We’ve all had that moment where a quick game turned into an all night binge, greeting a new day by setting aside a game in exhausted resignation as we crawl into bed. While games provide players with much needed distraction and decompression, is there a line between gaming enjoyment and gaming addiction? The World Health Organization seems to think so, adding gaming addiction to their list of verifiable mental health conditions.

While gaming addiction is something that may sometimes be joked about, some players have ruined jobs and marriages in the pursuit of just “5 more minutes”. What, if any, issues can this mental disorder cause? A member of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse with the World Health Organization, Vladimir Poznyak, had this to say about addiction and games:

Health professionals need to recognize that gaming disorder may have serious health consequences. Most people who play video games don’t have a disorder, just like most people who drink alcohol don’t have a disorder either. However, in certain circumstances overuse can lead to adverse effects.”

The decision to classify gaming addiction as a mental health issue came after a recent study looked at 19,000 men and women from the UK, Canada, and the US. Symptoms included antisocial behavior, withdrawal, lack of control, and anxiety among other signs. The difference seeming to be that some people let games control their life, in some cases squandering their savings on in-game purchases to feed the addiction.

According to Doctor Andrew Przybylski from Oxford University, this is the first large-scale study of gaming addiction. The study did not find any negative effects on health, but more research could yet unearth details about health and addiction in video games. While it has been found that video games have helped in the treatment of depression and even chronic pain, as with all things too much of a good thing can be bad. The disorder will be officially part of the International Classification of Diseases manual in 2018 and readers interested in learning more can find the original report here.

Is gaming addiction as serious as the WHO thinks? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!