NEW VIDEO: I Quit MMOs and THIS Happened
Dannigan
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Posts posted by Dannigan
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Hello! Glad you're taking a couple of days to rest. Sorry about the recent events. But it sounds like you know how to take care of your body when it needs recuperation. That's something I'd like to work on myself as I tend to put too much on my plate sometimes.
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On 4/1/2018 at 3:44 PM, dwalk77 said:
Day 75
Closing in on 90 days. This weekend was pretty good. I spent some time with my roommates and friends. My roommates and I are Catholic so it was nice to be able to observe Good Friday and Easter together.. Friday and Saturday I was busy enough to not even have much time to fall into selfish stuff. Today is more relaxed. More media today, but I'm okay with it.
Cheers, @dwalk77. :) Sounds like a nice relaxing time. Day 75...wow , keep it going strong.
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1 hour ago, info-gatherer said:
I apologise, I’ve been quite lazy in the last few days and I didn’t read other people’s journals. I’m just very busy.
Day 71
Went with friends to an amusement park, spent the whole day there. I met the new gf of one of my best friends and she’s ok. In the evening we roasted some meat and had dinner all together. Then we played Trivial Pursuit but we didn’t manage to finish the game bc it was getting a bit late and people wanted to go home.
Holidays are just like this, a bit of it is very healthy but after a couple days I get tired and I want to get back to “work”. A pleasant day anyway. Had no time to surf anything.
Don't worry about other people's journals. I totally think you have a RICH social life...lol. That's awesome. You're always out and about, meeting new people, playing sports, (heck even going to Mass just once), and putting yourself out there. Whenever I read your journals, I feel like I'm THERE, witnessing events. Anyway, take care of yourself, get plenty of rest and such. I hope you continue journaling beyond 90 days. You life is pretty interesting.
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Hey there @dannylee3782
Writing in a journal is tremendous help. You'll look back on previous entries and see how much you've grown, and you might even pick up clues as to why you might relapse, or see not-so-obvious triggers in your writing that you hadn't noticed before. It's very enlightening. As well, the feedback from others can be invaluable. You take what you need and discard the rest. Most folks here respond with very good intentions and they want to help by reaching out. That's what makes this community thrive and become strong in the long-run. That's my vision, anyhow.
Good to see your commitment shine through here in your writing too. That encourages me as well. So, thank you.
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19 minutes ago, TheCrystalLake said:
When i first stopped my heavy gaming later last year my brain felt so fucked up. I could not remember things anymore. I could not speak normal without having to search for words. I could not write anymore. It was sooo scary. Then someone here told me that its the detox. And isnt that scary af? -_-
Yeeeup. This sh!t is for realz. Scary af is right. And it's something I never want to experience again in relation to addiction.
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Hello there @stablish,
I was just writing about the analogy of life, that there are peaks and valleys. I'm sorry to hear about the recent passing of two people you cared about. In my own life there has been much death, either due to age-related conditions, health, and even tragedy. You're going through a pretty tough time right now, and the valley is dark.
Don't worry about the relapsing right now. I think that people process grief in different ways. It will take time, and that's okay. Now that you recognize the relapse for what it is, perhaps now you'll be able to feel those emotions fully. Because gaming will mask that for a certain time, but only so much.
Take very good care of yourself, that you get enough sleep, and eat well, try to get up and go for a walk every now and then. Work on your basics of living skills, things that you need to feel good in a physical, mental, and maybe even spiritual way. And don't be afraid of feeling different emotions in the grieving period.
Kindest regards,
~Dani
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Good work on the art! And over time, you'll see your sketches evolve and change. I remember reading old Garfield comics and it was remarkable how different the drawings were from the beginning to the later stages of the comic series. Another that comes to mind is Mickey Mouse. Being in that state of 'flow' is essential, I think, to creativity. It seems like there's an ease to drawing when you're in that 'flow'. I'm curious, did you feel like there was no concept of time when you were drawing?
I'm looking forward to seeing more sketches!
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Glad you're back! Would be cool to read about your experience with the 90 Day detox. : )
~Dani
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Don't be too hard on yourself. Yes, it's Easter Spring break. Just pick up and start again tomorrow. The good thing is that you spent the day doing other things too. : )
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Haha nice to see the phrase "keystone" habit inserted in your explanation. I am reading The Power of Habit a second time now, and I remember that terminology. : )
Keep it up, you're on track. : )
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9 hours ago, B1ggl3fty said:
3/31/18
Day 80) Still off of games, drinking less alcohol, and working hard on reducing media consumption/controlling it. Starting to get excited I'm finally making it.
Wow, you can do this! Glad to hear you're making good progress.
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Welcome back, @TheCrystalLake, good to have you here
I hope that journaling will be a good way for you to stick with some long-term goals. I think I relapsed because I did not keep up with journal writing or checking back with the website. This forum, its members, and journal writing has been profoundly helpful so far.
It appears that you're already looking forward to a bright future. : ) I love that. It's inspirational to me. Like you, I am also single, never had a husband or kids. And like you, I'll be entering the dating scene again. Not right away, but it's something I'll be working on in the near future. I wish us both good luck and good health, and many rewards to come as we do this Detox together with others on Game Quitters.
Kind regards,
Dani
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3 hours ago, zeke365 said:
Days 212
Okay, I have decided against the apps but instead going to buy a book called Manga cookbook (the book not the Kindle version) to help me learn to cook. Plus since I m learning Japanese anyway what better way to do so for some recipes. I have looked at the reviews on Amazon some great some not so.
The second thing I think I should discuss is how I learn. I learn through a story or visual or hands-on type of experience because when it did that I seemed to retain a lot more rather than someone repeat the same steps over 1000 times most of the time.
This is why I m considering this book because I m anime fan and would really like to make Japanese recipes so put them in manga format and I will remember much better, this no app or anything it just how I learn and I m sure you learn differently too.
This is great! I think you're doing well with limiting the use of additional technology (eg. apps) which aren't really necessary to motivate you. In fact, waiting for you to 'feel' motivated is going to back-fire. You just have to 'do' the task, and then you will start to feel that motivation.
Yes, I agree with you that learning something means applying it. Not just mindless repetition. Learning basic cooking techniques and recipes is a good start. You just need a foundation first. I like that you chose a cookbook that is interesting to you, not just for its recipes, but because it is Japanese. : )
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2 hours ago, Regular Robert said:
Like the idea. https://forum.gamequitters.com/index.php?/topic/6128-health-how-can-i-improve-my-diet-during-and-after-the-detox/
@Bugg, @Dannigan, @thehondasc00py If you want to, it would be awesome if you all could post a couple of experiences in the thread mentioned above. I am sure many future quitters will benefit from it.
Thank you, guys and gurl.
Edit: Also, very sorry for spamming all this stuff into your journal. Please, have mercy on my soul for my deeds are meant to help people. :P
Sure, Robert. I'll write something in the new thread. Thanks for your creativity with this website and for restructuring the topics so it's easily available for new people and veterans. It's very much appreciated, and I already see vast improvements. : )
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1 hour ago, thehondasc00py said:
What completely fixed this issue was radically altering my diet and going low carb. I even went full ketogenic at the time and it just removed all cravings once I had shifted over. A couple reasons for this:
- the consequence of overeating and losing that nice ketosis really outweighs the satisfaction of snacking
- detox from carbs and sugar, so no more starving for more and more carbs because the body has gone full fat-burning mode and isn;t even thinking of carbs
So you might want to look into that incase you havn't already. I'm personally still ketogenic vegetarian and loving it on 1-2 big nutritious, delicous meals a day plus sugar-free dark chocolate throughout the day.
Hey @thehondasc00py
I actually tried the ketogenic diet a year ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It gave me sustained energy throughout the day. I used it to regulate sugar levels as mine were marginally unhealthy and close to a pre-diabetes stage. I would like to return to the ketogenic lifestyle soon. I have an account with Diet Doctor website which is extremely helpful if you're looking for recipes. Also, I never had cravings for bad foods when I was in ketosis. Due to increasing g good fats intake. I am not vegetarian so my diet consisted of omega 3 fats from salmon, bacon, eggs, and coconut oil or the coconut meat. Overall, I was consistently energetic, slept better, and no cravings. I wonder if you can start a thread in the Lifestyles section about the benefits of ketogenic diet?
Regards,
Dani
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1 hour ago, info-gatherer said:
After the tennis lesson I had nothing to do, I said you know what fuck it, I asked one of my tennis mates, the 30yo bank employee, to go out for dinner. He accepted and we got to know each other better. I think it’s the end of the bullying. We had a big burger and a beer, he insisted to pay the bill and so I didn’t even spend a dime. Pleasant day overall, tomorrow I’m going back to my parents’ home.
That is awesome. Wow. You really faced that demon 'bullying'. Good strategy to invite him out for dinner. Plus a free meal ... hahahah.
Victory!
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6 hours ago, Pierce said:
I almost wanted to lie about this being day 2 of success on here, but that would break one of the my cardinal rules of not lying to myself and would overall just be unwise.
Thanks for being honest and not fake. It takes courage to be truthful. You and @info-gatherer's journals are a great help to me, among others that I will mention throughout the course of time. It's because you guys are being real. No one's here to judge.
I made my own pledge to be as candid, truthful, and raw when I write in my journal. Anyway, keep up the good work.
Dani
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Welcome! I hope you find this forum and its members to be helpful. Glad you are here! : )
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2 hours ago, dwalk77 said:
Day 71
Today has been more challenging than I've had in a while. I feel crappy today. Not physically sick, but sort of a heavy feeling in my pit, like my soul is dampened.
I've chose to spend a ton of time over of the last few weeks doing passive things, especially watching media. I've had limited connections outside of work, family, and roommates. I have not tried to connect socially other than that.
I texted in to work today. I hate that feeling. It's one thing if it's a planned PTO day, or if I'm legitimately sick, but it's another if I just decide the morning of that I'm not feeling it. And these are the days that I'm especially susceptible to watching Twitch or finding a gamer I want to watch.
Haven't done it though. I've not been doing well with porn and my lack of connectivity, but I know that if I fell into Twitch, it could lead to an even worse state.
I will go to work tomorrow, and I will knock some things out.
If I can take a walk, read, and meditate/pray today, I think that'd be a step in the right direction
Don't give up. Hang in there. Get out of the house and take that walk. You're at Day 71, wow!
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45 minutes ago, mikeyb93 said:
That sounds like an awesome idea. I can easily keep a journal on my desk. I think being able to see how much time I waste versus how productive I was would be really helpful and push me to be more careful with my time
Yesterday I wanted to figure out how long I could actually sit down and work for. Normally I try to pump myself up and say "I can work for 3 hours straight, I got this, blah blah blah". Then I fail, get discouraged and procrastinate. So I set a 15 minute timer and worked for 15 minutes straight and took a break afterwards. Then I tried for half an hour and did that just fine. I was surprised by how much I could get done in a short period of time if I just focused on what I was doing without getting distracted. One thing that helped me was talking myself through my desire to go browse 4chan of be distracted. I'd tell myself it was okay to feel how I was feeling, but I need to get back to my work. I'd lean into and acknowledge the craving rather than trying to ignore it. I'm also going to start making a to-do list. I need some deadlines that from me rather than clients so I can learn to be more proactive. Right now if I finish everything that needs to be done in a day I cant stop myself from goofing off, but its far better than procrastinating.
Welcome back and glad to have you here.
15 minutes is a great window of time. And then taking a break after. It's short enough to push you to do as much as you can within that time frame. Smart thing to do! Also, I love To-Do Lists. When you see the amount of tasks that you check off, it's extremely rewarding. It's a nice visual reminder, depending on how you look at it. Some people might have the perception of, "oh I didn't finish ALL of the tasks, I failed!". Or, you can look at how many you were able to complete and reward yourself afterward. Prioritizing your To-Do list is also important. My suggestion would be to write down the 'least' favorite thing you need to do, and put it at the TOP of the list first.
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15 hours ago, Zala said:
Hey guys, I guess I'm back. I tried really hard to make it work with my last employer but things were just getting worse and worse. So I did quit last month. Not before I went back to gaming. And you know the drill, the whole circle of regret and denial. At least I'm back in this language course, so I've got one thing going for me.
I think I still have some sort of open loop from the past. Like a couple of years ago I tried to fulfill one of my dreams, I always wanted to have a dog. Not much, not a big deal I know. But it was still one of the things I was very certain of. It didn't go well so I gave up on the dog. He is doing great btw. So I must say I'm very uncertain now when it comes to dreams and wishes. When I think I want something, I always kind of instinctively take a step back and wonder: Is that really what I want? Will it really make me happy or just more miserable? I guess that is the point of dreaming and having wishes. You think that if you fulfill them you will be happy. Maybe not happier than before but definitely not miserable. So now I'm just in this state, where I don't really want to think about the future. I don't want to make plans. So I'm trying to figure out how to climb out of this hole.
I'm not making any plans at this moment to start another 90 days without gaming. I actually did it two times already but then after 100+ days I fall back to old habits. And I'm quite sure my binge watching is more time consuming and more problematic at this point. I start to watch something, a movie, a new series, and then I get bored/distracted and I start gaming while I'm watching this movie/series. Gaming helps me pass the time quicker. And movies help me pass the time to ... to what?? Or they help me forget that the time is passing by and that I have no idea what I want. Which brings me back to paragraph 2.
Hi Zala,
Welcome back. I'm glad you're here. Workinprogress made some very good points about basic things that make us happy. Sleep, spending quality time with loved ones, eating healthy, even being around nature for 20 minutes a day can lift your spirits, and exercise.
It doesn't sound like you're in that mindset right now to make some healthy changes to your lifestyle. Sounds like you just want to vent and let out some steam due to recent hardships. It's okay to feel like this for a period of time. My only suggestion is to watch Cam's videos again, and perhaps find one person on this forum that you can talk to on Discord chat/voice chat. Somebody that you can trust and who is a veteran on this forum, who can give you sound advice.
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Thanks for sharing, and you're definitely on the right track. Looking forward to reading more of your journal. Like you, I try to limit my computer use on a daily basis. I journal in the evening before going to sleep, and this schedule seems to be working well so far. I would like to read other people's journals when I have the time. It's really quite amazing to read how well people articulate and describe their daily struggles and goals they've achieved. People here give me inspiration and motivation to continue. Cheers!
Dan
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15 hours ago, info-gatherer said:
So... here we are again. I had a “teenager” weekend, drank way too much, met new people, but I’m not embarassed about it. I was myself, I didn’t have to pretend to have fun because I was actually having fun. I think it’s good that I finally allowed myself to be a little more on the wild side after so many months of seriousness. I even went dancing and came back home at 4 AM, woke up at lunch time. I quite missed the feeling, but the real reason I enjoyed it without guilt is because I know that I am improving my life, giving it my very best every day, and I can relax every once in a while. Also, it’s been a boost to my self-esteem. I wasn’t scared, but I didn’t fuck up either.
Last thing. As I said, I spent some time talking with this guy about videogames. I was really high but I didn’t say “I miss videogames” or such, I made it clear that videogames are bad for me and I quit, and repeated to him all the things I learned here. Yes, I wrote that I’d like to be like him and play videogames without the negative effects, but I always knew that it’s not possible (for me). This means that I have no more urge to play videogames and I don’t want to go back. I was even invited to a LAN party and I declined (while drunk!). This journey with the GameQuitters community has changed me. My perception of videogames and life in general is radically different. And the perception of myself, my self-worth, my goals, and my ability to commit has changed too.
Hey, that was cool how you opened up to that guy and said video games are bad for you. You never know. Maybe one day he or a friend of his might have a video game addiction, and they'll remember how you turned away from it for your own good. And I think most people respect a person who abstains from something that is unhealthy for them. It takes courage and commitment to do that. So, kudos to you. I like the title of your journal too. "90 Days of Journal". I'll read more when I have the time. Right now, I'm going to watch a movie for an hour and then get some sleep before 10:00 pm. Early day at work tomorrow. Cheers!
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Hey Tycoon,
I liked reading your journal. You have a lot of cool interests. Voice acting? That's awesome.
In your earlier posts, you mentioned watching Netflix for a few hours, and feeling guilty about it. It's like transferring your gaming addiction to another electronic outlet: binging on movies or tv shows, or youtube. I think you are very insightful and able to catch these traps earlier on, which is a good sign of growth. You might not feel like you're growing as a person, but you are. Incrementally. : )
Keep up the good work! I'll keep up with your journal from time to time. Like you, I try to keep my online use to a minimum.
Kind regards,
Dan
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The Journey Within
in Daily Journals
Posted · Edited by Dannigan
This is a completely different you, than yesterday, @Pierce : ) What I noticed is how quickly you jumped back into the saddle (your focused goals), and just fell in sync with the flow of events. It's been a while since I've attended university, and I can only imagine how much more demanding medical school is.
I think that yesterday's departure from your typical school-work days, it was probably needed? I wonder if it's the psyche letting you know that you need a bit of a break. A short-term mental break from the routine of school. Because look at you now. You're a-buzz with energy. There's a ying-yang energy flow. I hate sounding airy-fairy, but it's the best way I can explain it.
You are an introvert also. Which means you need those quiet days to recuperate. I like the idea you had about going to a local coffee shop or library. Seems like a perfect environment to chill out for a little while.