Hidden pandemic: Handling behavioral addiction during COVID-19 chaos in Low Middle-Income Countries
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
; 11:248, 2022.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2009763
ABSTRACT
Symposium summary:
Over the last few decades, the medical concept of addiction disorders has undergone tremendous development. Addictive disorders are currently considered a multifactorial chronic disease and have become a significant cause of global health problems and other psychiatric disorders. Not only drug addiction but also the number of behavioral addiction patients continues to increase. The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread across the entire world has curtailed most individuals' daily activities and movements. In response, the COVID-19 pandemic lets individuals engage more with technology use, providing escapism to several activities (e.g., shopping, eating, gambling, gaming, doing physical exercise, watching pornography). These activities allow them to find some acute emotional relief, albeit pathologically. These behaviors happened by accessibility, availability, and the absence of prevention and management programs for excess use. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown policies in several countries have created a new paradigm regarding the prevention of specific strategies for behavioral addiction, primarily due to the increase in internet use that leads to addiction. A standard is needed to manage behavioral addiction, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Besides, an instrument is needed to distinguish healthy gamers, problematic gamers, and gaming disorders in order to prevent overdiagnosis. Notably, the symposium will highlight the emerging issue of behavioral addiction such as gambling, gaming, and pornography in Low Middle-Income Countries during the pandemic, exploring global solutions to international problems in the field of addiction medicine. In this symposium, there will be one chair and four speakers.
addiction medicine; adult; chronic disease; conference abstract; coronavirus disease 2019; daily life activity; drug dependence; eating; escapism; exercise; gambling; game addiction; global health; human; internet addiction; lockdown; mental disease; middle income country; overdiagnosis; pandemic; pornography; prevention; shopping; video game
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Language:
English
Journal:
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS