Hey guys, I just joined this website. So like most of you I played games since I was 14. Pretty much just mmorpg games. I've literally played them all. I would spend countless hours playing. Any and all free time I had went to gaming. I use to be so addicted I would come home at lunch from school to play for 15 mins and then go back. I'm 26 now and knew I needed a change. I decided to game in moderation to take control of my addiction. I would play for just 2 hours a day max. This shortly turned into 3 hours, then 4 ect.... The problem was even when I wasn't gaming I was thinking about it. I would still give up doing certain activities or look forward to my girlfriend to take a nap so I could play. As sad as it sounds the time I could game would fuel me and I didnt find much pleasure in the stuff I was doing to just waste time till I could play. Its that itch at the back of your mind that knows gaming is just at your finger tips anytime. I would then uninstall all my games for a week. Just to reinstall them again after finding reasons to justify it. I probably uninstalled LoL 35 times. That's when I realized things need to change. Obviously gaming in moderation wasn't working out. I figured if I enjoyed it what hurt to just play in moderation. That's the problem with addiction though. Moderation doesn't work because if you have even a little taste of that "drug" Its so easy to get pulled back in. Ya maybe someone with a healthy gaming routine could do moderation but for someone like me I realized it wont work. About 2 months ago I deleted all my games and haven't played since. My life has positively improved greatly. I now don't dread going to work because its actually something thats improving my life and occupies my day. Before I couldn't wait to get home just to game so work felt like such a long chore. Things I would ignore before like playing music or reading books are now fun. I think the problem before is why would I even bother doing this stuff if I can have way more fun gaming. So when I actually played my guitar it didn't fulfill me before. Now that I'm not getting the constant stimulate of games I can enjoy playing my guitar and not feel rushed to get it over with so I can game. Recently though even though I know my life is WAYYYY better when I'm not gaming, I still constantly think about it. It's the nostalgia of all the great times I had gaming growing up. I really did love playing and adventuring though an open sandbox world that I could change at my will. I feel almost like I will never fully be as happy as I was as a kid gaming. Iv'e been debating installing and playing ONLY single player games as those were never really a problem for me. By making these "RULES" I believe I'm just tricking myself into thinking I can get that taste again. I know though it will only turn into an addicting all over again. I think the fond memories I have so much not is necessarily due to the games but more so the time of my life. When i was a kid i had no worries. I went to school, hung out with friends and gamed. Now Im a adult I have to pay bills, work full time, do chores, buy groceries ect.. So maybe my nostalgia is more linked to a easier time than the actually games themselves. I would like to also add I suffered from crippling anxiety and depression growing up and still somewhat do on and off. It's not as bad as it use to be but I used games as a way to escape and distract myself. Some days I find myself worried that I don't have enough things to fill my spare time that I'm trapped with myself and don't have that same escape I did when I gamed. I know these are deeper issues I need to resolve instead of using gaming to cover them up. I'm sure many of you can relate. I can tell you though I've never felt as free before until that moment I deleted all my games 2 months ago, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest. It felt like I had so much time now to live life without this obligation to play everyday. This at the same time though opened up worry of filling this free time which I still havent full figured out yet. In the end I know the only way to truly be free is to play no games at all, please convince me single player games won't solve anything. I already know the answer but it would be nice to hear from some of you. Thanks for listening to my story and I know its a lot of text to read.