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[Revit]

Hey fellow quitters,

My name is Vincent. It's not my real name though, because I don't want my future offsprings or, god forbid, my future wife to find this confession haha. But if figured that joining this forum and putting my thoughts into sentences will help me with the detox. I am on my 27th day by the way - just yesterday I asked my friend to check for how long I was gone on Steam.

Yep, 27 days. It actually feels like it has been forever since I indulged into video gaming. Quitting gaming was my subconscious new 2016 year resolution. I think it's a perfect time for this change. I am finally emotionally and financially stable, and overall independent. For the last decade gaming was the only cost effective hobby, that could entertain better than anything else. I was a poor student in a 3rd world country and $10 for World Of Warcraft subscription was the price for fun I could afford. And it was better and more productive than alcoholism!

Three years ago I moved to Canada to pursue my dream of immigrating to this country and I became even more broke than ever, despite the stereotype about international students. The need in a cheep hobby still remained real. Also, I had no time and language skills for having fun in other ways.

Anyway, twenty seven days ago I tossed my Steam account with all the games into the void. I am still bleeding inside though, it feels like a huge waste to throw away a $600 game library with 700+ hours of gaming time potential. But it was the right decision, because being hung up on "cost efficiency" of gaming doesn't do any good for me now. Because, you know, gaming is addictive.

 

Edited April 17, 2016 by Revit

[SirTot]

Welcome!

Congrats on your 27-day (and growing) detox. Also, kudos on throwing away your Steam account. That's quite a big step.

[Revit]

Thanks! I tried to delete Steam 3-4 times since beggining of this year to stop gaming. That didn't work, because as soon as I felt boring, I could install it back. 

When I cannot stop eating sweets, drinking booze or smoking pot, the solution is easy - I need to finish it up or throw away. If it is not easy accessible, I won't bother getting it to satisfy my cravings. With gaming it is harder though, because it has been in my system for years, not days. 

[Falky]

Welcome buddy and good job on reaching day 27!

Can I ask why is it you don't want people knowing about you doing a game detox? I found it easier by telling people close to me and they supported me. It sounds like you are in the good groove now of not gaming so that's good

The first 2-3 weeks are the hardest in my opinion and the rest just gets easier (that's if you are obviously improving yourself and keeping busy).

Keep up the good work!

[Cam Adair]

Hey Revit! Welcome! 27 days is awesome and writing here will definitely help you. Where in Canada are you? I was born in Calgary and I'm currently typing this from Toronto.

[Revit]

@Falky

Sometimes HRs do a web search on an applicant's name. My name is quite unique in the given context and that would be easy to match the name with the person. I am not sure if Cam allowed search bots to scan the forum... But besides that all my 2.5 friends know about my little project. They all play games, but I am the only one who does not want to resist the urges of life pleasures abuse. They are aware about all my attempts to quit gaming, so now it has become an inside joke . In any case, that would make more sense to talk and joke about the struggles of game quitting with people who are going or went through it!

@Cam Adair

Hey! I currently live in Toronto as well!

[Cam Adair]

[Mad Pharmacist]

Hey Revit! You did nice work right now so just keep moving forward. Writing here, even anonymously will definitely help you. Also, throwing away your huge game library was a great step. Remember that you can get back your money you lost, but you'll never get back the time you could lose on these games.

[Revit]

@hycniejsy

I could not agree more! I have so many good memories about gaming, but I also remember times when video gaming negatively impacted my life. Even though right now it does not impact me that bad, I used spend more time playing than I could afford...

[Mad Pharmacist]

@Revit

Well, obviously we learn from every experience in our live. Even something that was completely terrible.

I sometimes remind my own gaming as the time I spent in isolation, no friends, no free time for hobbies. I was alone.

But thanks to that I know how it really is to feel alone in this world. And I don't want to get into the same place anymore.

If you came here, games probably did have negative impact on you. That's the reason I wrote last comment.

[Jeremias]

@hycniejsy

I have so many good memories about gaming, but I also remember times when video gaming negatively impacted my life. Even though right now it does not impact me that bad, I used spend more time playing than I could afford...

I now compare computer gaming to the gambling you see in a casino. 

I've always wondered how pensioners who play on slot machines literally all day long can have fun doing so. However, slot machines are designed to highlight and lengthen the big wins you have whilst quickly rushing through the many small losses you incur. In aggregate, you will always experience loss in the long run. 

We must remember all the loss of friends, money and most significantly, time, that we trade-off for the excitement that we may gain through playing computer games. As we sit at the computer all day/night long, we'll never know what opportunities we have missed out on in the real world whilst that was happening. 

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