BooksandTrees

I had a really special weekend with my girlfriend. She gave me the courage to paint some stuff that I'd wanted to paint for years. I also had a revelation about why I didn't try hard on that exam. I struggled a bit with motivation today but I actually just worked super late to complete my 8 hour day. It's the most productive Monday I've had in months. I got all of my projects completed and I feel morally complete for it. I'd made excuses and tried to get to the end of the day so many times. This time I did it. I also didn't watch hockey once my team started losing because I knew they'd ruin my day if I did. I was right. I am happy now.

I've had a lot of these moments over the past 2 or 3 years and it's good to recognize change. Good job being introspective.

Today I'm 136 weeks free from gaming. I randomly woke up very early this morning and can't go back to bed. Not out of anything negative though. I'm just awake and ready for the day. I've struggled this week with depression and I understand the process. I've got major depressive disorder and some weeks will be like this regardless of the medication I take or the therapy I attend. I got out of it last night by smiling. I forced myself to smile and for some reason it put me in a better mood. I hope everyone has a good day and weekend.

Depression is awful. I will pull through this. I hope anyone suffering out there is staying strong. You've got this. We've got this.

I feel the same way regarding porn. I know it's different than gaming but I still feel like I've gained so much experience from quitting before that I'm in a better spot now to quit for longer.

I had a much more productive day today at work. It wasn't the most productive, but it was my most productive this week and it was because I gave myself time to relax this morning and start my day off right. I didn't think about being unhappy or anything. I was almost peer pressured into a social event but stayed strong and got out of it. I want to relax tonight and do some art or something. I'm tired. It's been a long week. Failing that exam bothered me and made me tired. Work bothered me and made me tired. I finally relaxed yesterday and today I rebounded because of it. I'm looking forward to spending time with my girlfriend this weekend and just being together.

Thanks @Amphibian220and @championeal. I started today off with some quiet time and did some stretching as well as a good breakfast and watched my show. I feel more relaxed and ready to get stuff completed today. I feel better about the fact that the harder I work the more reward I get monetarily.

I've been so dejected and unmotivated recently. I enjoy life but not work right now. I can't seem to overcome this feeling of being cheated out of my time or something. My job isn't being too unfair or anything. I'm just feeling like I don't want to do anything. I feel more awake than the previous few weeks without the apps and stuff. Maybe I just need to accept work for now and realize it provides the money I need for time to enjoy life.

Most of us are going to tell you to avoid gaming in general. Many of us are adults with families and sometimes look back at our years playing games in regret and shame. Those 3 hours a night won't suffice after a while and soon you'll be on for 5 to 8. Some of us played 16 or more per day. I was a professional gamer for years and couldn't stop playing. Since quitting I've done better at work, lost 30 lbs, got a serious girlfriend, and discovered hobbies that actually satisfy me. My mental health is in check and I've reduced my anxiety and depression. I didn't have those problems at 13 but they started at 15. Unfortunately, she's doing you a favor and has your health in mind. She's protecting you.

It can be quiet in the forums sometimes but it's a dedicated community. I relapsed about 4 pages into my journal and recommitted after that. Why are you playing games? What are you missing in life that they provide? What's going on in real life?

I'll get it next time. I'm relieved to have closure anyways.

Only 45% of people passed. It is usually 70%. They made it more difficult lol. They give a diagnostic but they gave trick questions this year.

I definitely stayed strong! We've got this. You've got a great attitude.

I'm sorry you relapsed. I'm about 2 weeks free now and kind of want to relapse and watch but I think it would make me feel bad so I'm not going to do it.

I failed my exam again. I don't know how to feel. I never failed this much back in college. I also know that I didn't commit enough time to this exam to succeed. I believe you need to dedicate 3-6 months of pure studying 3-6 days per week. The people who pass put way more effort into it I did. I am not upset by failing. I'm not sure how to feel. I knew I failed again. I don't really want to pass right now. I don't really feel happy with my current work. I want to stay at this job, love the benefits and coworkers etc. I just don't find the work interesting anymore. I find it a complete drag. It's busy work and not interesting to me anymore. I am grateful for the job. I just feel very bored of it at the moment and don't really care if I get the title change right now. My goal is to wait a year and study once I'm in a better space. During the first two attempts I had to change my antidepressant dosage a few times and I wasn't in the best mind space to dedicate a quarter of a year to studying. I feel better now because I've got my dosage worked out nicely. I just want to get my life back on track. I'm going to be writing and drawing more soon. I'm exercising and going to try and avoid porn for the rest of my life. I also want to just enjoy my time outside of work. I currently only enjoy time with my girlfriend and when I'm alone I'm a little miserable. I'm going to keep working on my attitude. I'm tired of thinking about this exam so I won't prepare for it again until 2022. I want my life back. I'm burnt out and tired after a year of constant studying and no hobby development since April of 2020.

Great job on the exams. Definitely allow yourself to celebrate and reward yourself for the hard work.

Welcome back. I did the same thing. I think it helps me feel accountable here. It's definitely improved my life.

Welcome to the forums. It's great to see you here. Try not to get overwhelmed by all of the things you listed in the last paragraph and remember to take this one step at a time. Be introspective and search your emotions to understand what got you here. Congrats on this first step.

Today I'm 135 weeks free from gaming. I'm on a nice vacation with my girlfriend and her family. I feel a lot better after being over a week away from the distracting apps. I'm relaxing now and hoping to recover from burnout. It's nice to relax.

Good luck on exams and just give it your best shot. If you've been good the whole semester you should be good for now. One step at a time.

Very happy! I still am in shock that I got this fortunate to meet someone like her.

Everyone has those moments. Try to think of why you played the game. What is causing you to be bored? What are you lacking? Once you answer those questions think about what you could do to maybe find better ways of what you want? Why do you play games? What are you lacking in life?

Do you track your calories at all or do anything for your dietary maintenance? I use the Myfitnesspal app and it helped me lose 30 lbs last year. It taught me about moderation so I could still eat stuff if I ate better for the other meals. Careful playing trading card games. They can be a source of "I miss getting this feeling from this old habit and this new one kind of gives it to me" sometimes that leads you back to old habits. I remember I played pokemon go and it made me want to collect things again and I played RuneScape after that because I loved collecting resources. Sometimes one leads back to another, so be vigilant of how you feel.

Is there a way to use a fan or air conditioner to improve your conditions? Do you have any indoor activities you can do or a place you can go that has air conditioning like a library? Quitting social media was the biggest thing I did before quitting gaming and it put the wheels in motion for me improving my life. Porn is the hardest thing to quit in my opinion. It's a bigger high than video games and it's a natural thing we want (sex, not porn) so it's hard to quit. Keep at it and just know any progress is good progress. Keep up the good work with volleyball!

I feel like I'm doing better mentally tonight than I have in weeks. I've gone about 4 days without any addictive activities and I've rested really well. I've kind of eaten like shit today but I feel better mentally and I'm more present to talk on the website than months past. I plan on finishing the week strong at work tomorrow, talking to friends after, then going on a nice little vacation with my girlfriend and her family. I want to get to know them better and I'm eager to spend time with her and be in our own place. It's a healthy escapism if you think about it. I also plan on writing a little bit up there and drawing. I'm recovering from burnout a bit and I'm happy to say I'll be doing more of my hobbies soon. I'm rock climbing again and will be playing the drums again soon. Therapy and my medication has really made such a huge impact in my life in helping me regulate my emotions and control myself better.