Get my hobbies back

[PeterB]

Hi! My name is Peter, im 20 years old and since last summer, I became more addicted to gaming than i was ever before. And that took my joy from hobbies.

I am a teacher, but I always loved making music! Or other creative stuff, like playing piano, drawing, writing stories... I moved away from my parent's house last summer, right after graduating school, found a job and yeah...thats good, but also bad. Cuz now I have access to adult money, with no restrictions. I buy 2 - 3 new games after every paycheck (I don't even play a lot of these games.) I still have so many games i haven't finished, or that I didn't find quite fun to play. I also spend alot of money on rocket league (Since someone thought it would be good idea to remove trading...duh).

I decided to change my stereotypical day. Now im in spiritual and mental warfare everyday. I used to play for 2+ hours every evening, which resulted in broken sleeping schedule (0Am - 1Am was my bed time). Alot of times, 2 hours of gaming can be a lot of wasted time, when in that particular day I have only 4 hours of free time. I could use that time for more productive stuff, yet I don't. I lost motivation for any creative hobby. I lost motivation for music, even thought it's a big part of me and I already achieved some bigger numbers and attention. I havent made any new song in month or so. I miss it. I want to have fun making music again.

So thats why I set 40 minutes timer for gaming, instead of scrolling through youtube shorts I just lay down on floor and try to get bored, started reading Bible and connect more with Jesus Christ and the hardest part is trying to change my mindset. I don't want to view my music hobby way too seriously, I want to have fun again. I want to enjoy life again, not stress over future. I want to live in a present.

hopefully this journal thing will help me reorganise my thoughts and connect with people. Until then, stay strong and resist!

[Wildermyth]

It's nice to have you here Peter! And it's a great thing that you've come to this realization so early in your life. 🙂

When you realize how gaming just starts to suck the life from every other hobby you have is when you know something is completely off. Trying to beat a superficial level to increase a number on a digital screen can never be as fulfilling as playing an instrument for instance, yet that's how the brain wants to prioritize when we start to slide into addiction. A virtual version of real life can never be as meaninful as actual real life, and we need to remind ourself of this constantly.

[grey]

I'll have to say, playing music never fails to calm me down, it doesn't matter what mood I'm in coming into it. I know how hard it is to stay consistent though. The only thing that has ever worked for me is finding other people to play with - or setting a day for a performance or something like that. if you have other people in your life that enjoy your music they might be able to help you out