Jump to content

NEW VIDEO: The EASIEST Way to Stop Gaming

Luny's Ledger


Luny

Recommended Posts

On 2/1/2022 at 5:34 PM, Luny said:

I need to reconnect with my body. I have been avoiding it because my leg injury from my fall 6 months ago... is STILL healing. 🤕 Movement would be most helpful.

As a soon to be doctor I'd like to ask: What exactly did happen? bone fracture? It is actually highly recommended to cut down immobilisation time after these injuries, go through a rehabilitation program with intense workouts AND relaxation time. Furthermore applying pressure on a healing fracture activates osteoblasts which helps to regain the original shape. If the initial pain never subsided may go and see a competent orthopedist as there might be the chance of a pseudarthrosis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/2/2022 at 3:53 PM, Marius said:

As a soon to be doctor I'd like to ask: What exactly did happen? bone fracture? It is actually highly recommended to cut down immobilisation time after these injuries, go through a rehabilitation program with intense workouts AND relaxation time. Furthermore applying pressure on a healing fracture activates osteoblasts which helps to regain the original shape. If the initial pain never subsided may go and see a competent orthopedist as there might be the chance of a pseudarthrosis.

In May 13, 2021, I had a nightmare in my sleep, and thought I was killing a snake in a field of grass. I jumped out of bed and was disoriented as to which side I was on. I fell with my full weight on my left knee and shin. Then I faceplanted into my tall, wooden jewelry armoir which I directly hit with the bridge of my nose. Then it tipped over and fell on my head. I certainly should win the gold medal and clumsiness!

My knee and calf swelled up and I ended up with 2 lovely black eyes. I went to the hospital and was xrayed and had CAT scan. My knee and leg was not broken--just badly swollen. Of course I had a concussion and now I rock a Harry Potter-esque scar on my forehead. Luckily I got bangs cut to cover that up. Thirty days later, my knee started oozing a brown liquid. Slow at first, then profusely. My knee had gotten infected. So they hospitalized me for 6 days and had me on IV antibiotics. An orthopedic surgeon did surgery on my knee to clean out infection. Then they put a wound vacuum on my knee for 37 days. When it came off, it was August 2021. Definitely took weeks to get my strength back. My calf still swelled so he had an MRI done. Prognosis: deep hematoma trauma which will take time to heal.

It amazes me how a simple fall in my bedroom turned into a three month ordeal. Crazy shit!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So-----I am popping in for a quick update!

My life is all about writing & being an author right now. Taking 2 classes for authors. Boy, they are keeping me busy.

So tired of winter in upstate NY.

Off to my niece's wedding in Florida next month.

Gaming? What the hell is that? Life is busy and good--without it. 😀

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

This morning I watched Cam's new video on 2 million views on his Tedx talk and what he learned. I too felt grateful about my recent success jumping off the hamster-on-a-wheel mindless gaming cycle.

I have tried quitting numerous times and I was unsuccessful. This time, I changed my approach. Instead of the all or nothing approach (I must quit 100% to find success), I modified it and tried the "weaning myself off game dependence" approach. Much to my surprise, it ended up working.

I had a dear gaming friend of mine log into my account and put parental controls on it. Basically I wanted to be blocked out of gaming so I could use most of daylight hours to work on writing a novel. I gave my friend the hours I wanted available for gaming and we tweaked it once. I might add that my friend is not an easy push-over. (The yahoo even blocking me for shopping on Blizzard's website. LOL)

So we designed the times M-Fri 3-8 and Sat & Sun-1-9. When we started this in January, I was freaking out with anxiety inside. Coffee and playing wow was my ideal morning being retired for the last 3 years. I was so bitchy I couldn't even stand myself (I live alone), but I persisted and pushed through it. I have started taking a class a writing a novel that started in February-- I am down to the last 3 weeks of it. It has been a huge amount of work but I have learned so much! And my novel process is inching along quite nicely.

It is funny looking at the wow hours I have given to myself, because now I allow myself one hour a day to play--if I want to, that is. Some days I don't feel like playing...and I don't. Some days I do, but honestly I can only tolerate 1 hour.  I still enjoy the one hour to relax and "forget" the world. But it is "enough." I usually like to put my one hour in from 3-4pm. It breaks up my day.

For me, this is success.

I hope that one day I might not even need/want that one hour a day gaming... but baby-steps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

March has been a busy month for me. My main push was getting the outline for my novel completed. The novel outline includes the main genre plot along with sub-genre plots and main character arcs...and it is broken into scenes, not chapters. I just finished mine yesterday on March 22. Next step is to finish classwork to module 6 this week. Then Sunday I get back to writing my rough draft. I have planned out that it will take me 3 months work to complete 80,000 words.

As you can see, completing this goal of writing a novel has been my main focus. If I was gaming like usual, my dream would not be happening.

I had a rough 2 weeks healing my bronchitis. One day I just felt like gaming since I was stressed and sick. My friend went to alter the parental control of my gaming account, and he felt I was doing do well...he took them all off. So how do you think I handled that?

The same way I have-- allowing myself 1 hour to game per day, if I feel up to it. If I do not feel like playing, I skip it.

My priority is getting enough rest to get up early and start my day writing. I will admit that it is nice to to be able to choose the time I put my hour in.

I know most gamers need to quit cold turkey to get control of their addiction, and I do understand that. Maybe because I am now at the older age of 62, I'd rather moderate my gaming so I can fully reach my goals.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/23/2022 at 3:40 PM, Luny said:

I know most gamers need to quit cold turkey to get control of their addiction, and I do understand that. Maybe because I am now at the older age of 62, I'd rather moderate my gaming so I can fully reach my goals.

if you can moderate without missing meals or bedtimes I say go for it, I would love to be that guy.  I have actually moderated pretty good in the past but the problem is I can only moderate for a brief time before things escalate rather quickly.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

April has not been a stellar month for me for several reasons. In March I was down to one hour of gaming a day and working on my novel. Some days, I'd even skip gaming. Then my friend who placed the parental controls on my wow account, thought I was doing so well, that he thought it was time to turn them off. In my heart, I kind of knew that it was not a good idea, but I agreed with him to try it. Around the same my author's class that I was taking for 8 weeks ended the end of March. It was a relief, but I found myself flopping into a slump of depression-like symptoms. Of course, I gravitated to play more wow, an hour in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Of course I wrestled with myself about the extra gaming time in my heart and head. I knew it wasn't what I wanted to be doing.

I have been trying to get back into the writing mode but I can't seem to find my writing mojo. Insecurities in my head tell me I am a shitty writer, etc. Luckily my writing instructor started a writing lab  and I joined it. It is a commitment I need so I can work with like-minded individuals who will help each other along on this journey.

So I emailed my friend, to lock my account with limited evening hours of wow... and that went into effect today. So I will go back to my one hour a day of play.

I would LOVE to quit wow permanently. But I am divorced and live in a rural area, and there are few opportunities for socialization at my age. So wow has been a "crutch" for that reason. Most of my friends are married and have families and very busy lives. In contrast, I am single with no children and retired.  Plus I am a hard core introvert. Now that spring is here, I have pushed myself to do some things. I went out to lunch alone the other day and ran into my cousin and her friend. So I dined with them and made a new friend. Baby steps.

My 3 bedroom house is way too big for me alone. I will sell it in a year or two after I complete a few home projects and down-size my "stuff."

My plan is to get a small apartment in a local city with will be closer to appointments and society. Perhaps then I could find some things to keep my busy like volunteer work for animals or part-time tutoring.

le sigh. I feel like a hopeless mess, but I know that is not true. I am a work-in-progess.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

My current plans until the end of the year: finish writing my 1st novel!

I am doing NaNoWriMo in the month of November. My goal for the month is 34,506 words.  I also plan to do the same in December. 

My rough draft WILL be complete for the new year 2023. Then comes editing. Ugh.  As a retired English teacher, I will love this phase.

*I could use some cheerleading support here...*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I got an email a few days ago congratulating me on my one year anniversary on GameQuitters of being a member, and of course it gave me guilt because I have not quit playing wow 100%. 😞 

On a more positive note, wow's expansion came out on 11/28. Blizzard is the master of hype-- and I fell for it and purchased the expansion. Right from the start, I could feel what parts of it were going to suck people in (like myself) and waste our time. I started playing slowly and kept telling myself I was in no rush... even though my gaming friends were spending huge amounts of time leveling up fast.  It look me 6 days leisurely taking my time to hit 70... and that is exactly the place that pissed me off. The last level is usually where you can pause and take a breath, but not in this expac. Without going into blow-by-blow details (I don't want to cause anyone to relapse after reading this), a shitload of MORE quests opened up everywhere. And let's just say professions (part of the game I really enjoyed) were ruined. In order to level a profession it was going to be a huge time-suck.

I reached my breaking point. The previous fun of playing wow--questing and doing professions-- was no longer there for me. The thrill was gone. I have been pondering walking away from it for 3 days and today is that day.

So I logged into Blizzard and made my account inactive. The only thing, I am paid up until Jan 26, 2024.

I have much to keep my time occupied: upkeep on my 3 bedroom home, taking writing classes for writers, finish writing my first novel, exercise to regain my health after fall a year ago, reading, decorating for the holidays (bah humbug!), and seeing friends. I will also start completing my repawn packet yet again.

For today, this is where I am.

Edited by Luny
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome back!

It’s not about how badly you fall, but about how many times you get back up (definitely paraphrased that from somewhere, but I digress).

The fact that you’ve come back after all this time makes all the difference. Doesn’t matter how much you slip up, because we all slip up! You’re human, not perfect. I wish you the best of luck as you’re looking to downsize and move to a more urban area. Keep us posted!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Update!

It's been five months since my last update. So what have I been up to?

I watch all of Cam's new videos. There's a great deal of good content in them and they are extremely helpful in a "checks and balances" way.

So how is the writing of my first my novel coming along? One thing I discovered about myself is that I need deadlines....and not my own deadlines. So I joined a writing  group for writers and I know have a book coach, deadlines I need to meet, and course work I need to complete. This is exactly the motivation and sense of purpose I needed in my life since I retired from teaching in 2019.

I am proud to say I am 34 days into a writing streak! (Before that, the best I did was 2 days.) I am a woman on a mission! My rough draft will be finished by Aug. 31, 2023. Then it is all about the editing phase. 30,198 words are written which is 30% of the rough draft completed.

My brother is still staying at my house which does create some stress on my home front. But I know I am doing the right thing my helping my brother through this rough spot in life.

Spring is finally here in the northeast and I am getting out more and more... which is a good thing. I am working on spring cleaning and donating old clothes.

Do I play I still play wow? Yes I do, but I constantly observe/evaluate my play time to make sure it is reasonable and does not increase. Plus I have noticed that the more I enjoy my writing time and classes, my playing wow play time decreases because of my other interests. Like Cameron always says, find other interests. That is the key.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Yesterday I hit my 100 day (in a row) writing streak!

Honestly it was something I thought that I could never achieve.

67K words of my 1st draft of my novel are written.

13K words left to finish by August 31st. I got this! 💪

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...