AIIMS opens psychiatric clinic for cyber addicts

New Delhi, October 28, 2016: AIIMS, the country’s premier medical institute, has started a special psychiatric OPD for people who are hooked to social media, online games or the internet in general. This, doctors say, had to be done in view of the increasing number of such “addicts“, mostly school and college students, who were gradually slipping into serious psychiatric issues due to the habit.

Dr Yatan Pal Singh Balhara, a psychiatrist leading the AIIMS’s Behavioural Addiction Clinic, told TOI that depression, anxiety and substance abuse was common in patients addicted to the internet. “They are counselled, the ir access to the internet is controlled and in rare circumstances, admission is required for their well-being,“ Balhara said. At present, this clinic is open for patients on Saturday , from 9 am to 2 pm. Doctors said that the du ration may be in creased later depending on footfall. It is run by Balhara and another psychiatrist Dr Rachna Bhardwaj.“We are seeing six to seven patients daily. The cases are likely to go up as awareness increases,“ Balhara said, adding that the addiction to the internet is a major cause of academic failure and poor work performance.

Take the case of Rohit Nagpal (name changed), Delhi boy who used to be one of the toppers till Class XI before getting hooked to online games. “He started spending hours playing the games at the cost of studies and as a result failed in Class XII three years ago. “Nagpal hasn’t been able to pass Class XII as yet and he is now being treated for addiction to online games,“ Balhara said.

TOI had reported on February 19 the case of two brothers who were addicted to gaming and required a month of rehabilitation in the psychiatry ward of RML hospital. Always engrossed in gaming, they had no time for studies, meals, bathing or changing clothes. They slept fitfully, ignored phone calls and the doorbell, and twice turned a blind eye to robbers cleaning out their house. The most odious symptom of their decline was the habit of defecating and urinating in their clothes while playing.

Dr Nand Kumar, additional professor in the psychiatry department of AIIMS, said, “Cellphone addiction is another dangerous trend being observed. It is leading to short attention span, poor tolerance and decreased inter-personal communication,“ he said.

He cited the example of a 14-year-old girl who slapped her father for taking away her phone for a day. When asked, she said her parents were always busy and most friends were also available for online chat only. “There is no life without phone for me,“ the girl told Kumar. –ETHealthworld