Steve's Journey(A Fresh Start)

[Stevec2283]

This a fresh new start for me so I decided to start a new topic. I've been saying for awhile that I would be quitting video games and I would start and maybe go a day or so but then I would immediately make excuses as to why I should play video games  and that I could even play in moderation. But after so many relapses I've come to the realization that moderation doesn't work for me, it's either that I play video games regularly or I don't play them at all, there is no in between for me. 

I realize that this journey is not going to be easy and that there will be bumps along the way but I know from previous success that it's possible for me to quit gaming. I need to learn from my previous mistakes and work at not repeating them. Gaming is something that I want to completely remove from my life. It once controlled my life but I want to take back control. 

I restarted my journey to a game free life on Sept 06 and so far it has been going well, I haven't really had any urges to play video games. As I said before, it's not going to be easy but I know that I can be successful.

DAYS GAME FREE: 2

[Stevec2283]

Here's a link to my previous journal 

https://forum.gamequitters.com/topic/3309-time-for-something-new/

Edited September 8, 2017 by Stevec2283

[Stevec2283]

Today is Day 3 of my game free life and so far things have been going well except a couple of times I thought of gaming, but I've stuck to my guns. I know that over time these urges to play games will pass, so for now I just need to endure them and do other things to try and keep my mind off of gaming.

I really need to find other activities to replace gaming. Some things that helped me in the past that I'm going to try and reincorporate into my daily routine are things like reading, learning a new language, playing guitar and physical activities such as walking. I will also try not to allow stress to get the better of me and cause me to want to go back to gaming. I really need to fight this time and as I've said before, if I was able to be successful in the past, then I can be successful moving forward and overcome gaming once and for all.

I no longer want to live my life in the virtual world but want to live in the real world.

GAME FREE DAYS: 3

"LEAVE THE PIXEL WORLD, ENTER THE REAL WORLD."

 

[giblets]

It takes courage to recognize you had derailed, and want to get back up and give it another go!

Walking is a great way to change your environment and still progress things such as learning a new language (through podcasts), building social interaction (by walking with colleagues or call them), as well as by feeling great afterwards. It could also be a way to eat some different food as well depending on your circumstances 

[WorkInProgress]

Hey Steve. It is nict to see that you still fighting. In the long run it all about tenacity.

[Stevec2283]

Well here goes nothing, I’ve decided to restart my journey after falling back into gaming for quite some time.

I feel like such a hypocrite because I want to quit but then I fall right back into my old habits. But rather than beat myself up, I’ll forget about it and move forward. 

And now I have another reason to quit gaming because it’s affecting me physically. I have mild Carpal Tunnel and I’m starting to feel the effects of it because of my gaming. Right now it is pretty good and I only have to wear a wrist splint, but I don’t want it to get to the point where it may require surgery. 

I know that the journey won’t be an easy one, but I know that it’s possible. 

 

[Stevec2283]

Today is the start of Day 1. Last night I deleted all content on my PS4 and today I’m resetting it to factory default. I decided that I’m going to also sell it.

Well so far my day only started, woke up a little over an hour ago. Going to try and keep myself occupied so that I don’t think about gaming. 

As I said in my previous post, I need to quit gaming, not only because I want to quit but also because it’s starting to affect my health. Gaming for me started to become less enjoyable and I would find myself getting bored with it after awhile, which is another reason for my wanting to quit. 

I know that quitting is not easy but I’m going to put up a fight. My first goal is to complete the 90 day detox and then continue working toward a game free life.

 

 

[Stevec2283]

If has been quite awhile since I've posted here and in my prior post I wanted to restart my journey to a game free life but have lacked the motivation. Because of this lack of motivation, I continued gaming and wasting precious time that could be used to accomplish worthwhile things. This had even started to affect my motivation in other areas because I would be so concerned about playing games that I would either neglect to do something so I could play a game or I wouldn't give it the necessary attention. So over the past few days I made a decision that I had to quit playing video games so that I can improve my life and quit wasting time on something in which I'm not accomplishing anything.

So yesterday I completely reset my PS4 back to its factory default and as of today after playing for awhile, I deleted a game that I played on my PC. I also plan on selling my PS4 so as to remove any temptation to play games again.

So tomorrow will be my first day.

I know that I may sound like a broken but my first goal is to complete the 90 day detox.

[Cam Adair]

Welcome back Steve. I would encourage you to look at the number of times you've quit and then went back, and whether gaming really serves your highest good or not. 

[Stevec2283]

Today is day 1 and so far it's been going pretty well, I haven't had any urges to play games. Gaming to me is like an emotional crutch and a way to escape but as I said in my previous post it caused me to lack motivation so I feel that gaming is more of a hindrance than a help. I've realized that moderation isn't something that works for me because when I play games, I can't play only for a short time and I would play for quite a few hours at a time.

So far today because I haven't played any games it has helped me to get more things done than I would normally have gotten done. This is just a starting point for me and right now my motivation isn't where it should be, but as each day goes by I will continue working on improving it.

Even prior to quitting gaming I've already been working on improving my health so that's one area I'm going to continue to focus on. I'm also going to work on incorporating other activities into a daily routine so I can replace what was previously occupying a good portion of my time.

I will take it one day at a time and one step at a time.

[Stevec2283]

Right now it’s day 3 and so far my day has been going well. I’m at a loss for words about how to consistently write a daily journal. I’m unsure if I’m going to write a daily journal or even write a journal at all. I’m not saying that I’m giving up my journey but will give it some thought about the journal.

[Stevec2283]

After a brief relapse I’m back at it again. Yesterday I went back to gaming for a short time but after awhile I didn’t get any enjoyment out of it whatsoever. I decided that I’ll continue writing a journal but I will keep it short and sweet and to the point. Today is day 1, and so far no thoughts of gaming. I’m going to give it my best and work on quitting gaming for good. I no longer want to be living in the digital world but in the real world. 

[Regular Robert]

Steve, have you found other activities to replace gaming? Are they good enough to keep you focused during your daytime? Also, do you know why you tend to relapse? Like, what is the trigger and what ways could you develop to avoid your triggers?

[Stevec2283]

@Regular Robert I have found some activities to replace gaming such as working out, reading and also learning a new language. 

For me I think that the main reason for relapse is a combination of stress and also at times boredom. So maybe I have to consider adding some other activities to replace gaming and as a way to deal with stress. 

[Cam Adair]

Hi Steve

two videos for you if you haven’t seen them

 

[Stevec2283]

Day 1 went well and I didn’t have any thoughts of gaming. I kept myself busy doing other things and also spent most of my evening with friends so I didn’t have a chance to even consider gaming. 

Today is going good so far and I haven’t even thought about gaming. I find that as long as I keep myself occupied with other things I don’t even think about gaming but if I’m having a bad day or if I’m bored then I think about gaming.

 I’m going to continue to take it one day at a time. 

“Leave the Pixel World, Enter the Real World.”

[giblets]

How have you gone with selling your PS4? I found the best thing I did for going down this path is changing my environment totally. So I sold my xbox and packed up my gaming computer. I uninstalled everything off my phone and went greyscale. It's a bit painful/annoying at first but it forces you at least to not sit in the same chair/look at the same screen for which you have muscle memory for playing games.

[Stevec2283]

1 hour ago, giblets said:

How have you gone with selling your PS4? I found the best thing I did for going down this path is changing my environment totally. So I sold my xbox and packed up my gaming computer. I uninstalled everything off my phone and went greyscale. It's a bit painful/annoying at first but it forces you at least to not sit in the same chair/look at the same screen for which you have muscle memory for playing games.

Well I haven’t sold it yet but I do plan on selling it. I did though delete everything off it and revert it back to factory default.

[Stevec2283]

Today is day 3  and it's been going fairly well and I still haven't played any games.

Before I relapsed previously I had said that I was unsure about if I was going to continue my journal or not and then later I had said that I would continue it but keep it short and sweet and to the point, but after today I've decided that I will no longer write a journal. My reason for not continuing on with my journal is that I now struggle to find the words to express about how the journey is going. So for that reason I will no longer be writing a journal.

I wish all of you the best in your journey.  Take care.

 

[Stevec2283]

Today marks the first day of this journey for me. In the past I have struggled with this but I feel like it’s now or never. I’ve allowed gaming to control my life for too long.

My gaming experience started from a very young age, I was probably around 7 or 8 when I started gaming, so  it’s about 25 or 26 years that I’ve been a gamer. I’m 34 now, so for about 3/4 or more of my life I’ve been gaming.

I’ve decided that I’m going remove all traces of gaming from my life which would include mobile gaming as well. Later today I’m going to reset my PS4 to the factory default and delete all data. I also checked with EB games in regards to selling my console and games. 

In my prior attempts to quit gaming I feel as if I wasn’t really giving it my best and that I would easily allow myself to go back to gaming or I would make excuses as to why I should be gaming but I know now that the more that I game the harder it’ll be for me quit. I have to completely rewire my brain for life without gaming. 

Yesterday was the last time that I had played games, so today marks Day 1. As I said previously it’s time to get serious and not allow gaming to control me anymore.

90 DAY DETOX: Day 1 of 90

 

Edited March 31, 2018 by Stevec2283

[Stevec2283]

Today was a good day, I didn’t have any urges to play games. I also deleted all data and reset my PS4 to its factory default. Tomorrow I will pack it up and later on I will sell it. 

Today was actually a pretty quiet day, but I was able to get a workout in. Over the next little while I’m going to consider what sort of activities I can do to replace gaming.

I’m going to take this one day at a time and work hard to quit gaming once and for all. 

[Stevec2283]

Day 2 of 90

My day has been going well, didn't have an urges to play games, but earlier this afternoon I did have a short time that I was bored. Instead of focusing on the fact that I was bored and thinking that I would be better in playing a game to get rid of it, I just shifted my focus to what I could do about the situation, so I decided to get out of the house and went for a walk instead. Another positive of this day was that I packed up my PS4 and I will go about selling it when I get the chance. 

I'm going to try and incorporate more activities into my life so as to crowd out the urge to game and at the same time I'm going to try to be more proactive with my time rather than just waste time. I need to learn from what helped me to have success in the past, follow those same steps and make adjustments where necessary. I also need to look at what caused me to relapse in the past, work at not repeating the process and to break the cycle. I will continue to take it one day at a time and rather that focus on the overall journey, I need to focus on the steps that it will take for me to get there.

 

Edited April 1, 2018 by Stevec2283

[Stevec2283]

Day 3 of 90

Today started off good, I got up around 8:30 am or so and then around 10:00 am I left the house and went to the store to pick up a few things that I had needed. Prior to going to the store I went to EB games and traded in my PS4 and games. On the one hand it feels like you’re abandoning a good friend, but at the same time, you’re also leaving your so called friend who has been holding you back all this time. Life doesn’t have to be centered around playing video games, there are many more enjoyable things in life.

All this time I’ve been focusing on why I needed to play video games rather than the fact that playing games doesn’t necessarily make you happy. I would make excuses such as: gaming is a good stress reliever, but would avoid the fact that it wasn’t going to change anything, the stress was still going to be there and I still had to deal with it. I’ve decided now that rather than try to avoid stress, I’m going to deal with it head on. 

I’ve been doing well so far today and haven’t had any urges to play games. I know that there are going to be good days and bad days but I will take it one day at a time.

[Stevec2283]

Day 4 of 90

 Today has been a bit of a roller coaster with my mood being up and down but games haven’t really came into my mind that much. In the past I probably would have buckled and went right back to video games thinking that it would somehow help me, but in actual fact I was just trying to escape my emotions. I know that days like this are going to happen so rather than try to avoid them, I have to deal with them as they come along.

Despite the day that I’ve been having, I went for a walk this morning and also played guitar for awhile. Also, I got out of the house this afternoon for awhile to try and improve my mood.

I know that things will get better over time and that I can’t expect things to change overnight but I just have to keep fighting no matter what.

 

[Stevec2283]

Day 5 of 90

Today went quite a lot better than yesterday, my mood was a lot better. Gaming didn't even come to my mind today because I kept myself occupied so I wouldn't think about it. I feel as if I should probably try to plan out my days rather than just do what comes to mind. This is something that I have to continue to work on but I think consistency is the key to being successful. Also by planning out my days I should be able to get more things done, rather than wasting time doing non essential things.

Today was a pretty quiet day for the most part, I wasn't home at all this morning and then in the afternoon I went for a walk and also watched a movie. This evening I also did some reading and now I'm listening to music as I'm writing this message. 

At times I find it difficult to find the words to write for my journal, but I'm sure that some days I will find more things to write about than other days and it won't stop me from continuing my journal.

"Leave the Pixel World, Enter the Real World"