Internet addiction: the symptoms to recognize it, how to cure it and the experience of those who lived it (and came out)

Feel the need to spend more and more time on the net. Be unable to detach from devices. Show disinterest in any other activity. Having obsessive thoughts, anxiety, agitation at the idea of ​​losing the connection. Are the most common symptoms of the Internet Addictiondependence on the web, an insidious phenomenon, in large expansion in all the ranges of the population and on which scientific research is still at the beginning. The events are similar to those of drug addictions, but in this case the addiction is not determined by the use of a substance, but by a behavior disorder. “The first studies conceived it as tied to the network, therefore generalized,” he explains Adele minuteresearcher of the National Center for addictions and doping ofHigher Institute of Health. “With the appearance of social networks and various applications, however, scholars noted that the addiction to the Internet had evolved into a sort of great container within which there is addiction to video games, that on social media, that of compulsive shopping and others. And this is because, at the same time, our smartphones have become increasingly performing and rich in apps with which to access the Internet universe », adds Minutillo, who is co-author of the Istisan Reportmade in 2022 by the Superior Institute of Health to guide those who work on these problems, primarily the operators of the service for pathological addictions. «In Italy we have about 600 ser.d. And most are also equipping themselves for the management of addictions from the Internet, on the basis of the experiences gained with the treatment of gambling, “he underlines. «The use of cognitive-behavioral techniques can help people with difficulties of this type through cognitive reconstruction. Usually, in those suffering from addiction there is less activity of the prefrontal cortex, the one that controls behaviors and evaluates the consequences. With these techniques, the balance is restored around this brain mechanism and the individual is able to better control his behaviors ».

Even those who by profession make constant use of technological tools can be at risk. “The addiction, in this case, concerns the overload of information,” adds minutes. “The control of the time spent in online research is lost, or” symptoms “are manifested as the fear of losing the smartphone, technically called nomophobia”.

With the exclusion of addiction to video games – to date the only form of Internet Addiction With clear and shared diagnostic criteria – for other addictions it is not easy to establish the level of diffusion and pathological boundaries. They are often diagnosed only because they present in association with other disorders. “After the pandemic, the hyperconnection has become normal: we spend a large part of our time online and on chats, for work or for fun,” adds minutes. «The time spent on the net is no longer considered a diagnostic criterion. However, the withdrawal from all the other activities that we should normally carry out and the psychophysical malaise are still, for example the repercussions that night navigation has on sleep, a fundamental activity to regenerate the body “.

After a trauma

An addiction to the internet and on social networks developed at the end of a three -year sentimental relationship, which had left a very deep mark.
It happened to Francesca, 34 years old, by profession lawyer. «Social social media were no longer just a pastime: they had become an escape from everyday life,” oxygen “digital. Whenever I felt a vibration my heart beat stronger. I desperately needed the approval deriving from a “like” or a new message ». To escape loneliness and pain, Francesca had enrolled in a dating app. “At the beginning it seemed pleasant: I scored photos, I read profiles … but that fun soon turned into a compulsion,” he says. “I controlled the app continuously, even in inappropriate moments, such as work meetings or while I was at the hearing: the messages made me feel alive. When I looked at the profiles, the life of others seemed perfect to me, while I felt more and more inadequate, trapped in a bubble of dissatisfaction ». Francesca takes refuge more and more in the virtual world, begins to isolate herself, limits the exits with friends. «Interacting online was easy and this began to generate the fear of a direct confrontation in me. I felt growing anxiety when I had to socialize live, “he says. «One morning, looking at me in the mirror, I didn’t recognize myself anymore. Pale, with dark circles, without makeup, an element of my femininity that despite the break I had always maintained. I had become unrecognizable in my identity. I was frightened. And I understood that I had to do something ».

Thanks to a trusted friend, he comes into contact with Gabriele Zanardihead of the neuroscience and neuropsychology area of ​​the Center Brain & care of Milan, with which a therapy begins. “There are three types of vulnerable subjects who can develop an addiction to the internet or social networks: those who live states of anxiety and depression, those who suffer from solitude and those who have suffered a trauma”, explains the neuropsychologist. “In the case of Francesca there had been a trauma, a mourning, an act that had fragmented his personality and that was linked to the wound of the closure of his relationship”. The therapy is subjected to a collection of storytelling on its life, cognitive-behavioral techniques to disanch the elements that self-produce behavior and Transcranial magnetic stimulationwho “in the case of Francesca acted on a depression below,” adds Zanardi. This neuromodulation technique rebalances the synthesis mechanism of serotonin permanently and without side effects. It also offers a feeling of stability, cognitive balance through which things can resurface. Just the combination of these three different approaches, according to the specialist, allows you to have a 65 percent reduction of the symptoms and a perception of improvement already after three weeks.

Leaving an addiction to the internet is therefore possible, but the risk of relapse is there. “It is necessary to learn to recognize the automatisms and to block them, introduce alternative measures, such as live recreational-recreational activities (Francesca, for example, has made a theater course), asking for help whether working or family difficulties generate a relapse”, specifies the neuropsychologist. “It is not said that there is a real problem, but vulnerability can recall the compensation in the brain with those automated behaviors that once offered gratification. If it happens it is important to talk about it. And make a refresh ».