On-Line Gamers Anonymous has opened its first Canadian branch in London, Ontario, offering hope and help for recovery to people suffering from addiction to online gaming.
Over 16 million people have immersed themselves in virtual words, according to chapter founder Brad Dorrance, himself a recovering gamer, some of whom play for as long as ten hours straight. Though gaming isn’t recognized as a legitimate addiction in the medical community, Dorrance believes that things like a diagnostic consensus among medical and addiction professionals is less important than getting some face time in the news. “It’s high time this got the mainstream media attention that it deserves,” he said. “We’re not going to wait for the medical profession to recognize or put their stamp of approval on this addiction.”
Dorrance, a recovering addict himself, said his online gaming habits “went off the rails about a year ago,” when he found himself spending 12 hours a day at the computer trying to feed his habit before finally taking an overdose of sedatives last December. With the help of On-Line Gamers Anonymous, his family and his church, he has now managed to go ten months game-free. “The big challenge is rebuilding trust in a damaged marriage,” he said. “I think people need to see how much damage can be done to a relationship by any addiction, even this one.”
The first meeting of the London, Ontario chapter of On-Line Gamers Anonymous takes place at 7 pm on November 5. To learn more about the group, check out their website at olganon.com.
(photo: On-Line Gamers Anonymous Board of Directors)
Source: London Free Press
Published: Nov 4, 2008 08:59 pm