Psychiatrists Now Calling Excessive E-Mailing a "Mental Illness"

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(NaturalNews) An editorial published in the American Journal of Psychiatry advocates adding "Internet addiction" to the official U.S. list of psychological disorders, saying that the condition would describe those who spend excessive time on e-mail, text messages, online games or virtual sex.

Dr. Jerald Block writes that Internet addiction is already a recognized disorder in Asia. After 10 people died in Internet cafes due to cardiopulmonary problems and a game-related murder, the government of South Korea declared the disorder one of the country's greatest public health issues. Estimating that the average high school student spends roughly 23 hours each week on Internet games, South Korea has trained more than 1,000 school counselors to address the problem.

Block defines Internet addiction as characterized by four factors: "1) excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives, 2) withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible, 3) tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use, and 4) negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue."

In the United States, Block writes, Internet addiction is not yet recognized as a disorder and as such, no statistics exist on how widespread it might be. Block urges the American Psychiatric Association to include it in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is currently in planning phases and due for release in 2011.

The average Internet addiction patient is also diagnosed with 1.5 DSM-IV psychiatric disorders, Block says, and approximately 86 percent of them have at least one. These disorders are harder to treat in people with Internet addiction than in those without it, he says.

"Unfortunately, Internet addiction is resistant to treatment, entails significant risks and has high relapse rates. Moreover, it also makes comorbid disorders less responsive to therapy," Block writes.

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