Game Over

[Wildermyth 88]

Lots of people at my work are talking about the latest Harry Potter game. I previously planned to buy it as I was really hyped for a new RPG. One of my collegues said that she had trouble doing anything other than playing the game. She even came to a point where she concidered uninstalling it in order to get some important things done. I'm glad that I focused on this part of the conversation instead of being enticed by all the game talk.

It fascinates me that most people who play games do it obsessively in the moment, but only a few people cannot control it over time. One girl I know for instance can game in isolation for hours, barely eating or doing her chores, but then she feels satisfied and can go several weeks without thinking of gaming. I just don't understand how her brain can balance itself out like that and not just lose control completely. But maybe it's the same thing with people who like to drink; some might get really drunk in the moment but they have no issues with keeping it healthy in the long run.

[Amphibian220 574]

Your point about occasional playing I think has to do with identity perception. A person who does not consider himself a gamer and has no strong attachment, will buy a game and play it until hw gets bored when there is a lot of publicity about it.

But repeating something on a regular basis is building a stronger attachment and shifting identity. Its also important to be developed in multiple aspects ( i.e. sport, communication, work, charity and family relationships) so one thinng doesn’t define you completely.

Video games supply a gamer with endless problem solving and modify the brain to a very unhealthy work pattern. It is very reminiscent of how the food companies entice us to overeat by presenting something simple and functional as a way to get satisfied.

 Just one week away from the telephone and “fast thinking” and I started noticing actual solvable problems that were not noticed before. The brain started doing its work. In this age information is a “Jammer”.

One of my observations over the last 2 years. One of the members of GQ travelled to Yukon, Canada, another went to a city in Iceland. In both cases they had no to minimal access to technology, plus they gained access to an internal spiritual resource that activates when one moves away from financial centeres that suck energy and life out of him.

They related how they got clarity with what they needed in their lives, what was neglected and required mending. I will also state that in my case, digestion improved greatly. Without the crazy marketing, I just ate plain food, and only took as much as I needed. 

Edited March 14 by Amphibian220

[Lobares2 54]

On 3/13/2023 at 11:30 AM, Wildermyth said:

Lots of people at my work are talking about the latest Harry Potter game. I previously planned to buy it as I was really hyped for a new RPG. One of my collegues said that she had trouble doing anything other than playing the game. She even came to a point where she concidered uninstalling it in order to get some important things done. I'm glad that I focused on this part of the conversation instead of being enticed by all the game talk.

It fascinates me that most people who play games do it obsessively in the moment, but only a few people cannot control it over time. One girl I know for instance can game in isolation for hours, barely eating or doing her chores, but then she feels satisfied and can go several weeks without thinking of gaming. I just don't understand how her brain can balance itself out like that and not just lose control completely. But maybe it's the same thing with people who like to drink; some might get really drunk in the moment but they have no issues with keeping it healthy in the long run.

 

I think there are multiple reasons for that.

1) Why do you game? Are you doing it because of fun or to escape RL? Not everyone needs to escape RL, because they don’t struggle with anything. Not because they are awesome, its most of the time because their goals are not really set high, maybe they dont even have goals. Just daily wake up go to work and then do whatever you want. If you dont need to escape anything, I see a lot less reasons that you get hooked compared to someone who is gaming.

2) Is that game competitive or just single player stuff? Do you want to reach a high rank? Those things let you get hooked quickly if you are that type of a guy. No need to have a reason to escape rl then, because gaming is your goal.

 

I think there are many more reason, but I think the BIGGEST thing are your circumstances in RL. Do you have problems? Do you have a rough time? Are your goals overwhelming you? Those are IMO the major trigger that you get addicted by anything. Thats how the brain works -> hard task, na Dont want to do that -> easy task & dopamin, lets go for it

[Wildermyth 88]

15 hours ago, Lobares2 said:

 

I think there are multiple reasons for that.

1) Why do you game? Are you doing it because of fun or to escape RL? Not everyone needs to escape RL, because they don’t struggle with anything. Not because they are awesome, its most of the time because their goals are not really set high, maybe they dont even have goals. Just daily wake up go to work and then do whatever you want. If you dont need to escape anything, I see a lot less reasons that you get hooked compared to someone who is gaming.

2) Is that game competitive or just single player stuff? Do you want to reach a high rank? Those things let you get hooked quickly if you are that type of a guy. No need to have a reason to escape rl then, because gaming is your goal.

 

I think there are many more reason, but I think the BIGGEST thing are your circumstances in RL. Do you have problems? Do you have a rough time? Are your goals overwhelming you? Those are IMO the major trigger that you get addicted by anything. Thats how the brain works -> hard task, na Dont want to do that -> easy task & dopamin, lets go for it

Yes, I believe there is a lot of truth to your reflections. I for one both wanted to escape parts of my reality and get a higher rank/status in competitive games. The multiplayer component I believe is a rather strong one because if you think about the MMO genre for instance there were lots of people that had no previous experience with gaming but got immediately hooked on it. In those games you were able to escape to a different social reality where you had a sort of status and something to work towards and if it didn't please you you could just log off in an instant. I remember when WoW got released and people dropped out of school because they couldn't stop playing; and many of them had no prior experience with gaming beyond some small mobile games at the time. Ironically I never played WoW at release so I could witness it as a bystander.

My boss told me while we were talking about my gaming addiction that his daughters had urged him to uninstall Tetris on his phone because he couldn't stop playing once he started it. He used this example to show that he could relate somehow to my addiction. And I know plenty of people in his age who get hooked to these "small" games like Candy Crush, Farmville etc. Even if it's not on the same level as a true addiction it's still damaging enough to cause problems in your everyday life. And if you're that vulnerable to such casual mini-games the risk might be high that you will be caught up in something more substantial and long-lasting.

[Wildermyth 88]

Had a real dip yesterday with almost no motivation. I had to excuse myself to a collegue because I zoned out so much that she started to notice. Within autism it's called "lock-up" or "freeze". It's a rather strange sensation where important functions such as speech might be shut down in order to deal with the overwhelming sense of stress. I'm not sure what caused the stress this time as it usually crawls up on me rather than hits me straight in the face.

Since I got my diagnosis at a later age I never understood these emotions before, but my go-to solution was always gaming of course. When playing a game I never had to overcome my lack of speech or dealing with someone wanting my attention; I could just sit there for hours and suprress my emotions while trying to stay focused on a different reality. Not being able to escape this anymore makes me live more in the moment and try to figure these feelings out. I'm also more open to talk about them and let others know what I'm dealing with. All in all it's a positive thing, even If I cannot prevent the emotional response per se.

[Wildermyth 88]

During my photo course we finally went outside last weekend and took photos of various objects in the city center. As I'm aiming to become better at nature photography I tried to find as many animals as possible. Naturally there were mostly dogs and some birds but I managed to get this shot of a sidensvans (rowan in english) sitting at the top of a tree. I took maybe 30 pictures in total but this one came out quite good. I think I'll forever save it to remind me of where I started out. 🙂

I used to like photo modes in various video games which was great fun, but in the end nothing beats capturing real life moments. It's much, much harder to take photos in reality but when you do manage to get that perfect shot it's forever in your possession and you can share it with as many as you like. It's also a great testament to all the wondrous experiences you've had.

[Wildermyth 88]

Feeling a bit low and sensitive lately due to lots of stress around me. Haven't thought much about gaming though which is a plus. But it's more because all the other stressful things are so overwhelming that there's no space left for other thoughts. I really don't like feeling like this so I hope it will turn around soon. 

[Amphibian220 574]

Regarding stress, are you in he habit of

proactively addressing issues and cutting at the root,

or being reactive to them (treating symptoms),

or just avoiding issues outright?

I had a gaming time followed by a time when I didn't play games but spent a lot of time thinking about them.

In both of these periods, I would not address my important needs because I was unaware of them. 

This fueled long term stagnation. “Its not too bad” was the self deception. I took all the precautions to extend the constant low until I was out of moves.

Sometimes better awareness causes you to go out and fight. When I understood that I am backed into a corner with nowhere to run or hide, I went out of my way and stated very clearly to myself and people around me what I wanted and this was not tentative, it was assertive. I then took systematic action to get to my goals and sacrificed time, effort.

it also killed the low expectations in me. When i learned how much was at stake i was ready to put the lazy character in check and confront people.