This is my story (22 years old) (I started when I was 4)

[Narelk]

First of all, I would like to mention that English is not my main language. I apologize.

Childhood

At the age of 4 I started to play 'Super Smash Bros' always after school with my brother's 'Nintendo 64' (he's 9 years older than me). That's when the problem started.

At the age of 6 (more or less) I started to play 'PS2'. I used to play videogames like 'Star Wars Battlefront 2', 'Rachet and Clank', etc.

Youth

At the age of 10 my parents bought to my brother and me a 'Xbox 360'. That's when it becomes a real problem. I stopped making exercise, I got fat and I rarely met with my friends in that stage of my life. My parents didn't get too worry about it because the only thing they kept in mind were school marks. So in those courses before Highschool I really got pretty good marks without making too much effort.

At the age of 12 I started highschool and the problem continued. But League of Legends and Minecraft appeared in my life when my best friend and I watched my brother was playing those games. That's when we started to play them. We also convinced some classmates to play LOL with us. My marks started to getting worse. I started to play more to scape the reality because my family told me my mother got cancer when I was 11.

At the age of 16 my mother died by cancer. She was the only person in that stage of my life who really cared of me. I continued playing as a way of scaping reality but without forgetting my responsabilities.

Young Adult (A Levels - Preparation to University and University First Years)

At the age of 18 due to an ensemble of bad circumstances (not due to the fact that gaming in that stage of my life) I didn't pass the last course of "Preparation to University" so I had to prepare it again. Since this point in my life I started to think I wasn't as good learning as I thought to be. That's when my addiction came really hard to scape those bad thoughts about myself. But after spending so much days that year gaming, I realized I have to do something with my life so I started to study Maths everyday to enter in Computer Science Degree. I got it.

At 19 I started university, I got relaxed and I started to play again, I only passed 2 out of 5 subjects in the first semester. That made me play more to scape reality, and I was diagnosed with dysthymia. The course got finished and I only passed 3 subjects out of 10. Consequently, my father told me if I didn't pass all subjects next year, I would have to leave the university because he wouldn't pay for it anymore. Next year I got diagnosed with anxiety. Despite that, I could study without gaming too much because I wanted to continue studying the degree. I achieved to pass 6 out of 8 subjects. Afterwards, my father stopped to pay for my degree. So thanks to saved money I had, I decided to live in a shared flat near to the university to continue studying. What's more I got independence from my father because I didn't want to live in their home anymore.

Nowadays

At 21 I started university course again, I started motivated but due to the fact I continue gaming and the several responsabilities I had like cooking, cleaning, and other kind of housework, I hadn't enough time to study the degree, so I couldn't pass the subjects. It made me play more to scape the reality. In my case there were videogames which are so cognitive as 'RTS' or related to management like 'Starcraft 2', 'Rimworld', etc. The course ended up and the summer of 2022 began. I have started to eat healthier, doing some exercise, listening some psychological podcast and music. During 2021 I met my currently girlfriend, she helped me as none had done before and she is still doing it. She makes me realize about my situation related to gaming. That's when I noticed I had a problem with it. As a result of this, I spoke with my psychologist about it. He confirmed me that I had an addiction to videogamesm so I started to search about this condition on the internet and I discovered this reddit and other sites like 'Game Quitters'.

My 90 days gaming detox started the day after that discussion with my girlfriend, the 12 of August. I would love not to scape the reality, just face it, enjoying the little things of life and keep gaming as another activity just to do with your friends after doing all my responsabilities like studying, physical exercise, housework and spending time with people I love.

[Paul A.]

Welcome to the community! Thanks for sharing your story with us. Video games have caused a lot of damage in your life, but I want to congratulate you for taking the first step towards getting rid of them and living a better life. I and the rest of the community will be here for you along the way!

[Narelk]

Thanks! I'll do my best.

[rkalajian]

You've made a huge step towards. your recovery. Congrats!

[Wildermyth]

Grats! I stopped gaming the day after your first recovery day and it's been going really well so far. I believe you'll find a lot of needed strength on this forum and also listening to Cam's modules. Welcome to the community!

[sinirad]

Welcome to the community and congrats on taking your first step. I know it's not easy to face this challenge, but you're not alone, we are all in this together!