Recently, an unnamed Bulgarian man, who had been reported missing, was found in a locked hotel room where had spent the last 45 days playing video games. The man, who had been battling gaming addiction for several years, relapsed and cut himself off from friends and family to spend all of his time playing Fortnite and Call of Duty.
The man was employed in Tokyo, but a missing persons report was filed when he had stopped coming to work. Police then traced the man to a hotel room, where he refused to leave. The man's father, who is in his 70s, flew to Japan and kicked the hotel door down to retrieve his son.
Following the incident, the man spent 6 weeks at an intensive recovery course, and has since returned to work. Apparently though, it wasn't his first brush with extreme gaming addiction, and his family had searched across the globe for a specialist that might be able to help him.
They eventually found Tony Marini, an addiction consultant who had once dealt with a cocaine and gambling problem himself. Marini considers gaming addiction a serious problem, and has even witnessed many young children stealing money just to pay for online games.
Marini treated the Bulgarian man at Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire, Scotland. Marini explained that it was a, "disturbing scene", when the man was found, as he had stopped using the restroom and began urinating in empty bottles so he wouldn't have to stop gaming.
Although gaming addiction might sometimes get blown out of proportion in a day and age when watching Netflix for six straight hours is perfectly acceptable, it's clear that the issues have a real effect on some people. Marini certainly feels this way, and has even urged the Scotland National Health Service to open a specialist unit that deals specifically in gaming addiction.
Recently, the World Heath Organization classified gaming disorder as a mental health condition, and more people around the world are beginning to take it seriously. There's nothing wrong with playing a lot of video games, just remember that you should probably go out and live your life every now and then too.
Source: Daily Record