This Is My Story, My Experience And My Goal.

[Franco Sosa]

Hello there! My name is Franco and I'm from Argentina! I'm happy to meet you all!

 

A bit of my story

I was badly addicted to videogames for around 8 years, and I during that time I tried many things to overcome it, but I always failed or lasted for a short time. Since I was a gamer, I know what it is like. You may think you're having fun, that you have many friends, or even that you have a purpose by gaming. I lied to myself every single day with these things, and it was DREADFUL, cause I was aware at every moment that was not the case. That I should be doing something else. That gaming was bad for me. I was reminded by myself constantly about all of my dreams and aspirations that I wasn't taking action towards. And knowing all this, I still kept playing, many hours a day.

It started with an old Family Game console, then a PS2, the PS3, and finally, phone & PC games. At the beggining, my excessive gaming habits were just something at the back of my head that I didn't take seriously. But I am a very self-reflective person, therefore as time passed, these thoughts increased in frequency and intensity, until I reached a period where I couldn't bear myself. I wasn't able to enjoy videogames anymore, but somehow I kept doing it. I remember thinking about playing Minecraft, and getting really anxious before I even opened the game launcher. It was nasty.

And when you get to that point where you can no longer stand the situation, sooner or later you decide to do something about it. I know that some people, when they hit rock bottom, they decide they no longer want to carry the burden of their lives, and begin to contemplate suicide. I too know there are people that come out stronger than ever before, and even some people became popular or succesful after a critical moment, telling all these crazy life experiences.

I didn't have a crazy story, but I had lost faith in myself, and I was really depressed. I felt powerless, as I was in a loop that I created by myself, and no matter what I did, I couldn't bring myself to get out of it.

But despite it all, I am a persistent guy. I didn't want to give up. Yes, I was badly addicted, but I couldn't stand the thought of me wasting my life and never achieving anything. To me, that was something that I would never EVER accept. "I have to keep trying", I thought. Like before, I told myself "There has to be a way to end this, for good! To finally free myself from gaming and actually start taking action towards my dreams!", and that triggered something deep inside of me. My stubborness and dreams got me out of there once again... Except that it would finally be different. Someday around mid February this year, I took the decision to stop gaming, and since that day, I seriously commited to it. Yes, I've had relapses, but I recovered.

 

I Want to Help!

Sooo, that was my relationship with videogames (I think I was a little dramatic there didn't I? Hehe, sorry). These last years, I did a 5-month challenge to leave videogame addiction, and I also started posting my experience on gaming adiction-related subreddits. Then I found Cam and his amazing YouTube channel, which absolutely blew me up, cause I didn't think something like that would exist. Nowadays (or at least when I started), there's not many people yet who takes this matter seriously. My parents tried to help me at the moment, but couldn't find a way. Many people around me games excessively, but I think that despite the concern about it has increased lately, it's still a topic that has a long way to have the importance and attention that it deserves, especially regarding the dissemination of an effective procedure in these situations. I'm confident that the gigantic growth of the video game industry is difficulting this proccess.

So, I turned to this kind of communities, hoping that by sharing some advice or what works for me, I get to help you at least a bit. I will always give my best to offer you an original perspective, something you may not tried before, or something I think is the most valuable to do.

Oh, I also love to write, as you can see. So you could expect a REALLY complete answer from me, hahaha!

 

So that's it! I hope I can help you in any way. I'm truly grateful for joining this community! Have a good day, everyone!