Are you a screen addict? Nightingale Hospital features in You Magazine

Nightingale Hospital features in You Magazine on technology addiction

Patrick Maxwell, Nightingale Hospital’s Lead Therapist for Addictions, features in You Magazine‘s latest edition, discussing technology addiction.

Journalist Susannah Taylor explores “another pandemic no one seems to be talking about – our addiction to all things digital”, in the piece, ‘Are you a screen addict?’.

“One friend told me pre-Covid how she feared her son had failed his A-levels because of his ‘love’ of gaming. Another is worried that her son rarely gets off his multiple screens. And it’s not just teenagers – one buddy of mine can’t have a conversation with me without checking her phone 20 times like a nervous twitch,” shares Taylor.

Taylor turns to Nightingale Hospital’s lead therapist for addictions, to determine when our heavy use of technology becomes a fully-fledged addiction.

“Patrick Maxwell, lead therapist for addictions at London’s Nightingale Hospital, says if you’re experiencing mood swings, guilt over being on a screen, boredom with routine tasks or feel euphoric when using tech, you may want to seek help. Other warning signs are if it’s impacting your daily life or relationships. He suggests asking yourself what it is you are seeking when you scroll/check/swipe – is it validation, escape, distraction or a coping mechanism? ‘By finding your internal motivation you can begin to change it,’ Maxwell says.”

“Ultimately, the digital world isn’t going away, so we need to find ways of managing it. As Maxwell says, technology isn’t necessarily good or bad – it’s how we use it that really matters.”

You can read the full article on You Magazine now.