There is a concern that the novel coronavirus crisis has compounded the problem of video game addiction as more people spend more time at home. While not every avid game player falls prey to this addiction, once someone does succumb, it can turn their life and the lives of others upside down.
"You cut the internet connection! Why?" High school student Satoshi (a pseudonym) yelled this at his
mother, frantically running downstairs from the second floor of their house in the Chubu region one day in September 2019.
Satoshi had been playing video games for 15 hours a day, every day for about six months. Greatly worried about the situation, his 48-year-old mother, Miyuki (also a pseudonym), had canceled their home internet connection contract.
Satoshi fetched a kitchen knife from the kitchen. His mother felt he was going to stab her. Instead, however, with the knifepoint at his own neck, he said in a trembling voice: "Without games, I won't live."
She was shocked and saddened to see his painful expression, as if he had been haunted by something. The idea surfaced in her mind that "he won't stop playing games probably not only because it's fun."
-- Vicious cycle
Satoshi was able to enter the school of his choice in April 2019. Many graduates from that school end up going to prestigious universities. Not long after that, he started playing online games after having been lured by a friend.
He soon became immersed in playing an online fighting game. He was excited that it enabled him to compete with players around the world.
Before long he was playing the game every night until the morning, sparing almost no time to sleep, and slept instead during classes at school. His grades dropped quickly and he fell behind turning in assignments. He was scolded by his teachers many times.
On the other hand, he ranked high as a game player, which made him feel great self-esteem.
Satoshi became aware that he mustn't go on like this, so he tried to kick the habit by deleting the game app, but ended up reinstalling it soon after.
Miyuki had set an internet lock function to block his access at home, but Satoshi unlocked it after managing to find instructions online. He started to suspect that people around him may think he is a lousy person. To shake off such miserable feelings, he further immersed himself in the world of online games. It was a vicious cycle.
Miyuki was also being run down. She received emails from Satoshi's school telling her that his parents should help him correct his lifestyle. She was also blamed by her husband, saying: "You're his mother. You should deal with this."
"Stop playing games!" she told Satoshi many times in tears. But Satoshi did not give up.
-- A brain disease
Addiction is a brain disease in which the brain's functions are altered, resulting in a loss of control caused by the use of certain addictive substances or repeating certain behaviors, said Takayuki Harada, a professor at the University of Tsukuba and clinical psychology specialist.
"Addiction is not so easy to deal with only by having the will or exerting efforts," Harada said.
"In addicted people, seeking pleasure and avoiding discomfort take place simultaneously," said Hideki Nakayama, the head of the psychiatry department at Asahiyama Clinics in Sapporo.
People play games to seek pleasure. Once they become addicted due to various factors, they feel uncomfortable unless they are playing.
"People can resist seeking pleasure, but it's hard to keep enduring uncomfortable feelings," Nakayama said.
-- Sharing experiences with others
When Miyuki saw her son hold a knife to his own throat, she recognized how badly he was suffering from not being able to quit. She desperately looked for hospitals specializing in addiction.
At one hospital, she was told, "Stop trying to do something for your son." She listened and started to watch over him without casting blame.
The change in Miyuki's attitude moved her son. "I have to change, too," he thought.
Satoshi participated in a self-help meeting where addiction sufferers talk about their experiences. He gathered his courage and revealed his real feelings: "I can't stop playing games," and "I can't control myself. It feels so tough for me."
He had not been able to talk about those things to anyone, as he was afraid he may be thought as "weak-willed and sloppy" by people. At the meeting, no one accused him. Moreover, they listened to him very seriously.
"I'm allowed to talk my true feelings honestly," he felt. He also felt he had found his place.
After being hospitalized and undergoing treatment, Satoshi has distanced himself from games. He is back at school now, and it seems his daily life has returned to normal.
This spring, he saw an advertisement for a new game on his smartphone and unconsciously went to the registration screen, but managed to pulled himself back. "It's dangerous to think that I have already recovered. I'm still in the process of recovering," he said.
"I won't do that, at least today." Every day, he says this resolution to himself. He has decided to live the rest of his life while repeating the resolution in his mind.
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