BooksandTrees

Good job! Did you go as a hobby or for work?

Very true! I think some people can just write like others play video games. Take Stephen King or James Patterson for example. They put out a book or two a year it seems. But we're not them and that's ok. As long as we appreciate what we're doing that's all that matters. Also, it's amazing to see what we've tried as hobbies. I don't think many people understand that it takes forever most of the time lol.

Oh wow. I have no idea what gouache is lol.

Nice painting! Is that oil or acrylic?

Yeah. A few members on here have had issues on the Discord and I just don't recommend it. I'm sure they'll let you know if they read this or you see their diary.

Most of the people in there have relapsed and are not participating in quitting games. You can see what games they're playing on the right. Most people just post memes and shitpost others or go on there to talk badly. Or they just sit there and think they're socializing rather than going out and meeting people or doing another hobby. Some of them are nice and the moderators are great. It's just not a conducive place for recovery in my opinion. Picture people playing video games and sitting on discord. Now picture them without gaming but they're still sitting on discord. A good portion are going to relapse and it's a negative environment.

I woke up today feeling less lethargic than previous days. I started doing chores around the house and then prepared to write my writing coach an email explaining I've been too tired to write. I then got frustrated with myself and started to write. I ended up writing over 1000 words, finishing a chapter, and sending her a positive progress update with a draft of my new chapter for her review. Just because I'm good at writing and enjoying it as a hobby doesn't mean I can do it the same amount as I did with gaming. This is a mentally exhausting hobby and I need to accept that if I take a couple weeks off or a month off I'm not a failure. It just takes time. Also, I wanted to compare writing to working out at the gym. If you over exert yourself at the gym you'll hurt yourself. It's exhausting and you can only do major body parts once or twice a week for bulking. Same concept for writing. Sometimes your mind can only handle once or twice a week. It doesn't mean that we don't like writing or the gym. That's just how it works for some people.

Progression, competition and winning, friendship and community, something to do without having to learn something new, collecting items, going after new goals, being high ranked, leading people.

It is ok. I wouldn't recommend joining the discord btw. It's a way different environment than here. But at least you have some people here. It's a start.

You could try publishing on Amazon. That's what I'm doing with my book. They take care of a lot for you. You just gotta do the advertising. And I've been using a writing coach to peer review it. Maybe if you broke the gaming break from 1 year down to 3 weeks you'll feel better. I noticed brain fog and lethargy go away after 2 weeks and you get a new frame of mind after. 3 weeks could be the base minimum and then keep going from there if you like how you're feeling. Good luck with surgery.

And don't forget, even if you completed all of the tracks, the competitive side in you might try to go for new personal bests or beating certain f1 racers. So you never know when that really ends. Plus there's new tracks being used like Vegas.

Lol I'm books and HALTED stands for hungry, angry, lonely, tired, environment, and dehydration. Those 6 words can have impacts on your mood and cause stress. Stress triggers gaming or things we use to resolve stress. So sometimes if you're feeling a craving, check to see if you're hungry, angry, thirsty, tired, lonely, or in a bad place mentally or physically. A lot of the time I'm dehydrated. Most of the time my trigger was environment. It's because I hated my work environment and my boss. So I quit my job and have much fewer cravings. Just be careful that you don't solve all your issues with identifying hunger for example. Stress eating is another addiction. So just be mindful when you go through these. A lot of time I recommend seeing a therapist and discussing why you play games, why they make you unhappy, why they make you happy, what you're missing in life, etc. Always seek professional help and never try doing this alone in my opinion.

I tried only playing certain games and they're almost always a gateway back into old gaming habits or worse ones. I read how drug addicts start clean until they drink alcohol and then get drunk and start looking for drugs again. They can spiral. If it were me I'd get rid of it. It's just tough because that gaming rig and F1 are a big portion of your current identity so it feels like you're abandoning yourself. I was the best ea sports nhl player in the world for 3 years and it was tough to watch real hockey for a while. But it went away and I enjoy hockey now.

I'm also going to sell my drum set. I want people to know that a lot of the hobbies I've tried have not stuck. The only things so far are reading, legos, cooking, puzzles, listening to music, and board games. Rock climbing, boxing, beer league hockey, badminton, volleyball, animation, drawing, yoga, photography, billiards, woodworking, drums, gym, painting, brewing beer, podcasting, video editing, and a few other things have not worked. It seems that I'm attempting mostly exercise or artistic things. I haven't tried things such as a new language, volunteering, making furniture or clothes, etc. Just keep in mind that it's sometimes painful to find replacement activities for video games and most of the time they're not nearly as fun. We're just in it for a healthier and balanced life without addiction.

I just read about sugar withdrawal. I've eaten so much sugar this vacation from holiday candy. I haven't had it in 3 days and I'm just exhausted and having weird effects. I didn't realize this, but sugar withdrawal symptoms can include dizziness, irritability, nausea, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, etc. I've been battling this a lot lately. I'm gonna get back to a better diet and start there. I'll give this a couple weeks as the mayo clinic says it takes 2 to 3 weeks to regulate if you've cut sugar and certain foods. Worth a shot.

I had a lot of bad dreams last night. One was me fighting my dad, one was me getting my bike stolen, one was me losing friends, one was my old runescape account getting hacked and I was sacrificing everything to get it back, one where my town was getting invaded in a war and they used my house as shelter to fight, one where I had a tenant as a landlord but she left because she didn't like the candles in the living room lol. Just exhausting waking up after that.

Thank you! It's odd because I would normally associate this with depression but I really believe I'm not depressed and letting myself relax a lot as I recover fom burn out. Thanks for the well wishes and I'm glad this could encourage you.

I haven't written anything in weeks and am losing my drive for it. I feel like I'm in a holding pattern of doing nothing. I don't feel depressed though and I'm not burnt out anymore. I can't really describe it. I'm just complacent to do nothing.

I'd let your manager know asap because if you don't then the manager is going to ask why you let it go so long. He'll give you tips and if those don't work he'll step in.

Hey! Great to see you! How are you doing?? Thanks for checking in!!

I'm on vacation and it's going well. Did some celebrating with family and got cool gifts. I've spent the past few days watching movies, building legos, cooking food, and doing my annual doctor appointments. I've been drawing a bit too and scheduled some work for my house. After this I'd like to write and read a bit more and exercise a little. I've had to delay exercise because I injured nt groin unfortunately. But it's getting better.

Welcome to the forums. Good luck on this journey and hopefully you can find some help through the process here.

Merry Christmas! Thanks for the gift of support this year! It really helps keep me going strong.

I'm still ashamed of my weight. I started tracking my calories again.

I always tell people it's gonna take 3 weeks or so for your mind to stabilize after quitting an addiction. This is very real. I used to write such elaborate posts with titles and stuff, but it turns into a job. I think you gotta use Journaling as a means to support and heal yourself. The long posts are exhausting and I see so many people do them and quit. So kudos to you for doing it for the whole 90 days. Great job!! I'm glad you're sticking around and look forward to seeing future developments.