Keri2323

Hi Circle, Like you I had similar issues with anxiety and often went to gaming to 'zone out' and relax. One thing I will say is you can never look back and think of the hours wasted, because they are gone now, you are 10 years younger than me and can you imagine what you can achieve by the time you are my age? You can literally be whatever you want. Start slow, make small changes, try to make them consistent and positive. Measure your progress. You have beaten an issue before which means you are mentally strong, so look back on that as your source of motivation. I'm on day 17 now, never thought I'd do a day at one point! Ask questions, everyone here will have answers, ideas that you can consider and you can choose ones that work for you. Since quitting, I've started a rugby website where I go and interview coaches, started learning French on DuoLingo, grabbed myself a couple of paid coaching jobs, got the guitar out again with an aim to perform in pubs and spent quality time with my family. That's just 17 days! In 10 years you could be literally whatever you want to be. :-)

Hey Granitwelle, sounds like you have been along a similar road, thank you for your kind words mate :-) I'm happier now more than ever, always been prone to escapism but working on that!

Congrats on your success so far mate and maintaining a great academic record despite gaming. I often wonder what I could have done with all those hours I pumped into gaming, but eventually came round to the idea I still have a long life ahead and there is no better time to start than now! Like you, today is exactly my two week anniversary of quitting games. I too sold my console, deleted everything from my PC, don't need any reminders right now. Bizarrely today has been the toughest day for me so far, been so close to justifying to myself that I've worked hard so I 'deserve' to have a quick gaming session. But It's never quick. And it's never deserved. I deserve more than endless hours of regret in the future. In the last two weeks since quitting, amongst other things I finally drew up my rugby coaching CV and landed a job for next season and a paid job this season. I literally would not have bothered to take the effort and time had I still been engrossed in some game that leaves me nothing. Well done mate, look forward to your progress and ideas :-)

Amazing story Joe, congratulations :-)

You sound like an incredibly mature young man, and I am certain that you will kick this habit. I love the advice to treat your own life like a game, because that's really what it is. Grind until you level up and everything gets a bit easier. Good luck!

Cheers Cam, never give up the good fight mate. There will ALWAYS be people who need you, especially as we delve further into technology and it's inevitable addiction. Might be rough financially now (It's the same for me with coaching, we have struggled for 14 months with little money) but someone once told me that if you do what you love, with passion, someone will eventually pay you what you are worth. :-)

The key is to make very small steps to change. Cam recommended a book called 'The Slight Edge' and I thought I'd give it a pop, it was £4.50. Complete game changer, give it a try :-)

Firstly, my kindest thanks to Cam, I came across his TED talk when I was googling gaming addiction and have followed this site and his video's ever since. Seven days ago I quit gaming and the change has been nothing short of a revelation. I am a 38 year old guy from the UK who has been playing games since about 4 years old. Briefly, my history goes a bit like this. My dad was a violent alcoholic and looking back I now see I used to game to escape into a world where I was safe and in control. That's how the whole addiction process was kicked off I believe, but there was a lot more to come! At aged 16 I had a bit of a breakdown and it resulted in severe anxiety and agoraphobia. I literally couldn't leave the house for over a year, I was terrified, and the gaming was even more compounded. At that point I started to self medicate with alcohol and although it absolutely changed my life (I could go out again, I started to be able to at least function in society) it eventually and inevitably almost took it. It was a long battle, 18 years alcohol dependent, still gaming on a huge level, just trying to scrape through the day until I hit my lowest point aged 33. I broke up with my girlfriend and moved back into my mothers and slowly deteriorated. I knew then it was die in that room or get busy living, so I scraped up all the money I could find and went to live in Bulgaria. I knew no-one there except one guy I'd met once. Ironically, my friend in Bulgaria was a guy I met playing an online game at an annual meet up so if there is one positive to come from it, it was that! In Bulgaria, I had to 'fend for myself' as in, I had to go out every day, buy food, buy alcohol, nobody could get it for me and there was no online shopping, and nobody knew I was an alcoholic. It was terrifying but liberating. I started going to the gym, bike riding, walking! I was still drinking but I saw a glimmer of light. When I was strong enough I moved back to the UK and got a flat on my own. I slowly, every day, cut down small amounts until 04/04/2013 when I got sober. In a months time I will be 4 years sober. I lost 4 stone in a year and life suddenly felt it was just beginning. This was terrifying too, I actually had to find out who I was without alcohol! The gaming however, never went away. I would play it to keep my mind off drinking for about 16 hours a day at times and it wasn't taking me forward. I'd get a job, then binge game on weekends, sometimes even losing my job. Eventually i decided to tackle my greatest fear, open spaces. I made a decision that not only would I tackle it, I would immerse myself in them. So I decided on January 1st 2016 to become a professional rugby coach. Rugby has always been my passion, as a Welshman and my agoraphobia robbed me of my sporting pleasures as a youngster, so this was what i was going to do. I had no experience at all! Today i enjoy the honour of being a head coach of a university team, which is paid, I work for England Rugby on a schools program and with Saracens rugby on their youth program. But gaming still dominated my thoughts, my life and a lot of my time. So last week I read an article by Cam on reading 'The Slight Edge'. A book which has changed me completely and I recommend you get it! Since reading it my productivity has risen ten-fold. I do small things every day to improve all areas of my life on the understanding this will compound over time. I guess in some ways I used it when beating alcohol but didn't realise it. The power of small actions is enormous. And I'm BUSY! So busy. Whenever I feel the urge to game I read. I'm currently reading through 'Think and Grow Rich' and have about 20 books on my kindle lined up after that. I apologies for this enormous post, it wasn't planned this way, as I typed more came out! I want to send my huge thanks to Cam and this community who I have been reading from afar, all your stories and inspirational ideas, have all helped me to quit this very addictive outlet. When I get on my feet financially I will be contributing as a huge thanks. I enclose my proudest picture to date. I never thought I'd ever be standing in a field feel utter joy instead of utter terror and I know you guys can do ANYTHING you set your mind to, there is something in us all we don't know we have until we are forced to find it. A strength like no other. Thank you for reading, hope I can help others in the same way you helped me.

Great intro, feel completely the same about so many things you said, keep going :-)

Great story Jeet, congratulations, did you read 'The Slight Edge' by any chance? I have subscribed to your videos, great work :-)