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Roger's Journal


RogerChui

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So here it goes - my 90 day detox has officially begun.

Day 3

Today is the third day of my 90-day detox, but the first day that I am writing journals about my detox. So, I dunno how should I feel. The least to say is, it's a new experience, and I'm looking foward to it.

Everything was fine today - In the morning, instead of staying at home facing my computer, I decided to go to my friend's birthday (she had been inviting me since a few days but I didn't really promise anything). We ran for a while in the morning, played at her home at noon and left after a short while. It went better than I expected. Don't usually go out to much, but it's pretty awesome when I get a chance - hoping to go out more in the future!

When I got back home....bummer, I'm already having slight cravings. Luckily, those cravings didn't last long after I immediately thought of something else to do. I played the piano, searched for some online puzzles as usual; And then, I actually started crafting origami! It's actually a thing I used do in primary school, I crafted tons of origami and gave alot of them to my friends. Today I actually searched how to craft polyhedra origami (yes I really love Math and logic stuff), surprisingly had a lot of fun crafting. I also wanted to look for some tutorials on magic tricks (card tricks), but didn't have time so oh well.

Hope tomorrow goes well.

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Getting out of the house was a good idea. Nothing creates cravings more than being home alone with nothing to do. In those times, you have to find other things to do around the house - the more productive the better. It's better to read than aimlessly click around on YouTube, for instance.

As for hobbies, pick something that you want to master. I might be wrong, but it seems like what you chose to day (such as Origami) will help for a little while, but will quickly need to be replaced. Think about other things you actually want to do that will be more than a passing fancy. Like, learning magic tricks seems like a side-hobby unless you're planning on really using it one day.

Of course, you could always turn the Origami into a much larger art project. That could be cool, like something to show off as a result of addressing your gaming addiction.

Best of luck. You're doing well so far. Keep it up!

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Day 4-6

I'll try to write a few days a time if I can, cause I feel like it xd

So, another 3 days passed, I'm close to 1 week of my detox. Day 4 and 5 were still a bit rough, but it's better than the first 3 days because I watched Cam's video on cravings, which is helpful like other videos :) I didn't do much else than reading a few passages since I had to go to school. I started finding some other hobbies, and reading...well, it was something that I have always wanted to done, but like other activities, I just don't have the interest to do it (also one of the main reasons I want to quit gaming - I wanted to be interested in something else). I've gotten into some psychology lately, and while I don't really have much interest right now, I've watched Cam's videos and I know I just need to be patient. It's just something I can keep myself busy with other than gaming lol.

Today is Day 6, and I've done something that made me have even less cravings - blocking youtube! Yes, although I am so far doing ok on my detox, being addicted to watching videos is also a big problem for me. Other than gaming, it's something I had always been doing after school, it has also been wasting a lot of my time, and since I don't have anything else to watch on youtube I've decided to block it. Plus Cam is right - it does cause me cravings sometimes. I feel even better!

Nothing else to say. Hope I continue doing good.

 

 

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Yeah blocking youtube  helped me with my cravings too. Nearly relapsed at day 70 or so because I watched strategy videos about a game as "test" for gaming in moderation. I started bingewatching and did even reinstall my game. Luckily I wanted to keep my streak and finish the detox so I could see later on that this "test" got a little bit out of control :D.

Awesome that things going well so far!y keep it up. If I can do it everyone can do it!

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Day 7-12

So, first 10 days of my detox passed - 80 more to go! Still a long way, but I'm getting there.

Day 7-10 went pretty well. After some time I managed to find a bit more activities to do rather than reading (reading isn't that effective for me right now). I started to find some classical pieces on the internet, and started to play piano again - it was once something my parents and piano teacher forced me to do, and I really hated it. (forcing someone to play music just to get grades is just....no.) I kept telling my mom to stop forcing me to play piano, and after I've finished my final piano exam, I told myself I've been forced to play piano so much that I will never play piano ever again. But a few days ago, this thought came to me. Now that I've very few things to do, I can put way more time on stuff that I didn't thought of doing! It turned out quite well - for times that I just want to relax this is definitely something I would do. I downloaded gymnopedie and Clair de lune, pretty chill pieces I gotta say.

I also decided to create a timetable. Finally. I have tried a few times to set up a timetable, but they all didn't work...maybe because of the video games holding me back. I set up timetables for Mon-Fri and Sat-Sun. I also wrote a table of activities that I may do when I'm bored. I don't know if this is necessary but better to be safe than sorry. The timetables worked surprisingly well! For some reason, I just feel a sense of satisfication making that timetable, and actually successfully following the timetable. Guess organizing things makes someone happy.

On Day 11 and 12 I had some slightly bigger cravings again. Dealt with them just fine though. School's become more boring for whatever reason, but as long as I can keep up I'm good.

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  • 2 months later...

....Sooooo...After a long long while, I've finally come back to here.

I've stopped writing for quite a while now. And to summarize what had happened....I relapsed, and it took me a while to get back.

It was not long after I wrote my last journal, until I have found a new game by accident. This time it's no flash game or anything, it's actually an online game. Similar to clash royale I'd say. And boy it got me real addicted. When I touched this game, the things that I told myself before didn't work, I lost control, installed the game and......yeah. I played the game for a good 2 1/2 months, and that's when I started to have the same feeling when I first wanted to quit - feeling bored about games, and wanting to move on. So here I am now, doing this for a second time. Although the relapse was long, I got a lot of things from it including some of the reasons I quitted, adjusting some of my mindsets, trying to find some new activities..... and now the journey begins again.

Oh boy, relapses are much more scarier than I thought. One lesson I learnt though - Do not. Watch. Gaming. Streams! Ugh, that's how I end up there. The feeling you get when you watch a video or stream just makes you want to play the game for your own. And it does!

Day 1-2

Here we go again. Another journey. This time though, I've got more things up in my sleeve - trying to invest more in music, actually borrowing some self-improvement books, getting a summer job , and even go jogging every morning. It's even better for me since I'm now 15, which is the the required age for anyone in my town to get a job. Not to mention there's a classmate who I've known for a while that works with me, so double the goodness! 

So how did the 2 days go? I had some strong cravings, even stronger than the ones before. but I pulled it off. For now the things I'll do are playling piano, youtube, and going outside for a walk/jogging. Very simple indeed but I hope to find more interesting activities by then. That's all for now.

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Day 3

Today went pretty well. It was also my first time having to work a summer job, and what do I think of it? It's a new and interesting experience. For a relatively young worker I din't have to do a lot of work, some work including organizing files, organizing materials, looking after the kids (yes it's a kid's centre) etc. Although the work wasn't very hard it's very fun to explore the things that's in an office and actually do the work. I have to work for 8 hours for tues & weds, 4 hours for thurs and 12 hours for fri. Today's tuesday so I worked for 8 hours. Did a lot of organization work. Not too tiring but not to relaxing either! After I got home, I was a bit exhausted. Ended my day off by playing some piano. No cravings, nice. Everything seems to be going well!

Day 4

Similar to Day 3 - except I was less busy today because there was a lot less work for me to do. When I was relaxing I suddenly had the thought of reinstalling my old iphone games, but I held off at last. Nothing special other than that.

Day 5

I only needed to go to work for 4 hours today, so I got home early. Played piano for a while, then that feeling started to kick in. And it's stronger than the one yesterday! Guess what did I do? Videos, videos and videos. And that got taken care of eventually...by consuming my time on another thing, lol. I'd say it isn't the best strategy, but if I can somehow can be more interested in something else, perhaps it'd be more effective and healthier for me. For now it's alright though. Tomorrow I have to work for a whopping 12 hours so...... no way I'm going to game! haha!

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Working helps me always too. You have a good start so far in this second attempt. Good luck man. It seems like you need to find a relaxation activity. You seems always have to have cravings if you come home and just want to chill. You could try listening to music, audiobooks or podcasts. A good podcast to listen too is http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/ even if the episodes are really long. The interviews with jamie foxx or Arnold Schwarznegger are my favorites. For shorter but informative podcast: http://freakonomics.com/

 

Edited by WorkInProgress
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Well done Roger take some time for yourself and answer this questions truthfully (no need to publish them).

  • Why are you quitting gaming? (What is the negative impact on your life)
  • What's your goal? (What aspect of your life you want to improve)
  • What are your new passive activities? (Activities to replace gaming, refer to 60+ new hobbies by Cam)
  • Who are your new role models? (Role models will help you get ride of your old models related to gaming)


Having these answers have helped me during cravings. Hope they help you as well.

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@WorkInProgress Thanks for the suggestion! I actually have piano as a relaxation activity, but podcast seems interesting. I've never thought of it before, will try it out!

@Cam  Yes. I'm thankful that the social worker at my school recommended this for me, it's very eye-opening for me.

@Daniel Thanks mate! I saw those questions in your diary. I'll think over these questions some time. :) 

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Day 6

Worked from 10 am to 10 pm - This day went pretty well. Me and my working partner talked the whole day, talked about stories, places and stuff. Tons of fun.

Day 7

Today's Saturday - Usually, with this much free time, it's easy for me to relapse. But this time I've gotten far enough from games to resist myself. Besides, I've to attend my grandma's 93th birthday (yes, she's very very healthy!) so not much for me to do :P 

And, during this day, I actually found out another thing in my life that has been ignored for so long, and now is the time to start improving it. Unhealthy dieting is something that has been affecting me for a while, yet I always thought it was too small for me to care about. Since 2014 april, the month my depression kicked in, my eating habit changed a lot. As my mood went down I ate less and less, leaving me very skinny. I've also stopped playing basketball, which is something I do regularly with my classmates before that time. When I got to the 2nd year of high school, I was finally allowed to actually go out of the school to have lunch. I kept eating McDonalds, because 1.it's cheap and 2. The Depression has already laid a permenant effect on me(it made me desperate so tasty food such as McDonalds made me feel relieved). It was....a really bad idea. I wasn't feeling any changes at the beginning, but overtime, to a few days before this day.....I started coughing and coughing more. Now I'm no doctor so I can't tell what exact foods made me cough so bad, but I believe if I had gone with a better diet I wouldn't be at such a bad state.

So here I am not - Still coughing. But from now on, I shall

1. Drink as less cold drinks as possible

2. No junk food obviously

3. Drink more water

4. Go jogging more frequently

Man, it's good that I quit gaming to realize that there are so many things for me to improve. I really do hope I become healthier though, being healthier makes a person happier as well!

Day 8

Nothing particularly bad. At home watched a bunch of Ben's prank videos. Also I took @WorkInProgress's suggestion and listened to some podcast. Pretty good alternative to piano I must say! Other than that, nothing much. 

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Man, it's good that I quit gaming to realize that there are so many things for me to improve. I really do hope I become healthier though, being healthier makes a person happier as well!

Second this totally!

I'm quite sure that focusing on your diet will make you grow stronger. Focusing on it has been a good investment for me. Keep up the good work man! :) 

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Start eating a paleo diet. You'll feel way better. McDonald's may be "cheap" on the surface, but it's not cheap when you consider:

1. You'll be more sluggish and thus, less productive.
2. You're more likely to get sick, that costs money and you have to miss days.
3. The more you're sick the more likely you are to be sick long-term.

Eating McDonald's seems cheap but the overall costs in your productivity and health both short-term and long-term are not cheap. :)

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