We live in a world full of all kinds of addictions, and lots of people let it take them to a whole different form of the world, where they lose themselves entirely. The compulsion of spending a great deal of time connected to cyberspace, to the point where relationships, work, and health are allowed to suffer.
Therefore, addiction is becoming the new norm for some of us. Medical opinion is unsure of whether Cyber addiction exists as a mental disorder in its own right. However, there's no denying that it can destroy lives, and those who suffer from this addiction are struggling with causes and solutions.
What Does Cyber Addiction Do to Your Brain?
First of all, no argument that it has a fatal impact on your brain, but what happens exactly? Addiction alters the volume of the brain. The brain changes are similar to those produced by alcohol and cocaine addiction. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) shrinks the brain and white matter fibers, which results in changes to emotional processing and brain functioning. And you may ask what the long-term consequences are?
The answer is that IAD is problematic because the disorder can interfere with our real-life responsibilities and relationships. IAD can also affect our health, and there are other symptoms of addiction. For instance, loneliness, feeling anxious, depressed, and mood swings along with high levels of stress and fighting the already waged battle with other forms of addictions.
Does it Affect Your Mental Health?
According to studies, excessive Internet use may create a heightened level of psychological arousal, resulting in little sleep, failure to eat for long periods, and limited physical activity, possibly leading to the user experiencing physical and mental health problems such as depression, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), low family relationships and anxiety.
In human nature, we need a connection to survive, and most of us have a great bond with family and friends. Unfortunately, cyber addiction has the advantage to sabotage such relationships. It limits our social activity and mobility creating distances between families and friends more than they help it does by creating virtual friends.
What Triggers Cyber Addiction? AKA: The Causes
Sometimes we do things that we think are ordinary, and we always try to avoid talking about our problems or life matters. Most of the time, it may lead us to separate ourselves from our reality. There are reasons you can understand and analyze Cyber addiction compared to the other addictions. For instance, drug addicts and alcoholics, alcohol, and drugs; feel they're normal when they abuse and reach a state of ecstasy. And using it excessively addicts them to feel normal and feel euphoria or happiness through cyberspace. Most addicts give up their health and natural social relations.
They take out social relationships and make phantom online, deep and warm feelings of the affinity arising social relations, to lead to a temporary feeling intangible. And these things can be a fitting example of triggers of cyber addiction, including lying about past actions and the inability to control this behavior. Thus, if you feel that you are addicted to the Internet, you must undergo treatment immediately.
What Can You Do to Stop It? AKA: Solutions
Solutions won't be easy as they seem to be, but you need to have the courage to fight for what you have on the stakes, and that is to live freely without attachments. Control your life instead of being under the control of what your mind is trying to make you avoid.
And don't let the frustration fail you. Make some time for yourself every once in a while, and look for fun activities you like to do. Sometimes, people lose confidence in themselves, which drives them to run and dive more into their addictions in their private cyberspace.
Therefore, taking action and making time for those in need is necessary, and spreading awareness helps a lot. Remember that addiction is like any other illness, and there's no shame to call for help because realizing is the first step towards treatment.
You might also like to read about How to Reduce Cyber Crimes.
Also, read about Cyber Security.
Written By - Susan Ismail
Edited By - Bhanu Jain
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