14 DAY TRIAL // After China, which at one point used military driven programs, South Korea and Taiwan, the United States seem to have gotten the first clinic wholly dedicated to treating Internet addiction in mostly young patients. The center is called reSTART and is situated in a suburb of Seattle.
The main program it offers runs up to 45 days and costs 14,000 dollars, claiming that it can eliminate all addictions to technology, like those to pathological computer use, texting, dependence on social networks or online auction sites. And apparently some of the main customers are World of Warcraft and other MMO players.
Kimberly Young, who is one of the doctors at the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, helpfully listed the symptoms which people should be on the look out for: being preoccupied with thoughts of the Internet; using it longer than intended; increasing amounts of time spent online; unsuccessful efforts to control use; jeopardizing relationships; neglecting school or work to spend time online; lying about the extent of Internet use; using the Internet as a form of escapism to battle problems or feelings of depression; headaches; carpal tunnel syndrome.
Dr. Ronald Pies, who is a professor of psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, said that “From what we know, many so-called 'Internet addicts' are folks who have severe depression, anxiety disorders or social phobic symptoms that make it hard for them to live a full, balanced life and deal face-to-face with other people.”
At the moment, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not recognize Internet addiction as being a mental illness and most professionals only see it as a symptom of something more extended. The big problem is that opening a center, like reSTART, dedicated to Internet addiction and MMO abuse can make some see the problem as bigger than it actually is, leading to a backlash against videogames.