From Marijuana to Internet and Video Gaming Adiction- A Case Repo

Abstract

Marijuana is the most widely used psychoactive substance after coffee and it is used for both medical and recreational purposes. It has been known since ancient times and it seems to have been part of the mixture that was put in the pipe of “peace” by Native Americans. Marijuana is psychically addictive, but in its case, there is no physical addiction as in the case of high-risk drugs (heroin) and over 70% of consumers do not recognize marijuana addiction. This substance can induce an acute psychotic episode and the onset of schizophrenia. Usually, the patient’s family is the one who asks for help in their case. We chose to present the clinical case of a patient, initially, marijuana addicted, who, after stopping it, developed an internet gaming disorder addiction. The digital environment is constantly evolving, growing exponentially at a considerable rate and online networks mean creating connections between people, minds and memories, regardless of their location in space and time. Many of us have different passions but there are also people who take these passions to the extreme as is the case with our patient who has developed an addiction to video games. Thus, we can conclude that one addiction can be replaced by another one in a very short time.

Virtual Addiction to Video Games: Debut of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder- Case Report and Short Review of the Literature

“…He had used methamphetamines to stay awake for extended periods of time ( up to 32 hours) to play Internet games. He had a history of obsessive behaviors and depressive tendencies along with alcohol and drug abuse ( 19), whilst another one ended a marijuana addiction and started a gaming addiction (20).…”

“…Internet gaming addiction is rarely as a sole psychiatric disorder, so psychiatric comorbidity should be suspected, such as affective disorders, other addictive disorders, impulse-control disorders, psychotic disorders and personality disorders (20,25).…”

“…Addiction to video games has become a real mental health problem, especially among young people (28) since the pre-pandemic period (29,30). The isolation caused by the pandemic doubled by the absence of situations in which individuals benefited from experiences generating satisfaction -such as eating favorite foods, listening to music, or watching a good movie -activities that before the pandemic were carried out in the context social (sometimes even the consumption of drugs such as marijuana), has led to the increase of adherence to experiences generating pleasure at an individual level, as is the case with the phenomenon of video game addiction (31)(32)(33). On the other hand, the uncertainty and the fear of illness and death created the fertile ground for the appearance or triggering of emotional disorders or other psychiatric disorders in people prone to them (34)(35)(36).…”

Profile of the Young Patient with Schizophrenia Socio-Cultural Characteristics

“…It is recognized in the case of some patients' addiction to substances and gambling it can be added and a new addiction, the one of video games. Such behaviors are often the reason for dropping out of school or the impossibility of establishing and consolidating social relationships (13).…”

Complications of Ethanolic Withdrawal in Hospitalized Patients

“…The results of our study highlighted the fact that: 22% of patients had relapses during the study period, the significant predictors that determined the occurrence of relapses being: young age, family status of cohabitation, performing shortterm studies, personal pathological antecedents of psychiatric diseases, the establishment of the long-term therapeutic plan and the premature abandonment of the treatment (11) In relation to the pandemic context, it can be stated that an increased incidence of depression, anxiety, stress and indomnia has been reported in combination with the increase in the consumption of alcohol and other drugs (13).…”