Study links delusions, anxiety to Internet addiction

A recent study says the widespread of Internet access has increased cases of psychotic symptoms, writes MAUREEN AZUH

Internet access is becoming increasingly widespread, and as the advantages are numerous, so are the disadvantages.

A new report indicates that the prevalence has resulted in a high rate of psychosis or psychopathologies such as Internet addiction and delusions. The study was published in Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences on November 20.

Researcher, Dr. Uri Nitzan of the Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel, says computer communications such as Facebook and chat groups are an important part of the report.

Psychosis derived from ‘psyche’, refers to an abnormal condition of the mind. It is a psychiatric term generally used to describe a mental state that involves loss of contact with reality.  The term can also mean anything from relatively peculiar experiences to the complex and even expressions of schizophrenia and bipolar type 1 disorder. People suffering from psychosis are called psychotic.

The report notes that the Internet is a free and liberal space that many individuals use on a daily basis and which is a growing part of a normal social life. But while technologies have numerous advantages, some patients are harmed by social networking sites, which can attract those who are lonely or vulnerable in their day-to-day lives or act as a platform for cyber-bullying and other predatory behaviour.

 According to the report, the researcher presented three case studies linking psychotic episodes to Internet communications from his own practice. Nitzan says patients shared some crucial characteristics for the research, including loneliness or vulnerability, due to the loss of or separation from a loved one, relative inexperience with technology, and no prior history of psychosis or substance abuse.

In each case, a connection was found between the gradual development and exacerbation of psychotic symptoms, including delusions, anxiety, confusion and intensified use of computer communications.

However, Nitzan states that the good news is that all of the patients who willingly sought out treatment on their own were able to make a full recovery with proper treatment and care.

According to Nitzan, all his patients sought refuge from a lonely situation and found solace in intense virtual relationships. He notes that although these relationships were positive at first, they eventually led to feelings of hurt, betrayal and invasion of privacy.

“All of the patients developed psychotic symptoms related to the situation, including delusions regarding the person behind the screen and their connection through the computer,” he says. Two patients began to feel vulnerable as a result of sharing private information, and one even experienced tactile hallucinations, believing that the person beyond the screen was physically touching her.”

He adds that some of the problematic features of the Internet relate to issues of geographical and spatial distortion, the absence of non-verbal cues, and the tendency to idealise the person with whom someone is communicating, becoming intimate without ever meeting face-to-face. All of these factors, he says, can contribute to a patient’s break with reality and the development of a psychotic state.

In order to better understand the link and seek possible solution, Nitzan and his colleagues plan to do more in-depth research on Facebook, studying the features and applications that have the potential to harm patients emotionally or permit patients to cause emotional harm to others.

He says, “Some psychotic patients use the Internet to disturb people, abusing their ability to interact anonymously. Because social media are now such an important part of our culture, mental health professionals should not overlook their influence when speaking to patients.

“When you ask somebody about their social life, it’s very sensible to ask about Facebook and social networking habits, as well as Internet use. How people conduct themselves on the Internet is quite important to psychiatrists, who shouldn’t ignore this dimension of their patients’ behaviour patterns.”

Similarly, researchers from the University of Leeds, in a 2010 study, say people who spend a lot of time browsing the Internet are more likely to show depressive symptoms. The report was published in the February edition of Psychopathology.

The researchers, who are also psychologists, say they found striking evidence that some users have developed a compulsive Internet habit, whereby they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. According to them, the results suggest that this type of addictive surfing can have a serious impact on mental health.

Lead author, Dr Catriona Morrison, says, “The Internet now plays a huge part in modern life, but its benefits are accompanied by a darker side. While many of us use the Internet to pay bills, shop and send emails, there is a small subset of the population who find it hard to control how much time they spend online, to the point where it interferes with their daily activities.

“Our research indicates that excessive Internet use is associated with depression, but what we don’t know is which comes first – are depressed people drawn to the Internet or does the Internet cause depression? What is clear is that for a small subset of people, excessive use of the Internet could be a warning signal for depressive tendencies.”

According to the researchers, most Internet addicts spent proportionately more time browsing sexually gratifying websites, online gaming sites and online communities. They also had a higher incidence of moderate to severe depression than non-addicted users.

The researchers say incidents such as the increase of suicides among teenagers in the Welsh town of Bridgend in 2008 led many to question the extent to which social networking sites can contribute to depressive thoughts in vulnerable teenagers.

The study seems to suggest that young people were more likely to be Internet-addicted than middle-aged users, with the average age of the addicted group standing at 21 years.

Morrison states that the study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction.

“We now need to consider the wider societal implications of this relationship and establish clearly the effects of excessive Internet use on mental health,” Morrison says.