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Congratulations! ?

Sorry to hear this, sounds very hard to deal with. I'm quite certain I'm unqualified to answer this but maybe this can help? It's a link to the Gamequitter's fb parent support group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/234660037000181/

Day 32: June 6, 2019 I actually did a little work at my job today. I got to see lots of familiar faces today and have some great conversations. There was this cute girl that I had orientation with yesterday that I saw eating alone in the cafeteria today when I was about to head home. Most of my life I would just do nothing because I don't know how to talk to girls but today I thought "I'm going in" So I approached the table and sat down and just starting talking. "How's your first day going?" was what came out first. She recognized me from orientation. She seemed happy someone was talking to her. We had a really good 5-7ish minute conversation just getting to know each other. Sounds like I'll see her again at work on the weekend and I'm going to keep trying to talk to her. I know this seems like totally stupid and trivial to a normal person but to me this was huge. I felt good about it and look forward to speaking to her again. I also managed to eat clean all day today while only drinking water. Found time in the morning to hit the gym for a quick cardio workout and 100 pushups. Tomorrow I work earlier so I'll have to gym in the evening. I need to lift tomorrow I haven't in almost a week. Been sleeping better the last few nights, I think it's because the stress about job stuff is over. Life is really picking up. I have to make sure I do not stray from my current path. I won the day. Gaming free streak: 32 days 100 pushups a day streak: 11 days Water only: 2 days

Day 31: June 5, 2019 My first day back at work went pretty well. I didn't do any actual work, had to go thru safety stuff, paperwork, and some testing. But so many people were nice to me. I even got a hug from an old manager. I'm really happy with my decision to come back and work there, people are nice to me and treat me with respect. I got to meet a few of the people I'm going to be working with and they seem like great people so far. I felt vindicated today. I ate clean all day long today and drank only water. I also found some time to hit the gym and put in 40 mins of cardio and 100 pushups. Another 30 to 60+ days like today and I'll make some huge progress on my health goals. One day at a time, I will conquer my life. I won the day. Gaming free streak: 31 days 100 pushups a day streak: 10 days Water Only : 1 day

Hey Matt, welcome. I am probably unqualified to give anyone advice about anything however since you asked for some.. I've found keeping my daily journal here on the forum to be very therapeutic and a great accountability habit. There's plenty of great members here to share experiences with too. Try to find new hobbies you are interested in asap. You'll probably suddenly find yourself with a bunch more free time and not sure what to do with it. I've started to read, walk a bunch, listen to podcasts and audio books, hit the gym lots, cook new healthy recipes, golf more, play tennis, yoga, journaling.. and more. Sounds like you purchased Respawn as well. Make sure you actually follow it. I actually did the worksheets and printed them out and put them next to my bed so I can always remind myself of my goals. Good luck. I love the Civ series btw.. over 1k hours haha.

Day 30: June 4, 2019 I'm 1/3 through the detox, cool. I'm quite pleased with myself and how much I've changed in these last 30 days. There's still so much more I want to accomplish in the next 60 days and beyond. I didn't get up to too much today, walked to the gym and did some cardio. Worked on some projects at home also. Read more of "The Game" I don't really have much else to say today, it was fairly uneventful. I'll probably have more to talk about tomorrow since it will be my first day back at work. Gaming free streak: 30 days 100 pushups a day streak: 9 days

Congrats on 90 days! ?

Hey man, how are you doing? Hope all is well

Day 29: June 3, 2019 Today was the day I put all the stress my confusing work situation has keep me in for the past few months away for the foreseeable future. What an enormous relief off my shoulders. I'm back at my old job starting Wednesday with a new job title and new responsibilities. Just knowing I don't need to worry about money anymore or what I'm going to do about my long term career path anymore is a breath of fresh air. I just want to go to work and not think about it. I am now free to get back on track with all my other goals I have for this detox, especially my health and fitness goals. I've been looking to start reading a new book since I finished Atomic habits for the 2nd time a few days ago. I went thru my bookshelf looking for something that I would be interested in reading right now, maybe something that could spark something inside me. My eyes locked in on a book I only read about 2/3 of 5ish years ago.. "The Game" by Neil Strauss. By far the most success I've ever had with women was a period lasting a few months 5ish years ago when I got super into "game" I was getting regular dates back then, plenty of matches online, and was going out practicing game at the mall, the book store, the coffee place.. anywhere pretty girls went. It only lasted a few months because it worked.. my game actually got me a gf and we dated almost a year. But after that ended I went back to all my old habits.. gaming uncontrollably, eating garbage, sedentary lifestyle, etc. Since this is one of the areas I want to make big improvements on in my life I thought reading the book could be a good way to motivate myself to get back out there. I read at least 50 pages today. I can see myself getting out there again maybe next month? I still wanna prioritize health/fitness and work for June at least but I'm intrigued by the idea of using game again. Not much else happened today. Just glad all that stress is behind me and I can focus on myself again. Tomorrow will be my best day in a week, I promise. Gaming free streak: 29 days 100 pushups a day streak: 8 days

Day 28: June 2, 2019 4 full weeks without video games. I'm setting a record every day at this point. There's no point in celebrating anything yet, I've got a lot more goals to reach in the near future and beyond. Visited my mom for lunch today and had some good conversations. I told her about how I'm going back to my old job and how I know its the right decision for me and she was really supportive. I'm glad I can ease some of her concerns about me. I think she worries about me more than she lets on. I want to make her proud of me someday. I met a friend for tennis in the afternoon. We played for about an hour and I had a lot of fun and got a good workout, the weather was perfect for tennis.. no sun and a refreshing breeze. I typed my resignation letter to my new job a couple hours ago. I felt much better about it after it was done. I dealt with it professionally and it was the ethical decision I have no doubt. I'm sure they will take it in the right way when they read what I wrote. Another nice bonus about this is now I might get another couple of weeks off where I can focus entirely on my new schedule and lifestyle. Not sure if I'll sleep well tonight as I'm carrying a little anxiety about my resignation tonight. I won't let it bother me. If I can't sleep I'll just watch netflix till the morning, I won't let it control me tonight, I'm really excited to get back on track tomorrow. Gaming free streak: 28 days 100 pushups a day streak: 7 days

That hit me hard. You're so right. You're right. I can see great value in seeing my progression of my thought processes. I imagine looking back at this journal at day 90 and beyond and I want to see how much I've grown and changed. I agree about #4 also. Sometimes when I write out my day I can see all my thoughts in front of me and come to new conclusions or realizations. You're close with the sadness. It's a self confidence thing for me. I have low self esteem and confidence issues. Mostly stemming from my lack of success with the fairer sex. It's just something I've struggled with for a long time and is a big reason I have decided to leave my destructive video game addiction in the past so I can start improving this area of my life. "You attract what you are. If you are responsible, hard-working and determined, you'll naturally attract responsible, hard-working and determined partners." Thank you for that, sometimes I can't see the forest thru the trees. Thank you so much for all your excellent suggestions and advice! I feel inspired to get back on track in a big way tomorrow. ?️‍♂️

Welcome Jay. I can relate to a lot of what you've written here. Picking up new hobbies should help a lot filling the void. Journaling helps me stay on track with my goals also so I recommend trying to do it daily if possible. Good luck!

Day 27: June 1, 2019 Today was a strange day. In regards to my emotions today compared to yesterday they were stable and nearly back to the levels they were days ago. I won't let things like that bring me down again. Now that I made the mistake I've learned that letting it affect me is a waste of energy, time, and potential. The other thing that happened to me today that was huge was a manager from my old job called to talk to me about a new position they have in mind for me. I would be doing new things and have new responsibilities. I think the role actually suits me really well. Here's the thing.. I'm supposed to start my new IT job Monday. After much careful thought and listening to my heart I decided today that I'm going to actually decline starting the new job and just take my old one back. I was happy at my old job, I was comfortable there and people respected me, I was never stressed about it. My old job is going to start me at a higher wage than the new job also.. and I know I can progress to an even higher wage at a pace which I'm happy with. So tomorrow I'm going to try to reach someone from the new job and tell them my decision. Otherwise I'll have to do it Monday morning which I'd rather not do but whatever. Tonight I went to a friends place and had a small BBQ with a few friends. We ate good food, talked, drank, and watched Chernobyl. It was fun and just the kind of thing I needed to get my head in the right place. Just the kind of day I needed to get back on track with all my great progress I've made so far. Gaming free streak: 27 days 100 pushups a day streak: 6 days

You are absolutely correct. I just bathed in the bad juju yesterday and I won't do so again. I'm ready to get back on track!

Day 26: June 1, 2019 (the next morning) This is a quick entry about my day yesterday. If I had written this entry last night instead of this morning I suspect it would have been a lot different. I had a bad day yesterday. Mistakes were made. I don't know how specific I feel like getting.. but I saw something on my social media yesterday about someone I used to be very close with that triggered an intense emotional reaction inside me. It made me realize how far away from the life I really want I still am. It made me acknowledge my loneliness. It made me feel small, insignificant and invisible. I made many bad decisions yesterday after seeing that post. There's this all or nothing mentality that I have where if I make one mistake I tell myself "Well you already made that other mistake today, might as well just make this one too" and it just spirals out of control and I end up ruining an entire day. It's carried into today a little so far, haven't done anything stupid yet. I'm actually really looking forward to going back to work on Monday. I think having a structured schedule will do wonders for me and keep me away from days like today. Gaming free streak: 26 days 100 pushups a day streak: 5 days

Thanks for the advice @Ambassador @fawn_xoxo . I've been trying to take some steps to help with sleep. I've moved my computer out of my bedroom so that my room is a place for sleep and relaxation only. When I lie awake and know I won't fall asleep I try to just leave the room and do another activity for awhile and try again 20 mins later. I should probably try meditation but my brain is usually so active I find it tough to relax. I've been better at just accepting the reality of not falling asleep and it's helped a little. I think I will really just attempt to double down on that acceptance and not let it bother me.

Thanks for reading. I don't do 100 at once, it's just 100 in total for the whole day. I'm not in the best shape so I can only do about 20 or so at one time. But I get a little stronger each day.

Day 25: May 30, 2019 I slept okay last night, it was later than I wanted.. almost 3 am but I did get some sleep. I was so tired in the morning my brain convinced me to get mcdonald's breakfast again so I broke my water streak again. Ugh wtf. I have to stop this behavior. The good news is I moved my computer out of my bedroom today to try to help me sleep better. The rest of the day went very well. Did cardio at the gym and was covered in sweat when I finished, 100 pushups and 60 minutes of walking. A little bit of studying also. I weighed myself today and I have lost 6.6 lbs since day 1 of the detox which is pretty cool. I think now that I've added the 100 pushups a day challenge and started to plan my days and meals this trend should continue and I'm super excited about it. The day I hit 10 lbs down will feel pretty good. 3 more free days until I start my new job. I am a little nervous. I'm afraid I won't like it. I worry too much, it's a really bad habit. Gaming free streak: 25 days Water only streak: 0 days ? 100 pushups a day streak: 4 days Porn free: 4 days

I take melatonin almost every day, sometimes it helps. I think it's something in my head. Each evening when I think about sleep I begin to worry like "I hope I sleep tonight" "If I don't sleep how will I function tomorrow?" and I cannot relax. It's frustrating. If it continues I will need to go see a doctor. Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it. And thanks for the support

Day 24: May 29, 2019 I've been having problems sleeping again. It's a huge source of stress for me. Every single night when I know it's time to sleep I just put so much pressure on myself to sleep that I end up wide awake. This is really frustrating, I used to be such a good sleeper. I really hope I can get past this soon. I'm moving my computer to a different room tomorrow, it's in my bedroom right now and I think that might be tricking my brain a little. Even though I only got 3-5ish hours of fragmented crappy sleep last night I managed to have possibly my best day of the detox so far. 2 hours at the gym, 60 minutes of walking, 3 healthy clean meals, only water, 100 pushups, and spent an hour playing tennis with a friend. Also did a bit of studying. Other than that nothing too relevant happened today. Think I'll leave this one short as I feel like watching something. I need to catch up on Chernobyl! I won the day. Gaming free streak: 24 days Water only streak: 1 day 100 pushups a day streak: 3 days Porn free: 3 days

Thanks friend! Maybe you are right. Thanks for the support.

Day 23: May 28, 2019 I started today off by hitting the snooze button and then dismissing the alarm which caused me to sleep an extra hour and a half. Damnit! I've been trying to wake up early this week so I can be better prepared for waking up for my job which starts on Monday. Then when I actually woke up I didn't have time to make myself the breakfast I wanted so I stopped for Mcdonalds breakfast and coffee. Which means I already broke my water streak. I was mad at myself the entire rest of the day. I could have easily avoided that and just had like a protein bar and fruit or something. I think my brain has this old programming that says 'whenever things don't go as planned, you may just take the easy way out' I've got to recognize this and not let it happen again. The rest of the day went super well however, ate clean, drank only water, 100 pushups, 30 mins cardio at gym, and some yoga. It sounds like I'm going to get my old job back on top of the new job I'm starting next week. Holy crap I'm going to be busy. Gaming will not be an issue. I'm gonna miss all this free time, oh well. Everyone has to grow up sometime. Tomorrow will be like today, without the morning screw up. Gaming free streak: 23 days Water only streak: 0 days ? 100 pushups a day streak: 2 days Porn free: 2 days

Day 22: May 27, 2019 Today was day 1 of my new reformed schedule. I ate clean all day, put in 2+ hours at the gym, walked for 100+ minutes, drank only water, and did 100 pushups today. And I'm sitting here now listening to some sick post rock, typing this out and wondering if I could have done more today? I suppose that's a good sign. Gaming is the furthest thing from my mind. Cravings have been minimal.. if that. Also managed to study for a bit today. Life will definitely get much busier next week but I'm prepared. I will rise to the challenge. Not much else to say about today.. it went very very well and all I'm thinking about is doing the same thing tomorrow. I won the day. Gaming free streak: 22 days Water only streak: 1 day 100 pushups a day streak: 1 day Porn free: 1 day

Day 21: May 26, 2019 3 full weeks without video games. Didn't think it would be this easy to quit gaming. I think taking a few days preparing for the detox before I started was the key to early success. I was able to make it thru most of Respawn before day 1 which prepared me greatly. I took a 3 week vacation two years ago and that's the longest I've ever gone without video games.. so I think like 3-4 more days without games and it will be my longest streak of all time. I spent a few hours at a family bday party today where I definitely ate too much. I kind of let myself get away with too much today because I've been planning for days to change my routines greatly starting tomorrow. I broke my PMO streak today.. I don't care too much because I'm going to start new streaks tomorrow. I could have avoided it pretty easily.. I kinda chose to do it anyway.. won't happen again. Didn't hit the gym today. That makes 17/21 for the past 21 days. Pretty impressive regardless. So how are things going to be different starting tomorrow? I spent a decent chunk of today planning and preparing for how to be successful and reach top performer level. Starting tomorrow I'm implementing a 100 pushups a day challenge for at least the next 30 days. I'll be going water only as well for at least 30 days. I've set up a google calendar where I've scheduled my week. I've fit in wake up times, gym sessions, and when to eat each meal so far. I've got it synced to my phone with reminders so this should be a powerful tool to help keep me on track! I was super skeptical and dismissive of the idea of keeping a daily or weekly schedule for as long as I can remember, but I watched some YouTube stuff today on how to use google calendar to plan and be successful and it kind of sold me. I think this will play a big part in my success moving forward. I also officially accepted the job offer. So I have one more week of total freedom before I start my new job as the Junior Network Administrator. Really looking forward to it. Life will start getting real hectic that week but I'm confident with my new scheduling strategies and my discipline I will be successful. Looking forward to tomorrow. 21 days gaming free

Day 20: May 25, 2019 20 days without video games. Today was an ordinary day. I really didn't feel like going to the gym this morning but I went anyway because I don't miss workouts. Ended up doing more than I expected too. 100 minutes of walking outside today also. Spent a little time studying for my A+ exam, which I really have to ramp up for at this point, less than 2 weeks away! Spent a lot of the day planning for how I'm going to refocus my goals and routines starting on Monday. I'm going to think about it more tomorrow and see what I can come up with but I've got some exciting ideas. I feel like I should write more but it truly was an unremarkable day. I'll make up for it tomorrow as I want to get a lot of my ideas on paper tomorrow anyway. 20 days gaming free 20 days porn free 20 days sugar drink free