This addiction usually starts out as harmless entertainment but gets out of control over time. The joy of gaming turns into a nightmare, and gaming starts to eclipse all other interests and day-to-day activities. One fails to stop even when there are obvious negative consequences, both physical and psychological. One's sense of being alive emerges only when the game console is turned on; yet, at the very same time, time itself seems to be swallowed up and actual life is as though slipping away, as the difference between online and offline reality blurs. Treatment for gaming addiction uses a similar approach as is used to treat substance addiction because they have similar patterns of development and symptoms progression. One is not addicted directly to the games themselves, but rather to the experiences that are stimulated by gaming, just as happens through the process of becoming addicted to a drug.