butler` #35 2 years ago

    Also, if someone watched 8 hours of TV in a row reguarly, they'd be largely ignored by society, rather than labelled an 'addict'.

  • onyxbox #36 2 years ago

    I blame Achievements :)

  • kangarootoo #37 2 years ago

    Some people have addictive personalities, which usually result from other more deep seated issues. Such personalities crave regular reward from one source or another. Its not the games, or the gambling, or the shopping that needs addresssing... it is the needs of the people that find themselves addicted to apparent "quick fix rewards".

  • butler` #38 2 years ago

    XrustynutsX, was referring to top wow players I know IRL that devote 8 hours to raiding daily...

  • Jasugun #39 2 years ago

    Drug addicts and alcoholics have personal issues AND a physical addiction, which, in worses cases, may need medical care. Addiction to games, gambling, is based only on personal issues, how do they end up in a rehab clinic with drug addicts?

  • itsfuzzy #40 2 years ago

    "therapeutic tasks including vacuuming and washing up". WTF!

    Has to be a bunch of women that set up this so called rehab.
    To try and get men to do house hold chores. . .