You must have often seen people living alone. No friends or family. In medical language it is called depression. Such people live in their own world, do not like to talk to anyone, do not like to be told and gradually all this becomes their routine, and in some countries the cases of depression are increasing very fast.
The psychiatrist told that many such patients used to come to him. During my career as a psychotherapist, I have seen more and more patients with depression and anxiety, including otherwise healthy young people with loving families, elite education, and relative wealth. Their problem is not trauma, social disorder or poverty. That’s too much dopamine, a chemical produced in the brain that acts as a neurotransmitter, associated with feelings of pleasure and reward.
A similar case came to him. A twenty-year-old young man came to him with anxiety and depression. He had dropped out of college and was living with his parents. He was constantly contemplating suicide. He used to play video games almost every day and late at night. He told that at first I give such patients anti-depressant medicine but I suggested that he stay away from all screens including video games for a month.
After a few years when the patient came back, a change could be seen in him.
He reported that he was able to resume playing video games with no negative effects, limiting his play time to no more than two hours a day, no more than two days a week. In this way, they helped restore the brain’s dopamine balance.
One of the most important discoveries in neuroscience in the past few years is that pleasure and pain are processed in the same parts of the brain, and the brain works to keep them in balance. Each time it spins in one direction, it attempts to restore balance, which neuroscientists call homeostasis.
If we hold this pattern every day for hours, weeks or months, the brain’s set point for pleasure changes. Now we have to keep playing the game, not to feel happy but to feel normal. As soon as we quit, we experience the universal symptoms of withdrawal from any addictive substance: anxiety, irritability, insomnia, dysphoria, and mental preoccupation with use, otherwise known as the urge to smoke.
The problem today is that we no longer live in this world. Instead, we now live in a world of extreme abundance. The amount, variety and power of dominating medicine and practices has never been greater. In addition to addictive substances like sugar and opioids, there’s also a new class of electronic addictions that didn’t exist nearly 20 years ago: texting, tweeting, web browsing, online shopping. and gambling. These digital products are designed to be engaging, using flashing lights, festive sounds and “likes” to promise more rewards, just a click away.
Worldwide, especially in wealthy countries, rates of depression, anxiety, physical pain, and suicide are on the rise. According to the World Happiness Report, which ranks 156 countries according to their citizens’ satisfaction levels, Americans reported being less happy in 2018 than in 2008. Other wealthy countries saw similar declines in self-reported happiness scores, including Belgium, Canada. Denmark, France, Japan, New Zealand and Italy. The Global Burden of Disease study found that the number of new cases of depression worldwide increased by 50% between 1990 and 2017, with the highest increase in the highest-income areas, particularly the US. answer.