Harryvar

Hi I'm Harry, and what I can tell you about myself is that I used to have many hobbies, but over the past few years I have mainly been passing the time with one thing- you guessed it gaming. I have enjoyed video games ever since I received a Gameboy Advance as a present at a young age, it was harmless fun beating Pokemon leaders with friends. Now it has become a way of life. It ruined my year at university (I only had 18% attendance in my Japanese course due to playing late and sleeping in when I should have been immersing myself in another language). It ruined relationships with family, friends and potential partners and meant I was eating badly. A Dominos and Smash Bros was a standard night in, which really should have been socialising and a night out. It got to a point where cheaper controllers weren't enough for me and I even dipped into my student loan and splashed out on some beast of a controller for 'expert play'. None of my other friends were doing this, they seemed to be filling their time with enriching activities such as yoga, running, cooking elaborate meals, having fun, going out and just living life to the fullest just as any 20 year old deserves. I came here after being advised by my caring parents, but I can see that quitting is the only way. The only question is is how?? I have communities of 'friends' I can rely on out there and feel complete when gaming, but is this a life worth living? I have started with Respawn and have found the advice thorough and very considered and coming from a very honest place of experience. I am reaching out to anyone else in such a position, what struggles have you had? Or even better what success have you had in the absence of gaming? Can anyone relate to what I'm going through? I am struggling with as things are, I hadn't played for 20 days until yesterday when I did for an hour and since then I have felt bored and empty just like I did in the other 20 days for the most of the time. How do you pass the time and get the same amount of satisfaction in your life? I'd love to hear. I am at the beginning of my journey, am looking to share my feelings to get me feeling like my old self when I didn't need to rely on gaming to escape from feelings. Thanks for reading my first post on here, realising that others are in my position helps me feel less alone. I'd be interested to see any responses so don't be shy! Thanks, Harry.