CASE ONE: HE USED IT TO RELIEVE STRESS

TOM (not his real name), a third-year undergraduate in his mid-20s, was hooked on Facebook and its games after he started turning to it to relieve stress. He could spend up to six hours a day on Facebook playing games such as Farmville.

From someone who regularly hit top grades in his subjects, Tom almost failed his examinations.

His parents started putting more pressure on him to perform well in his studies - and this drove him to use Facebook more. Tom fell into depression, which caused him to lose sleep and concentration in class. That was when he approached Dr Ang Yong Guan for psychiatric help.

Dr Ang first resolved Tom's sleep issues, and then dealt with the root problem - which was Tom's tensions with his family over his poor grades.

After Tom learnt how to handle stress properly, his reliance on Facebook gradually lessened. His grades have since improved and he is on course to graduate next year.

CASE TWO: HE USED IT TO HIDE FROM REALITY

A man in his mid-30s was taken for counselling by his wife when he spent all his time on Facebook instead of looking for a job.

Darryl (not his real name) was laid off by his company during the recession and very reluctant to seek job openings as he was afraid of rejection.

Instead, he spent his days on Facebook reading people's profiles and updates, commenting on his friends' status updates and photographs, as well as playing games.

Dr Adrian Wang, a psychologist who counselled Darryl, said his client was in depression and Facebook was seen as a source of comfort.

Darryl's wife was very supportive of him, and her care helped to bring him out of depression - with the aid of Dr Wang's counselling.

Darryl has since resumed his job hunt and no longer spends long hours on Facebook.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.