Death By Gaming

It’s a problem parents know all too well. Some children seem glued to their portable video game systems or permanently attached to their console controllers. We joke about these kids being “addicted” and worry over how much video game time is too much. But for a growing number of adults, the problem is real. In what is beginning to be a disturbingly common phenomenon, a young man in Asia recently died due to “prolonged gaming.”

According to Sky News and the AFP, 23 year-old Chen Rong-yu checked into a cafe in Taiwan one evening and never checked out.

A waitress recalls noticing the young man at noon the following day talking on his phone, but that’s the last time anyone recalls seeing him alive. Chen was reportedly playing "League of Legends" when he died, and was found sitting in his chair rigidly, with his arms outstretched. The death and resulting corpse went completely unnoticed by 30 or so other customers for up to nine hours. Medical experts surmise Chen died from cardiac arrest brought on by blood clots, something surprisingly common among obsessive gamers.

Other gamers who have met a similar fate died of exhaustion or lack of movement during extended play sessions. It sounds like a sci-fi nightmare, but medical experts say that the lack of circulation can literally cause the blood in the human body to congeal, and any sudden movement will bring about a heart attack.

This latest tragic story is a reminder that addiction comes in many forms. Gambling, sex, gaming and shopping are all prime examples of process addictions, and they can be just as dangerous as substance abuse.

Help for Substance Abuse and Process Addiction at La Paloma

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