selfie addcit who spent 23hrs online develops disease part 3

 Michelle, who graduated from the University of Bath in July 2015, became so depressed she kept a diary as she grappled with her emotions. She wrote: ‘Dear diary, the worst thing has happened, I woke up and there was no internet. I thought it was temporary but after calling my landlord, the broadband company can only check it on Monday… what am I going to do the next three days!? I guess since I have nothing to do you are stuck with me.’

On the second day, the internet disconnected again and Michelle’s distress escalated.

She writes: ‘I don’t know how long I can keep this up. I got the shakes I am sweating and unstable... and I am bored out my mind.

'I look in the mirror and I am a mess...My hair is a tangled mess... the colour from my face is gone... my once so lively eyes never looked so lifeless.... it’s like staring at a zombie version of myself.’

Reflecting on the diary posts, Michelle said: 'I just had to get back online; it was an urge I couldn’t ignore. I was worried that I was missing out and concerned that my internet friends would wonder where I was.

I had a boyfriend I met online and since we’d never met in person or spoken over the phone, I was worried he’d think something had happened to me.

'I was so anxious I started feeling shooting pains in my chest - it was awful.'

Michelle’s health wasn’t the only thing to suffer.

She says: 'Sometimes I was getting just one hour of sleep a night and that meant I struggled to focus during the day.

'I’d take my phone to lectures with me and found it hard to concentrate. As a result, my grades suffered and while I got a degree, I didn’t get the result I wanted.'

After waking up tangled in cables and with the medical diagnosis ringing in her ears, Michelle knew she needed to get help and contacted Britain’s first clinic to treat technology addiction, the Nightingale Hospital in Marylebone, London.

But the fees, which she discovered started at approximately £350 for a 90 minute assessment, were too high so she turned to her parents for support rather than paying for it herself.

Her health wasn't the only thing to suffer at the hands of her addiction - it also distracted her from her studies and led to a lack of sleep, which meant she didn't get the university grades she wanted

She says: 'Mum and dad would always tell me to put my gadgets away, but I’d put my foot down and give them a hard time.

 

'I think they were relieved when they realised I was seeking help, because they knew I was ready to tackle the addiction.'

Michelle’s mum Nokutula, 39, a nurse, and her dad Erwin, 48, a support worker, agreed set times when technology would be banned from the family home.

Nokutula says: 'We couldn’t afford private health care, so we supported Michelle as a family by creating set times when no-one was allowed to use technology, such as during dinner or before bed.

'I’d always worried that Michelle was using technology too much. I didn’t want to buy her any new gadgets for Christmas, but I didn’t want to see her desperately unhappy either.

'Last year we compromised by just buying the phone to keep the peace.”

Dr Richard Graham, consultant adolescent psychiatrist and technology addiction lead at the Nightingale Clinic, said the addiction is complex to treat.

'Unlike with alcohol or drugs, a patient cannot simply decide never to use a technology again. Instead, they must learn to establish a healthy relationship with technology and that is the crux of the treatment; sleep and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy are peripheral treatments that treat conditions that can sometimes coexist with technology addiction.'

He added: 'We need technology in our lives and it brings a host of benefits. It can however, drain us of our time as we spend more and more time online. This can become a compulsion to constantly be plugged in so that we don’t ever risk feeling that we are missing out, or stepping off a ladder. The by-product of this is that we are seeing an increasing number of young people addicted to technology.'

Michelle is looking forward to spending quality time with her family this year.

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