“There is no formal diagnosis of video game addiction in current medical or psychological literature. Inclusion of it as a psychological disorder has been proposed and rejected for the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).”

I have seen several lengthy discussions about SW:TOR, parental controls, gaming addiction, and what responsibility, if any, BioWare has to protect us from ourselves. I would like to take this opportunity to present my opinion:

There is a difference between addiction and obsession. Addiction is when you have to do something due to a physical or mental craving and suffer from withdrawal symptoms when you are deprived of the subject of your addiction. Obsession, on the other hand, is a persistent, disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly : compelling motivation. And while you may have obsessive thoughts about the subject of your obsession for a long time, there are no actual withdrawal symptoms present – as there are with addiction.

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