Mohammad

Day 9 to 11 (August 28th to 30th): I played for 1.5 hours in these three days. I have to stop it before getting out of control!

Day 8 (August 27th): I had strong urges to play last night. 😞 I was doing well during the day but suddenly, the character I am playing just passed in front of my eyes! I installed the steam and the game. It took about 30 mints and I was working on my project with a tight deadline. I said to myself that I will play when I am done with this work. I finished the work at 1:30 am. I launched the game and starred at it for a few mints and then exit and uninstall the game and steam! Thanks god, it was super close. I started today with lifting some weights and doing pretty well now. It is tough at times but I have to keep up the spirit.

Day 7 (August 26th): Last night, I resisted the temptation to play. I spent my time on writing my dissertation. I did 30 mints of exercise and went to bed. I am feeling better today and hopefully, will be more productive.

It is 8 pm and I was not very productive today. I feel really bored and have some temptations. The reason behind the temptations is probably being mostly unproductive and feeling bored and a bit stressed.

Day 6 (August 25th): I started the day by sending my son to his daycare, and now I am working on my dissertation. I am doing well and have almost no temptation for gaming.

It is 9 p.m. and I was very productive using every moments of the day. I will study for another hour or two, do some exercise, meditate, read and sleep by 12 midnight. I think I am getting some momentum. I will keep writing twice a day to check with myself more frequently.

Day 5 (August 24th): I woke up 7 am today and prepared my son for his daycare. I started working on my dissertation since then. I had little temptations but its not a big deal. I think I'll be good today. I will write again at night how the day went on. The book I am reading is very interesting and encouraging: "forged in crisis: The making of Five Courageous Leaders".

It is 9 pm and I have no temptations for gaming. I am physically and mentally exhausted today. I am going to read for an hour before going bed.

Day 4: I did not play last night. My friends came by and after they left, I read for half an hour before going to bed. I am trying to focus on my long term goals and desires to block instant gratification that comes with gaming. I will try to write as often as possible to avoid being caught up by sudden temptations.

Day 3: I am going through this day with no gaming as well. I did 2.5 hours of cycling (28 km). Meditating, reading books, spending time with family and friends. I am physically exhausted tonight and going to read before bedtime.

Day 2: No gaming. We had a party lat night so obviously I had no temptation for gaming. Lets see what happens tonight. I am trying to be ready to resist the temptation when it probably hits tonight.

Day 1: No gaming. I went for 2 hours cycling tonight. It was super fun. I want to read for an hour tonight before going to bed.

Sure, thanks for being here and interacting with me.

I am starting again my detox program from today. I send a request to steam support to delete my account permanently, however, they will do it only if I do not log in for 30 days! That being said, I have to stay off the steam for a month to have it deleted. That is going to be challenging. I think I have to start mediating again. I had no stress when I was doing meditation regularly but recently I am very stressful.

That sounds interesting. I do not think that will work for me because I am very money sensitive and can easily cheat on my promise! Thank you for advice.

Yes, I am writing my dissertation that is quite stressful. I had big dreams so I stopped gaming to pursue my dreams. However, I feel it is fading now especially after I broke my detox program. Gaming has a very negative impact on my mental well being even when I play for a very short time. I ended playing for one and half hour last night so I have restart the detox program.

I have all the games deleted, for sure. However, it takes half an hour to download and install them so the barrier isn't wide enough. I even sold my gaming laptop a year ago and I am now using a computer without a dedicated graphics card. I removed all my in-game progress a year ago but then I started from scratch. So, basically none of them was a real barrier that I cannot break when I am tempted.

I think because I was bored and also I was physically exhausted. I came back from an hour of cycling. I wanted to start reading for half an hour before going to bed but ended up playing in that time frame! The temptation can happen really quickly as there are not enough barriers between me and games.

Day 5: I played for 30 mints last night but I think it is okay. I will try not to game again, and if it happens again, I will restart the detox.

Day 4: No gaming. I am doing okay these days; exercising, reading and studying.

Starting over, this is the third day of a new detox. Hope it goes well this time.

True. I am in a vicious cycle. Pandemic forced me to stay home and it triggered my gaming habit after 200 days of detoxing! It is fun to play but I cannot keep a balanced gaming routine. I know I have to abandon it altogether unless otherwise I will sacrifice my health, family, well being and future for the immediate pleasure. I think my biggest problem is that I do not have a barrier between myself and the games. I am home behind my desk and the temptation is too strong to deal with.

Day 3,4: no game. I have been spending time with family and working/studying/exercising.

Let's try it again: this is the second day with no games.

Thank you. I will try to spend more time on game quitters for a few weeks to experience it.