Author: contributor

In this present age, one of the things that keep teenagers engaged is video games. It is interesting to note that some video games can improve the IQ of a teenager. While some games can make them addicted in the long run.

Some teenagers play video games for several hours, which has a resulting negative effect on them in the long run. This usually happens because they are left unsupervised, and they are given much autonomy to play video games for as long as they want.

If left unchecked, teenagers can become addicted to video games, and it can adversely affect different areas of their lives. To prevent this from happening, it is best to set some measures in place to control their love for games.

Track their screen time

One of the effective ways to prevent gaming addiction in your young children is to track the amount of time they spend playing games. You need to know how many hours they spend in front of their screen so that you can control it.

Remember that they have other important aspects of their lives like academic work, which should be given much priority. If teenagers spend several hours playing games, they are likely to become preoccupied with them.

Educate your child on what addiction means

Another way to prevent gaming addiction is to teach your child what addiction means. You don’t have to use complex jargon when explaining to them. The goal is to break it down to their level so that they can have a basic knowledge of what it means.

Introduce healthier alternatives to gaming

If you suspect that your child is gradually getting to the point where they might be addicted to gaming, you need to let them in on other alternatives. Some of these include Hiking, Exercise, Reading, Writing, Yoga, etc.

Set rewards when they hit goals in other aspects of their lives

You can deviate your teenager’s attention from gaming when you attach rewards if they achieve some small wins. This will allow them to share their attention so that they won’t be too fixated on video games.

One of the activities that teenagers enjoy doing is video games. Getting lost in the virtual world and recording some wins makes them happy. Some of them square up with their friends and compete against each other to see who would be the better player.

While they use video games for relaxation, moderation must be applied so that it doesn’t get overboard. Unknown to some parents, their teenagers might be struggling with addiction. Here are some signs that your teenager is addicted to video games.

Spending several hours playing video games

Preoccupation with video games is one of the strongest signs that your teenager is struggling with addiction.

They might spend lots of hours in front of the screen without paying attention to other activities. In most cases, they might ignore food and sleep because of the thrills that come with the game.

Reduced interest in academics and other activities

Another sign that your teenager might be struggling with video games is when their interest in academics and other activities begins to decline. They might not be interested in school work because they are more focused on their video games.

For other activities, they may show a lackluster behavior when it’s time to engage them. When you observe this pattern, then video gaming addiction might be at play.

Isolation and increased desire for privacy

Getting themselves isolated from other people is another sign that they might be struggling with video gaming addiction.

They may prefer to spend a long time without the interruption of anyone because of their video game preoccupation. If someone tries to invade their privacy, they might not respond well to it.

Withdrawal symptoms

When a teenager who is addicted to video games does not get to play for sometime, they might experience some withdrawal symptoms similar to what addicts in other categories experience.

They might feel frustrated, angry, sad, depressed, etc. This is because they are obsessed with it, and they find it hard to stay away from video games.

For an addict or someone who is struggling with mental health problems, the best place you can be is a rehab.

It is a great idea to strive personally to handle either of the above-mentioned health problems, the fact still remains that you cannot breakthrough from addiction or completely treat your mental health problems yourself.

The primary reason why the concept of a rehab was created, is to bring professionals specialized in the act of treating mental disorders and addiction with people who are struggling with them.

One of the lovely benefits you stand to gain from opting for a rehab is the support. Note this, the form of support you get here is the professional one that is devoid of any form of sentiments and prejudice.

As a matter of fact, the support received here is enough to motivate the family and friends of the individual to support their loved one.

An addict or mental health patient who receives ample support has the tendencies to recover faster and better than those who do not get theirs.

This support does not end as it continues all through the phases of addiction and mental health treatment.

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Also, a rehab is a place where an addict does not have access to substances or activities that trigger their addiction.

For mental health patients, it is a place where there are rid of any event or activity that remind them of their mental health problems.

Patients at a rehab are usually assisted to focus on themselves.

For addicts and mental health patients, they will be taught the act of gaining insights into their true potential. They will also learn ways on how to deal with their respective problems and emerging strong at the end.

At a rehab, individuals are not left to themselves, they have the opportunity of mingling with individuals who are like them and are ready to recover. Thus, there would be a profound relationship formed among everyone in a rehab.

Abuse is the final phase before addiction. This is the phase where individuals are prone to be addicted. The abuse of substances is primarily the intake of either alcohol or drugs. There are different purposes for taking these substances.

For some people, it helps them with reformation when it comes to their mental health problems. For others, they need these substances to deal with stress.

An adult who is addicted today certainly abused substances as a teenager. Addiction does not happen overnight, it is the end-result of abuse. A teenager who starts abusing substances finds it very difficult to quit.

The reason for this is, teenage years is a very critical point of their lives. It is the stage of development which determines to an extent, how the rest of their lives will play out.

So, whatever action they imbibe during this years will continue to modify and take shape as they get older.

Teenagers who abuse substances are also a source of grief to their parents and loved ones. Due to their ignorance, they would destroy good relationships in the process.

In preventing teens from abusing substances, the first step is proper awareness.

They need to realize the fact that people who abuse substances will have themselves to blame in the future. These set of people are putting a huge chunk of their health at risk, and it might result in their eventual death.

Also, teenagers need to be informed on the effect of substance abuse on their productivity, the paramount one being their academics.

Teenagers who abuse substances will find it hard to focus on their academics, because of the adverse effects of drugs and alcohol.

In addition, parents need to make sure that their teenagers move with the right set of people. Usually, teenagers who abuse substances were influenced by their peers.

Hence, by all means necessary, parents need to make sure that the friends of their teenagers are sober people with sober parents/guardians.

A teenager who is helped to quit the abuse of substances will certainly lead a good and healthy life.