Tan, Med student Journal !!

[Autodidact]

Hi my name is Tan 21 year old, I'm studying medicine in Thailand and I'm a game addict. I have been gaming free since 1st of February 2016 !! I have gone through many relapse and now I on my way to 90 days detox goal. I have to study everyday due to the intensity of the exam. I have been using games as a way to escape my stress temporary but I know deep down in my heart that I want insight spiritual growth and gaming can not provide that goal to me ! 

Today is Saturday I have been clean for 13 days !!. I have an urge to play cause it is a holiday and I have a lot of free time and have to study also but that's okay. I'm gonna watch movie if I get bored, get some exercise and read a good book like Respawn and The slight edge. That's it for today. !!

[WorkInProgress]

Hi Tan,

i adviced you on another thread to start a journal and now i see you allready did it

Awesome that you share your story with us and start journaling! If you have any other questions be free to ask.

Greetings Mario

[Cam Adair]

Go Tan!

[Autodidact]

 

Today is my 14th day of gaming free. I got really stress out of nowhere and it triggered my urge but then I relax myself, ate a bit of sweet stuff and now I'm good. I'm going to find other activities beside watching TV series because I had used only TV series for substitution and I got relapse. I need to fulfill my needs all-round in order to success in this process

Tan

[AJ_Manley]

 

Today is my 14th day of gaming free. I got really stress out of nowhere and it triggered my urge but then I relax myself, ate a bit of sweet stuff and now I'm good. I'm going to find other activities beside watching TV series because I had used only TV series for substitution and I got relapse. I need to fulfill my needs all-round in order to success in this process

Tan

Hey Tan. I think that is a great idea, so far I am only on my 4th day of no gaming but I realised almost straight away that if I just watched TV it was just substituting one problem for another. For me it still has the risk of making me put things off till later or forget things completely. Another thing that makes a big difference to me is food. 
While gaming I sometimes went all day without drinking or eating anything but if you can be quite strict about how much food you eat and when it might make controlling your energy levels through the day easier.

Good luck  !

Edited February 14, 2016 by AJ_Manley

[Cam Adair]

@Autodidact and @AJ_Manley, let's brainstorm. Instead of watching TV, what are some other activities you guys can do?

[AJ_Manley]

@Autodidact and @AJ_Manley, let's brainstorm. Instead of watching TV, what are some other activities you guys can do?

Ideas just off the top of my head real quick. 

Exercise, ( gym, clubs, teams).
Seeing Friends
Playing an instrument
Reading/Writing
 

My thought process at the moment is if you can do something that gets you off a seat and moving around the house that is good. 
If you can do something that gets you out of the house that is great and if you can do something that gets you out of the house and involving other people then its fantastic ! 




 

[Autodidact]

Having been here for a while due to heavy studying. Yesterday I got stress out and my friends invited me to play Dota for fun. I got pull in and felt regret but I did not continue playing today. I don't know that yesterday called a Relapse or not but I learn something that my deep down self feel bad about playing game and I hope this situation don't happen again.

Thank you for reading. Keep fighting together !!

 

-I think I will learn to  play guitar for new relaxing hobby

-read good books 10 page a day (From The Slight Edge)

-But I'm still thinking of something to relax me of stress from reading tons of book !!

Edited February 17, 2016 by Autodidact

[Cam Adair]

Next time you're feeling stressed out, how can you deal with it differently? Stress is going to come up in your life and you'll need to know other ways to process it without using gaming (which is how you normally have.) This video can help.

Also, I would encourage you to set stronger boundaries with your friends and ask them not to invite you to play. If your friends are inviting you to play they are not supporting your journey to quit, and that's not what being a good friend is all about.

[AJ_Manley]

-I think I will learn to  play guitar for new relaxing hobby

-read good books 10 page a day (From The Slight Edge)

-But I'm still thinking of something to relax me of stress from reading tons of book !!

I am about to start learning guitar too !
The best thing about concentrating on a musical instrument is that there is so much you can discover and learn based around it. 
You can also then play and possibly perform with others to help with being social and meeting new people too.

[Autodidact]

Hi all, I going to have test on tuesday. I'm kind of stress but don't have that much urge to play game. I'm thinking of  joining volunteer to help disable kid to fulfill my activities. I read slight edge 10 pages everyday before go to bed, it's really helpful. That's for today

Tan

[Cam Adair]

Great to read your update! I would definitely say joining a volunteer group would be beneficial to you. Giving back is a great way to increase your happiness.

[Autodidact]

Hi, Today I played dota with my friend for 1 round and felt pretty guilty. Can I think this as a field research ? Because I did this once and It doesn't make me get back to addicted to games. I feel pretty stress right now but I will fight no matter what.

[Cam Adair]

One game doesn't have to be a big deal but that doesn't mean you should start justifying it as "just one game." There will always be "one" more game. What you want to look into is what caused you to play this game. Was it to hang out with your friend? Was it because you were bored? Understanding that is what will allow you to avoid doing it again in the future.

[Autodidact]

Long time no see ! I have been through quite a lot eg. stress, inner demon, friend pursuading me to play game with them. I have read one of Cam's article and he says "Gaming is fun but I have to move on" I used this phrase to overcome all of my urge to game. Once I admit that gaming is fun but I want to move on. It's really easier to overcome the urge than to resist and deny it !  

[Cam Adair]

Happy to hear that analogy helps you

[Autodidact]

Heyyy! I'm having a final exam period. I have to study hard and got a lot of stress. I have noticed the urge to install and play Warcraft 3 because I watch anime as a substitude for gaming. I have a problem finding a new relaxing hobby. It seems not as satisfying as playing games but I'll will try look up in 60+ hobby again.

[WorkInProgress]

Try to read some fiction. There are some awesome books out there wich are very entertaining and not ahrd to read. Taking walks and listening to music helps me to releasy study stress too. 

I struggle with the exact same urge at this time but more to fullfill my competetive demands .In my experiences playing wc3 isn't relaxing. It needs hard fokus and energy. Sure it is fun but even if you wouldn't quit gaming right now i wouldn't advise you to play wc3 in study breaks.

greeting mario

 

[Autodidact]

Thank you, Mario. I will try to find any fun to read ! Stress and boredom trigger my urge, So I think I will have to deal with these issue.

Thank you all

[Autodidact]

I had relapsed for 2 days, playing Clash Royale and spent 25 dollars. I think I have gambling issue  also. I can not wait the delay in the game and that make me go mad and spent real money. I have emailed the creator to delete my account. I felt regret but I will learn something from this.

[Guest]

I relapsed after 10 months free man,I'm preety sure I will never get rid of the feeling of wanting to play completely.But,I want to be able to "respawn" quickly,if and when I relapse again,not to waste months before deciding to quit again(like this time).Think about it ,this is the best and the only thing we can do learn something and move on.

Good luck!

[Autodidact]

I'm have returned to this forum!! I have had minor-relapsed few times but I've decided to give it a shot !! The reason i relapsed is I can not find any substitude for gaming. I constant mindlessly browsing internet and watch youtube then I get bored!! Kaboom I relapsed. Now I have plan to

1.study online business for mentally engage activity

2.reading for relaxing(but I think I need something more cause sometimes I find it boring)

3.join meetup for social

Enjoy your journey of quitting games !!!

[Reno F]

welcome back, mate! I joined about 3 months ago, nice to meet you!

maybe you need a different book, what do you think?

[Piotr]

It's hard to find a substitute cause there is nothing similar to gaming. You need to do different activities to fulfill this void. If many people have done it, so you can, too. Keep going. 

[Autodidact]

welcome back, mate! I joined about 3 months ago, nice to meet you!

maybe you need a different book, what do you think?

yeah I think I need to put the idea of the book i read in action.

Today I got out of the room for swimming instead of watching movies all day in the room. I will try to decrease the amount of time I spend on social media. One step at a time !