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Hello Game Quitters Members. I'm glad I have the ability to track my calories out or calories being burned again from my Fitbit Versa Lite watch, it was kinda hard to track accurately in general from the app. The 2019 Fitbit watch still hold up to be accurate for me and also useful in general. The book publication is getting amazing progress in general too. I also did watch the podcast style video from the Game Quitters channel that is recent in general. I remember was listening to it while mowing the lawn with my Mom in general. I like how mindset was being discussed too in general. I did study and learn from people for example basketball player Michael Jordan and Bruce Lee's mindset by researching on Google experimental AI tool with Bruce Lee Mindset. I truly like my present day lifestyle in general because I am doing what I'm suppose to be doing and not worrying about irrelevant stuff in the long term and short term generally. Everyday I'm grateful even on not so perfect days. I'm having a amazing time with exercise 7x per week of both strength and cardio. And my online business is growing too. I'm writing a second book for a upcoming year after 2025 or 2026. And I regained back to 25 subscribers again, I already knew that YouTube is going to be slow. It's better then relying on lottery tickets and the mega million in general which only rely on lick and that's it, not effort. Alright. Got to start my day. Bye Game Quitters Members.

5 years is a long time, but it's very likely that those 5 years will eventually pass, so we might as well do something meaningful. Even after all these years, I find that many things are still the same. So while starting my journal to counter gaming was the primary motivation for it back then (and the result of internal turmoil of the months and years before that), today I mostly journal to keep track of myself through time and to organize myself better.

May 25-26 Last Wednesday's miniature relapse (I compare that to actually setting long-term goals on the game and waking up early, excited to continue them, which I haven't been doing - because in variety, that feels like a kind of hell, aside from the dopamine or whatever) would have been closest to 1) Temporary escape (from feeling alone) and 2) Challenges (I almost had 'fun' clicking against the game itself - not other players - and almost failed/lost). Measurable progress and social connection were pretty much not factors. I did consider all 4 before playing, because the alternative was going outside in a raw state and saying and doing things that I would have regretted later. If I had to add a #5, it would be 'security' - not comfort, because I was actually quite uncomfortable for the 2 hours I did spend online. Yes, my 'big goal', you could say has been a broader one of belonging - or 'community feeling' (as brought up in 'Courage to be Disliked'), that is, feeling that it's 'OK' to be somewhere. The effort put in for me is basically only listening/reading and considering, and offering support generally. You could also say that it's not enough, but after my co-worker and trainer left at my old job, I sort of realise that most of the work I did thereafter was for me and the general public, not my workmates. I was not as easily satisfied by most of their behaviour. Offline, I've been doing pretty well. I forgive and try to forget - especially about gaming, as I haven't even 'voted' for the private server I signed onto on Wednesday. If more of the players were in my position, I might have even stayed with them just to chat, but not to play. As it happened, I just shifted some gold around and tried a simple, solo 'boss fight'. When people have asked me in-person about the game, I try not to enjoy knowing anything at all about it, though I still try to answer truthfully. There may or may not be another community I can find like this one (god forbid the 'front page(s) of the internet), so you'll have my best until whenever. This has been a deep journey for a year now, and now that @BooksandTrees has said it, I find it hard to imagine the next, say, 5 years - not like counting primary and high school grades. My game has already had my best, and I recognise that. ________________ Gratitude: ~ not being plagued by nightmares because of my mood before sleep ~ oatmeal ~ a free hooded jumper from Christmas now being put to use ~ Harry Potter (I was desperate for secure reading again as well) Over and out, ~ Matt

Entry 25.05 ( Written on 26.05) Day 6043: No Useless Videos Day 601: Sticking to Food schedule Day 205: Eating Only between 06:30 and 19:00 (Last bite before 19:00) Day 196: Being in bed before 23:15 Day 22: 8 pomodoros (actually 9) 3 Things I did well no matter how small -5 hrs deliveries -Cleaned room floor (Even though it took me a hr and 7 minutes more than planned -Planned week. Including visa progress, visiting hotel, new job and waking up earlier for workouts before job 1 Thing I could do better -Either do dishes before I go to sleep or in the morning, I noticed it takes 3 times as much time if i do it in the middle of the night because: 1. I don't want to make noise 2. I am very chill when waking up from sleep

I'm sorry about your spent money. Once, I was properly scammed while gaming, and paid for some of it back for a few dollars, but otherwise 'paying to win' or what it's actually called wasn't too necessary for me. Later that account actually got banned for my being offensive, so I resolved to play more quietly on the next one. Who feels the most strongly about you not gaming? If it's not you, maybe it should be. I searched for and found GameQuitters because I'd had enough of the kind of emotional slavery I was involved in. That, and (being Aussie too) colder weather last May made me increasingly sad about the way things were going online and offline together. No one had given me any ultimatum or anything for quitting at the time - something that probably isn't truly effective for many people anyway. I had read and heard enough in about a week about gaming problems to make the choice on my own. But, as it seems to go, if you do become better at living without games and fit in with people (here or anywhere), you might realise that you have more in common than you think, and fairness and equal treatment may become the next challenge. That's what I'm seeing. If it helps with your assignment, maybe pretend that it's a group assignment with good friends (but not made difficult according to the number of people working on it) for motivation! You might not believe it, but I did someone else's film study assignment on The Blind Side in high school because I liked the movie, and got near-full marks (subtractions made for generalisations I think). Good luck!

The last 2 days hasn't been good. I installed a new game - Clash Royale - and spent over 600$ AUD on the game... I also haven't showered in 2-3 days. I feel really bad. For tomorrow, I'll aim to get my final assignment done within the -15% penalty for handing it in 3 days after the deadline. It's been really hard trying to stop gaming. I also recovered my nintendo switch and almost started playing on it. However, I got bored with the prospect of playing my old games so I didn't play it. So far, it's been very difficult trying to quit games. I will do my best to do better in the following days... 1. Changed apple id password into somethign random. Unlinked the card to my apple id account. 2. Changed nintendo password to a random password.

Matt if you've crossed the line and gamed your thought patterns possibly need revising, you were probably thinking of it for a long time and you start justifying it, I am raising a red flag for you, just as I did for myself. Remember the 4 major human needs that you need fulfilled, think how they're not met and change something in your routine. -Temporary escape -Constant measurable progress -Challenges -Social Connection Here's Cam's article on the subject the 4 needs are under "I Quit Once Again". https://gamequitters.com/cam/ I don't remember the other parts, but this part stands out to me. Also try placing another big goal that will occupy your thoughts. And focus on it instead of the video games. It will be hard at first but as you go, you'll forget about videogames altogether at times 🙂

Entry 24.05 ( Written on 25.05) Day 603: No Useless Videos Day 600: Sticking to Food schedule Day 204: Eating Only between 06:30 and 19:00 (Last bite before 19:00) Day 195: Being in bed before 23:15 Day 21: 8 pomodoros (actually 9) 3 Things I did well no matter how small -7 hrs deliveries -Cooked three of the dishes for the rest of the week. (Now only mushrooms and dates left I believe) -Wrote a message to my apartment mates regarding my ETA for the shower, as they requested instead of calling, even though it requires me opening Whatsapp. But that's what we agreed, so that what I did. (We really agreed to start from next week, but I still preferred to write them) 1 Thing I could do better -:Instead of doing the last pomodroo do visualization (Fill out one visa form) The time is running really low on that matter, I'd like to gather all the documents within the next 2 days, by sunday set an appointment and and, if they have any, by tuesday hand in the docs. Without the financial goal yet of course.

Welcome back! 😄

Same story here. Last year, I deleted all of the games and files, and for the 5 months going without, followed every little rabbit-hole thought online, blaming other people for all sorts of problems. That worked for no-gaming, but not so well for life as a whole. The last two 'quits' were because I chose to show up for a few people and they showed me a good time in turn - a better time than I felt I was having gaming and stuff, as opposed to just feeling bad about my gaming relationships. So I didn't delete the games, because I could barely believe I felt happy about anything offline. I'm going to be giving completely forgetting about them some more honest effort. As for sickness, you may be more aware of sensations/feelings and not know what to do with them now that you're paying attention - I'm not a professional or expert - but maybe it really is a longing of sorts to get 'back in the thick of things (life), that being what it is for you personally. Good luck, as I actually do enjoy saying. 👍

May 23-24 ICYMI(first time saying that), I had a bit of a moment 2 nights ago and fooled around online, gaming etc. I want to apologise, because what I said to myself was 'screw this, nobody's really supporting me on here'. Not only that, but someone from a social club I've been with (who is a great person) took a physical fall yesterday and I heard it was pretty grisly. If we are all really connected, perhaps my actions over here on my computer (even though it was basically gratification-only) played a part in some kind of chain of events that led to it. In my view, she didn't deserve the injury just as I didn't deserve to mindlessly entertain myself the way I did. I've been mindful of so much, and suddenly when half of my world felt like it was caving, and I threw away the rest for a time, someone else's day took a miserable turn. I am not defeatist by saying, 'that's just life' all of the time, and although I might somewhat recognise the insanity in blaming her event on myself, still.. and my 'heal up soon' was added to the card we're sending her. _________________ The night before last, I slept over 12 depressing hours - but then went for a 6-7 mile (10-11km) jog right after eating. Then today, I visited the social club. Today was coloured by the news of the lady's accident and the hyper-aroused state I was in from indulging online. Semi-relatedly, I've been realising more the importance of honesty and innocence and its preservation in younger people. If you see them dwindling, don't hesitate to try and replenish! ❤️ ________________ Gratitude: ~ feeling good enough about the day to hit the gym after the social club locked up for the weekend ~ spilling water down my front 2-3 times from my overlarge drink bottle and not worrying ~ waking up gradually from before my 6am alarm went off (I wanted to get to the clubhouse right on opening) ~ even though I didn't sense it properly at the time, I think now that several of the other members were pretty forgiving of me today - I do have a task of sorts from one staff member to make next visit better: suggest/bring stuff for the end of month picnic, and try to bring a friend, so I'm writing that down 😉 Best wishes for the weekend, ~ Matt

I haven't really been gaming for a couple of months. I still have the games on my computer. I still log in from time to time but I don' I play or very seldom do and it's usually around 11 o'clock my time and then I log off. Is this part of the withdrawal symptoms I also have been feeling sick and like something is missing?

It is likely that both ADHD (impulse control, inatention, need for stimulation) and Asperger (obsessive interests and poor social life) are great predispositions for game addiction.

Entry 23.05 Day 602: No Useless Videos Day 599: Sticking to Food schedule Day 203: Eating Only between 06:30 and 19:00 (Last bite before 19:00) Day 194: Being in bed before 23:15 Day 20: 8 pomodoros 3 Things I did well no matter how small -Don't know how I do this day after day but completed one more day of 8 pomodoros without naps -Asked two superiors about how to visit one of the company's hotels privately to better understand it -Regular workout 1 Thing I could do better -:Probably re-plan stuff on Saturday to try a workout in the morning before the job along with more pomodoros, so as to stop doing so many pomodoros when dozing off and losing effectiveness

Hey all! Been a while. I know I said I was going to continue writing but then didn't... Things were okay for some time, but have taken a downturn lately. I have actually been YouTube free (as in, no addiction though I will watch the occasional video for something I need, such as instructional content) since starting this journey, which has been awesome. I was continuing to improve my life and even getting some of my routines in place that I've wanted to establish for some time. Part of what really hurt me was when, in January, my insurance company dropped coverage for the company I was using for therapy. I got another month or so of grace, but ultimately lost both my psychologist and psychiatrist. On top of this, I am still in the same job and it is making me absolutely miserable. I've been applying to jobs and have not been successful. It's wearing me down. I went through four interviews with one company, who told me they love me and would like to hire me, only they don't have any work to bill me to (thus, they were interviewing to add to their pool of potential hires). That really demoralized me. I would love to just up and quit right now, but my wife has one year left of her residency, so we need the money for rent, etc. If she were done and working, I could potentially quit without something else lined up to protect my mental health. Right now, we don't have that luxury. I've considered other career paths but it is difficult to find time to pivot while still working full time. I know it can be done, but I need to make the time for it. In the meantime, I've considered an internal move within my company to a different position. This may alleviate some of the pain, as I'd probably be doing something a bit more enjoyable. There's more to the story, but that's the gist of it. It really harmed my mental health. My depression was at an all-time low over the past 2-3 weeks. I did seek help from my doctor, which was a good move. I'm still working on finding therapists - seems hard to find people with availability. I have done some good things for myself though. I started going to a dietician to support my strength training goals. I see a personal trainer about once a month to keep me on track for the strength training itself. I also started going to physical therapy to correct an issue with my chest that has plagued me since my teens. So these are all wins to celebrate. I'm back here now because I realized I was really at my best last year when I did my detox and was writing on this forum every day. There is something about coming here to this community, having support, and establishing accountability that really bolstered my efforts. My wife even said that during that time, I was the most "on it" she'd seen. I'm going to begin journaling again and tracking some key behaviors. It won't be as intense as when I first started, but I really think I need to be here. I hope everyone's been well and I look forward to catching up on your journeys.

1. Experience Experience A > Last night before I fell asleep, I relapsed and played some Clash Royale. The Ipad was in my room, because I didn't want to clean the analogue alarm clock with battery mould. Experience B (reduced priority of importance) > I also didn't follow my Practice Block time scheduled in today - studying alone. I pushed it back to a later time, despite it being important to pushing thriving in discomfort/fear zone. 2 + 3. Reflection + Abstraction Experience A How did I feel? - Urge to play games - Just one game - Thought about downloading Genshin again also - Deterred due to financial implications and gambling When did the feelings occur? - Felt discomfort before sleeping. Wasn't tired enough to sleep, despite jogging earlier. Maybe I need to push my exercise a lot more, so I get tired during bedtime? (Experimentation) I normally don't push myself hard enough when I exercise: going outside to jog - I end up walking a lot more than I jog (Abstraction) - Felt difficulty trying to control impulse to download another game. Reminiscing the happiness and direction-oriented goals pre-established. These feelings of comfort and having purpose, compared way better than feeling discomfort due to not spending time to create clear SMARTER goals. Creating the goals also felt challenging and not purposeful due to the success rate of completing the goals. I often feel this way when I try to complete my SMARTER goals. I also give myself too many SMARTER goals that it gets overwhelming. I don't put these SMARTER goals as a project in Amazing Marvin, and categorise them more efficiently as a result of transferring from Obsidian to Amazing Marvin. (Abstraction) Vulnerability factors: 1. Events - A lot of studying the day before, felt slightly stressed and tired to control willpower - Stress due to assignment dates coming up 2. Environment - ipad in the room 4. Experimentation > Clean the analogue alarm. Use it. > Put the Ipad outside every night before I sleep. Daily Burntheboats: if no put ipad outside, I have to run around naked at university for day before.

I went for a jog too 🫡 keep the engine ticking over or whatever!

17 May - 22 May: I caught up on some reading about finance. I also went running with my girlfriend and my friend. I started actively working on my porn problem. I'm also solving the next pricing adjustment, working on the questionnaire for my students and preparing for the CELTA certification.

A whole year. Holy... I'll be turning 30 in a few months. Next year (and half, since it was in December, so not quite a year yet) it will be 10 (Ten Years!) since I found this forum and took the road to a real life. I kinda feel dizzy just thinking about it. Recovery... is relative. For some addicts it works like grief: you live with it, comes and goes, good times and bad times. That's how it works for me, for sure. But it's never the same. Somehow, in its own particular way, it keeps getting better. It truly does. Ok, so, updates. Last year was rough and now it's only a blur in my memory. Proper care for my mental health stuff didn't arrive until recently and the process was traumatic. That should be awful news, but this year's been strong so far. ADHD meds! Document changes! Community! I pulled some work doing networking with people from my hometown and among other nice pals I met a fellow AuDHDer with a mostly identical story to mine: high-school dropout, lots of unfinished projects, next to zero social skills, absolutely lost in life. No video games in their case, which is peculiar, but that makes things easier. Of course, we clicked immediately. We've been accountability partners for a couple months now and our gears are turning. Don't want to jinx what I'm currently doing but what I *can* report is that my eating disorder is going much much better. I even enjoy cooking now! They're doing amazing as well, with a brand new prescription for their own neurodivergence and several projects and hobbies routinely cared for. They're also ridiculously good in bed, a fact that needs to be noted for posterity. Mira Bellwether, wherever you are I hope you're proud of me. Better health and weight helped with my hormone regime, which helped my self-esteem, which helped being able to keep on top of a regular self-care routine (sans meditation, yet), which... You get the idea. Things are going well. I'll enjoy it as it is now, no looking forward or backwards. It's hard not getting sentimental and melancholic, especially being me, but... how can I express it? Nothing has changed. At the end of the day, I'm still me, my fears, my life, my death, my brain for the better or worse. Everything has changed. My body. My name. My heart, cheesy as it sounds. I'm nothing like the person of my first post. Or am I? Looks I'm in for a good old sleepless night. This time, however, there's no regret, only wonder. Mom retired from work a month ago. Dad had his first scare with cancer, thankfully easy to handle (this time?). What's to come? We move forward friends. Always forward. Always forward.

Same story here! Grand Strategy single player, same two or three games compulsively. I don't have an official diagnosis yet (ADHD gatekeeping is nuts) but I'm starting with some light meds, been a life-changer so far. Now I barely come here (and supposedly I'm a mod, eeep) but I just had to tell you, you're not alone in this!

Entry 22.05 Day 601: No Useless Videos Day 598: Sticking to Food schedule Day 202: Eating Only between 06:30 and 19:00 (Last bite before 19:00) Day 193: Being in bed before 23:15 Day 19: 8 pomodoros 🙂 3 Things I did well no matter how small -About 22 and something hour fast -Finishing reading the company policies during breaks -Bringing up the 2 points about bonuses and work time so that it would be written in the job contract which it was currently not 1 Thing I could do better -Try to be more effective on the way home and starting workout once I'm finished at work

My friend playing bitlife caused my relapse now, after year of abstinence. If there wasn't him, I wouldnt have joines here.

Would like to, but impossible nowadays.

I also suspect ADHD and also suspect Asperger syndrome (or Autism spectrum disorder in DSM5). Going to pshchological testing in July.

22/05/24 1. Outline > I went without games for my first 24 hours again. > It was challenging. 2. Reflection Feelings: How + When (During experience) - Felt irritated - Bored when not gaming - Cravings - Browsing on ipad didn't scratch the itch Struggles: What + When + Triggers? Reaction: How + When (You/Others) - 1. Bedtime, after hopping into bed, couldn't sleep DIFFICULTY HERE - Light through door cracks - Light through curtains - After laptop force shutdown at 6pm - Led to grabbing IPAD - 2. Browsing youtube on the IPAD. Was in the room conveniently because I took it back into the room. - Constantly browsing on browsers random things - News, games, trending on youtube - [x] Vulnerability factors/<u>Antecedents</u>: What + When (Immediately before?) - [x] Vulnerability factors/<u>Antecedents</u>: What + When (Day/Week ago?) - [x] How did you respond to difficulty or struggle? (Above questions) - Didn't play games - Didn't finish assignment - Played Clash Royale the day before - Thoughts about xenoblade chronicles carried onwards - Reminiscing about games I had played (memories) - cravings of the fun feelings 3. Abstraction Avoid discomfort: I tend to find other forms of procrastination instead of trying to experience the discomfort. Trash the strategies: I don't stick to emotional management strategies like simple CBT exercises (wind, leaves, car) I get "bored" and lose belief in hard strategies that might actually be more effective. 4. Experimentation -> Force discomfort -> Use the strategy Set up an exposure exercise on schedule of 10 minutes tomorrow. Evokes feelings of discomfort. Use scripted action: 1. Look away 2. Count to 10 slowly 3. Use CBT leaves, wind, car to disregard discomfort