AMA - Gaming, Life, Mental Health, Addiction

[Cam Adair]

Post your biggest questions here and I'll respond to them shortly!

[Wildermyth]

How do you deal with a situation where you might end up with a partner that has gaming as a hobby? Is it possible stay away from it yourself while also not limiting your partner in a harmful way?

[Faroe Islander]

Hi cam, thanks for giving us this opportunity, I don't know if this fall within the confines of "game quitters" but its been causing me lots of trouble.

Personally I struggle most with games in the form of social media (youtube, twitch, shorts, clips...) usually it goes something like this, things start small with something which I haven't defined as "banned" like a meme my friends send me or a music track but one track/clip leads to another and soon enough I'm back to my old habits, sometimes being able to keep it small for a couple days but eventually having it all go down. 

My main question is where do I set the limits so that I get to keep myself away from potential paths onto the internet rabbit hole while also not hampering other parts of my life so much that it ends up being worse in the long term. And once I decide on the limits, how do I respect them (+deal with potential slip ups) 

EG 1: music, + fun and good for socializing and sometime also relaxing / having a good time potential. - Doorway into music -> vid binge

EG 2:  podcasts/vids , fun and sometimes enlightening - Doorway into streams/podcasts -> vid binge

EG 3: memes friends send, fun good start to conversation / other activities - Doorway into memes/shorts -> vid binge

[Captain_Pilz]

Thanks for the AMA and for building this incredible community, Cam.

I realize the value of replacement activities like hobbies in the process of quitting video games. However, when I experience cravings, boredom or frustration with myself, I feel genuinely incapable of concentrating on any of them. Do you have personal experiences or tipps on dealing with these emotionally taxing phases?

 

Have a nice day

[purpleluke]

My place of work are doing a huge campaign to do with gaming. I work for a mobile phone network - what advice would you give me to do the learning I need about this without getting triggered/relapsing? Thanks 😊

[LostRiver]

On 10/13/2022 at 2:28 PM, Cam Adair said:

Post your biggest questions here and I'll respond to them shortly!

Thank you Cam for this chance to pick your brains! 

I would love to hear your tips on how to let go of shame. My shame of being a long time addict makes me feel so self-conscious all the time. It also destroys my self-esteem and leads to many unhealthy coping mechanism.

Also, can you give some tips on how to start socializing again? I have parted with all of my gaming friends and now I want to make new ones

Once again, thank you Cam for taking care of this community!