GiveMeTheTaco

You've got this, Blab! As I read your post, my only thought was, "They are describing ME." I'm expecting this journey to be hard (I'm just starting), so thanks for sharing your thoughts--I feel less alone.

That's great! Let's do this together. I just started my journey today. ?

5 years ago, I left for college. I'd always liked video games, but besides a handful of times, I'd never played them excessively. Fast forward to college. My roommates were into League of Legends. To be friendly, I asked them to show me how to play. I started learning and the game was alright. When I was taken to court for false charges and put under house arrest until I was proven innocent (which I was a year later), I was limited to what I could do. I could still go to my college classes and to work, but I had to come back home right after. So--stuck in my apartment--I started gaming excessively. I started skipping homework assignments and classes, I started calling in sick to play a little extra, and when summer came, instead of moving home to work and save money, I moved to a new apartment and spent my entire time working, playing League of Legends, and Skyping this girl (who ended up being one of my biggest supports during the court case; at this point, she had moved back to Arizona to be with her family after we had started dating). 9 months later, I left on a church service mission, gave up video games, and left. Of course, a church service mission has its rules, so I was kept away less by choice and more by situation. Besides the occasional Google search for a League of Legends gameplay, I did pretty well. I came home, married the girl I had been Skyping. I quickly fell back into League of Legends. I started playing too much, skipping classes and homework, and lying to my bosses, my spouse, and everyone around me. Now, I have some great jobs. At one, I'm supervised, so about once a shift, I sneak in a League of Legends gameplay. My other job, unsupervised. I usually spend most my time playing League of Legends. It's time to change. I have denied how addicted I am for so long. I started gaming for all the normal reasons: community, achievement, challenge, etc. Now, it's time to stop for one reason: to be successful. And to be successful, I cannot game; I need to be in control of my life. If I can be in control, I know I will do very well. No one knows this entire story. I'm putting this out there in good faith. I need help. Here's to a bright future!