Paul A.

Today was pretty boring, as usual. I spent a good amount of time doing my homework, then I went for a walk, then I was out of the house for most of the rest of the day. I did go trick or treating with my siblings and I got a very painful shot in my arm, but otherwise it was an average day. Something I have struggled with for a while now is how to better spend my time. I feel like it will be easier now that I'm cutting down on TV, like something that didn't seem interesting when I was constantly watching TV will become interesting now that I am not watching so much TV. I guess only time will tell.

Awesome, can't wait to hear what the community thinks! Really interesting, I also feel like I got to know YOU a little better

@Kiki Your drawing is amazing, honest

There's something I need to get off my chest. The lack of comments I get on my journal is kinda discouraging. I know that you all have lives to live and you can't always be on the forum, but I still feel kinda unsupported. At the same time though, it has a little something to do with me checking every fifteen minutes for a reply, and also my lack of better ways to spend time. Outside of gaming and watching TV, there's not really a lot for me to do. I mean, I like to go out for a walk every now and then, but that doesn't really provide much but a short break from my boredom. I don't think it's possible for me to spend the whole day just wandering around the neighborhood. I also like to read, but even reading gets boring after a while. I guess I'm feeling uncertain, about how I'm going to spend time, about whether I should stick around on the forums, about how I might be in over my head about quitting TV. There's just a lot on my mind.

Hey @Tatu92 , just read through your journal. Keep posting, I'll be reading, and I'll try to give support when I can

Indeed it is. What comes to the weight being lifted off, I would say that yeah; most of the time it feels like that but what will be disturbing for some time is also the empty hole that quitting gaming sometimes leaves to your days. But hey: it wasn't ment to be easy anyway, was it? What I've also noticed now is that like in any addiction, whether it's drugs, alcohol, gambling etc., it's beneficial to do some self-reflection. Of course not everyone knows how to do it the best way - it's something that you learn when you just give time for yourself. For instance, I learned it when I was depressed and I really didn't have anything else to do except thinking out loud, why was I depressed? So today I actually admitted it for the first time: I am ADDICTED to gaming. I even spoke to my father about this. Of course he told me "I have been trying to tell you this for the last 10 years, but you never listened." Well, it was hard to admit it back then So for the people, who didn't think of this yet, I would encourage to admit that thing to themselves. Compulsive and obsessive gaming is like any addiction and it can be treated like any addiction. It just takes time, patience and actions. I've spoken Thanks for the comment Paul, made me think about this really! I also want to say that if there are other comments, I will not ignore a single comment. So if I don't answer you, it doesn't mean that I am taking your thoughts for granted or that I wouldn't be interested in them. I'll try my best No problem, I would give a like but I can't give any more reputation today

Glad to help @Diogo

Hey @Yani ! Isn't It awesome how you feel way more productive, and overall you just feel so much better about yourself? It's like a weight being lifted off your shoulders. Just remember that as you continue your detox, and keep it up!

Hey @Colin ! I think it's awesome that you want to help people. Reading some of your earlier posts, I could tell that gaming meant a lot to you, but an important part of moving on is finding what the hell you're going to do with yourself. I'm glad you're finding that out what that is for yourself.

Hey Diogo, Is there a goal you've had for a long time? Do you have a dream? Is there something in particular you would like to accomplish? If there is, I would suggest you spend your free time pursuing that goal or that dream. It will make quitting games a lot easier if you know for sure what you will be doing in place of it, plus you will be fulfilling your dream! Maybe you already are, I don't know because I haven't read your entire journal, but that's just my advice for you

Well, today was also pretty boring. Still working on a certain assignment (which is taking forever). I feel like today could have been better in terms of staying TV free, because after I came back from a fall festival at my church, I plopped down in front of the TV although I still had work to do. I don't know, I was kinda tired for some reason, but that shouldn't have been a reason for me to go straight to the TV. Luckily my mom got me to start my ironing, else I might have had a rather stressful Halloween tomorrow. That's been my day, really. Work, festival (which was boring TBH), more work. Hopefully tomorrow's more exciting.

Alright so... I have decided to stay away from TV as much as possible, but I will continue to have games on my phone (only my phone). This is for when I have nothing better to do (like I'm on a long car ride or something). I'm not even going to play when I want a break from some work (that's what laying around idly is for). I just feel like it's kind of extreme for me to give up gaming altogether at my age. I will still regularly write in my journal to keep everyone posted on my progress (because frankly, giving up TV is quite difficult). I would really appreciate the support

Thanks @Remigjus

Alright well I'm back on my old journal... Thanks @AlexTheGrape Y'all need to hear mah story

That's a good point... I think I can do that. Thanks for the advice

Well that's totally fine. I think making a daily schedule could really help with time management, if it's structure that you need. I don't really use one but I'm sure it would help a lot. About what to do, is there something that you've wanted to do for a while? Do you have a dream or goal? Maybe you should try to pursue that dream or that goal. Of course, I don't know your circumstances, but that's just my advice for you

Thanks @AlexTheGrape

Ok so... My first day TV free (game free not so much) was pretty boring. That was because I spent most of the day doing some homework (the joys of being a high schooler ). I feel like the TV being off most of the day definitely helped my focus, but I'm still distracted rather easily. Hopefully it'll get better as time progresses. So I got up at around 10AM, as expected on a Saturday morning. But, rather than go straight to the TV room like I would usually do, I went straight to the office after I brushed my teeth and changed to get started on my homework. I actually did spend a good portion of my time IN the TV room but with the TV OFF, I just sat in the TV room because it has the couches. I was distracted somewhat by what my brothers were doing, but I still got a good amount of work done. I stepped outside a few times for some air and I saw several birds flying from tree to tree, like they had gathered and were playing a game, it was quite a sight and I stood and enjoyed it for a while. While i said that today was TV free, it wasn't exactly game free, and that was because I kept Words with Friends on my phone, but I uninstalled it after realized it was distracting me from my work. Overall I think today was a pretty good day, although kind of boring. But once I finish my work I'm sure the days will be more exciting, especially with track and field tryouts coming up. Until tomorrow, everyone

But wouldn't it be easier for me to just start from day one instead of day 38 or 40 where I left off? Confused, lol. I don't think he means to start at day 38 or 40... just to get back to the same mindset, I suppose, or same lifestyle when you were detoxing, one conducive to your detox

Hehehe.... I'm back... So it's been a few months now, and I've been gaming as usual, and I've been feeling unfulfilled, as usual. It seemed that no matter what I tried or what I thought I realized, nothing could fill the void in my soul. Then last night, I realized the root of all my problems: television. Before I even considered quitting games, television was there. When I first decided to quit games, guess what I fell back on: television. You can ask Cam, he knows from reading my comments on his "How to Quit Playing Video Games FOREVER article." Every attempt I've made thus far to improve myself was hindered by television. How, you may ask? Well, there is one thing about TV that I have realized. I have realized that: TV DRAINS YOUR ENERGY AND MOTIVATION. For example, I've been home sick the past few days, and you can guess what I've been doing these past few days. I've spend a majority of every day laying on the couch in front of the TV, not willing to do my schoolwork that has accumulated because of my extended absence, which is quite a bit if you are in all four of the Gifted and Talented courses in high school. As well, an activity I have tried many times to pursue, writing, has never taken root because I consider it boring in comparison to watching TV, which provides instant gratification. So, I've decided to cut back significantly on my TV time (I can't eliminate it completely because I have gotten caught up in some shows) as well as try, yet AGAIN, to quit games. It's been a rough couple of months, but I have hope. I don't think I will be writing every day, but I'll certainly try. It's good to be back.... I guess...

@KO U from Ghana? My parents were born there, I lived there for 2 years. Where r u now?

Feeling really bored, really unentertained I don't know 'bout you, but me? This summer's pretty lame What is a man to do to hold his interest When nothing really lifts his spirits when he is depressed I thought it would be relaxing, to have nothing to do But it turns out staying home is really boring too I don't know what to do, to fill all of this time This boredom is so torturous, like punishment for crime Anyone would struggle, when always stuck at home And of course who's fault is that? My parents, not my own Also let us not forget my lack of steady income (no allowance or nothing) Having fun without a penny, difficult and then some (I'm not even bluffing) So what's my point? That staying home all day just isn't cool I'm so bored that I kinda wanna go on back to school So that's how I've been feeling ever since school ended (and if you can't already tell, I'm exploring rap again). I thought it would be relaxing to have nothing to do, but it has turned out to be really boring, especially since I've been struggling to find new activities. I've been gaming every single day since summer vacation started (even today I've played a bit and I might play later). I just don't feel strong enough to do anything else besides to game, I even had to force myself to write that rap. I'm not able to concentrate on anything much for long periods of time, so much so that now I think I have ADHD. I've struggled with my focus on doing anything besides gaming, and ADHD seems like the only plausible explanation to my inability to stay focused. The thing is, I'm not even good at any game I play, but yet I can't stop playing them, it's a vicious cycle. I've been considering new activities and the ones I think I'd like are ones that require concentration, like writing raps (which I had to force myself to write) and reading, but I can't stay focused long enough to even do them. I've also struggled to even bring myself to do anything but watch TV/YouTube and play games, I've wanted to write and read more for about a week now and I barely did any reading, and the only writing I've done recently is the rap above (plus something I did yesterday). I struggle with discipline and just getting started on things, I suppose. But at the same time, I feel like I'm trying to justify my inability to get started on things and to focus with a disease that hasn't even been diagnosed in me. Maybe it's sheer laziness that I have to work on, but I'm too lazy to. See how that works? I'm stuck in a loop. Well, that's how I've been doing over the past 2 weeks. Bored. Stressed. I think I'll try to write some more, or I'll just play some game like I have been the last 2 weeks.

^ I think you'd be surprised Paul Wow really? I didn't even know...

I've stopped posting regularly, doesn't serve helpful to me anymore. Hardly anyone reads it anyway

Relapsed for about a week. Boredom got the best of me. I've been playing Roblox since Monday, and I downloaded some mobile games last Thursday because I was left at my brother's concert while he was rehearsing. I had "fun" playing, but it doesn't feel like it's worth it, feels like days wasted . I wasn't happy. Attempting to get back on track. Also I've stopped posting on my journal, it doesn't prove helpful to me anymore, plus no one likes to read me complaining about my life