Intro old guy

[Nix]

Hi all,

 

I never thought I would ever be an old guy but I guess it just happened, I’m 59 and I still can’t believe it!
if you thought only young kids addicted to games, you’re wrong. I guess I played a few simple video games in the past, but I was under a lot of stress from work and looked for an escape. Instead of an escape the game(s)  has become all consuming and taken over my life. I lost my job and this gave me even more time to play “invest” and feel obliged to contact community of the people playing the same games.

it has deeply affected my life, my marriage has fell apart, my life is 95% gaming and I live on my own now in a foreign country (for the last 6 years). This has isolated me, so the gaming also filled voids and gives me friends.

now part of me wants to stop, but my brain doesn’t and habits. I’m struggling but I think only way is probably “cold turkey” for me. I don’t have hobbies and real friends I can readily latch onto because I my life has been work work work and I have lived in different countries and travelled a lot, so I’m going to have to work on that. Also I need to understand if my failing marriage was a cause in me seeking gaming or is now a symptom of my game addiction. I think I used game as coping mechanism to avoid painful truths. So to stop gaming means I have to face them, that’s hard for me.

I’ll check in here and see if anyone has similar experience and knows how to make first steps.

oh Cam is great by the way , I’ve watched the videos and really impressed with him

 

 best of luck and take care 

Nix

[GrainSiloEnthusiast]

My father is about your age, he's been addicted to gaming my entire life. Definitely not just young people. It's never too late to quit and start living your life! Just remember you need to find new healthy hobbies to fill your time with. Best of luck!

[Radio Biscuit]

So I'm just a young babe in arms compared to you (I'm 56). I started playing as soon as I learned to write BASIC code on my old Dragon 32 (The Tandy Color Computer by any other name). That was around 1982, and when MS Flight Simulator arrived, it spelt the end for me as I dreamed of getting hold of a PC that was powerful enough to play it constantly, and that was all I was interested in. I had to make do with the one frame per second, nine airfield, wireframe, monochrome simulator on my Dragon. By 1988 I had an Acorn Archimedes (the forerunner to the modern ARM chip) and was coding in BBC BASIC and Assembly language, playing Zarch and whatever simulations I could code or buy. By 1990 I was playing Air Warrior Online over the internet and then came the catastrophic introduction of Civilization. It ruined everything and I couldn't stop playing. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. I've played simulators, First Person Shooters (remember the original Wolfenstein), strategy games of all kinds, MMORPGs and the rest. All of them online, offline, single and multiplayer. I've been a member of a Call of Duty clan in the 90s and was top of one of the European ladders for a while with them, I've had two divorces (not because of the games, but nearly) and while working in IT, found countless ways to play all day if I felt like it. During the times I was single and depressed, gaming was my savior and kept me alive when all else was failing. But that was then.

Now I'm trying to go cold turkey again for about the fifth time since 2005 and struggling mightily. I'm playing Minecraft and won't allow any other gaming on my computer for safety's sake. I use the same machine for a project that I'm hoping will become income producing within a year, so ditching the computer isn't going to be practical. I just can't get away from the gaming. I'm about to remove the game from the machine again, along with the installer etc, but it's only a download away when it's gone. My wife is very patient, helpful and supportive in my efforts, but it frustrates both of us. So, I've asked her to change my password on the game account so I can't download it again. Let's see what happens now.

Oh, and I have ADHD. Only found out a few months ago and still struggling with getting the medication right. I feel your pain. It's hard, but if you can do it, it can be rewarding. Watch out for the ADHD though, if you have it, it will be painful and there's nothing to replace gaming. No hobby, no substitute, nothing. This is where I cross the line and can't get help from places like this (Game Quitters), as only the stimulant medication can replace the constant dopamine replenishment that gaming can provide. It actually makes me want to overdose on my meds on occasion. I don't think I will though, it's just not my style.

I also gave up smoking about 15 years ago and got my alcoholism under control in the last few years. These are both ADHD style replacements for gaming and would explain why it was so hard to do. I'm on the edge of relapse every second of the day, but somehow I manage to hang on. I put it down to the amazing relationship I have with my wife. It's the only thing that I couldn't bear to lose above and beyond anything else in the world.

Good luck!

A