Hi! I am a 23 year old University student in the United States. I recently committed to quitting video games and decided to join this program in order to have skin in the game (financially speaking).
My whole life I played video games in a balanced way where school, family, and real life friends always came first. Then, because of covid an internship opportunity for the summer canceled. To fill my time that summer I started playing games for 8-15 hours a day. The next school year (my 3rd year) I couldn't focus on school and kept playing video games all day. I ended up dropping out of college to play games all day. I just started school up again but spent my whole first week just playing games. I knew that if I wanted to ever graduate I needed to quit gaming.
I mostly play League of Legends. It is the only game where I feel like I have been addicted. That is to say I can't stop playing it even when I am not having fun. I have played this game for over 5 thousand hours in the last 1.5 years. Other games I like include Minecraft, Super Smash Bros, Pokemon, Teamfight Tactics, Tetris, and The Witcher, but I have never felt addicted to them.
3 days ago I deleted league, started the process of permanently deleting my account, and destroyed my gaming mouse. I have not played since, although I have definately had withdrawal symptoms. At least 5 times a day I get a super strong feeling to play. I have been super bored and have had limited enjoyment of anything else I try to do. I have gone on a 1-2 hour walk every day which has helped distract me. I have also been watching Healthygamer videos on YouTube. I have also had to lose contact with a couple of my close friends that I mostly had contact with over in game voice chat. This is super hard. I feel empty inside all the time. I am hopeful about the future.