The exam stress is getting heavy but I still haven't played, I hit 3 months the 17 of this month. Looking at games again now, first of all, I still wouldn't ever play a gatcha, that's set in stone. The damage those games do to me is gigantic.
However other games haven't been that damaging to me I think. They keep me having fun, enjoying myself and playing with people I enjoy being around with, the problem comes along when it becomes my sole refuge and I distance myself from people because of them. Then I start feeling lonely, worthless, unaccomplished, generally terrible. And to be honest that's not excusive to games, this happens whenever in life I start getting stressed out way to much. Which is easy for me given that I have an anxiety disorder.
So whenever I'm feeling like shit, and can't do anything at that specific time, instead of delving into thought's that harm me a shitton, thinking about a videogame is more fun to me, I have something to redirect that huge amount of anxiety over to.
Nothing in my life has gotten way better because I quit playing games, even though I was going to the gym quite a bit and enjoyed it. Talking and hanging out with friends just like normal. I feel like the problem to me are specifically the kind of games that try to fuck with my brain to get to give them money. And the rest are just fun games, that I overplay whenever I feel bad, but I have a good time with them, and they don't make me feel bad if everything else in my life is in order.