On CBSnews.com I found a very interesting article about video game addictions. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/03/health/webmd/main1773956.shtml Apparently in Amsterdam there are already detox clinics for video game addicts. Addiction, as defined in the article, is characterized by two things: 1. The addict needs more of the substance or behavior to keep him/her going, 2. Without the substance or behavior he/she becomes irritable and miserable. It's a very interesting concept that makes sense by those two criteria. Video games seem to have silently taken us captive, luring us into the fantasy worlds of our favorite games.

A few warning signs given by CBSnews.com that someone is a compulsive gamer are:

Playing for increasing amounts of time
Thinking about gaming during other activities
Gaming to escape from real-life problems, anxiety, or depression
Lying to friends and family to conceal gaming
Feeling irritable when trying to cut down on gaming

And these can be transferred to any addiction, not just gaming. Think about this in your own life and see if there's an underlying addiction that you might have.