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90 day detox


ChewyChickenBones

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Hola

 

First day of the new work shift is here. It was nice to have most of the day to be able to do a lot more than just be at work!

My habits/routine continue to change. Really proud and happy of the achievements.

3 things I'm grateful for:

1. Studying

2. Learning

3. Putting in the work

 

I am doing really well.

 

A disciplined mind is your most dependable ally.

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  • 3 years later...

Day 1

Time for another 90 day detox. Spent 50+hours/week on Hearthstone. While it has been a fun time, want to use time to evolve my persona outside this virtual bubble.  My goal is to be able to return to HS/gaming with a healthy boundary.

Compared to the first detox; the relationship with gaming is healthier. HS is a game that can be played while multitasking. Easy to be in a match at work, in the shitter, bored, etc. That time adds up quickly; it's detrimental late at night, when time is traded to grind the competitive ladder instead of rest/sleep.

Healthy daily practices that have been integrated have been:
Meditation, stretching, and eating well. Three minute deep breathing exercise, followed by six minutes leg and arms stretches, and getting ready for breakfast. That space was created since sitting down to game IS taxing on body; our bodies have to be maintained just like the virtual avatars we care for. There are still a lot of other healthier habits I'd like to fully integrate, breaking my previous hardcore gamer lifestyle has been a journey. Lot of the time used on gaming has been replaced by reading. Several self help books have been a great asset in the journey.

Psyched for this 90 day detox.

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Hey there man!
I read through a part of your journal and it was a great read, I am motivated to read the rest of it in the future. Your determination is inspiring and giving me hope i will be able to control my gaming life in the future, even though my detox just only started couple days ago.
It is also great to see you decided to take another detox even though your relationship with games got healthier. Not settling and always go for better is a way to go in my humble opinion, keep at it! There might occur limits one day, but you shall not find them if you do not try, am i right?
(Also this is my first time posting replying to someone and I am kind of nervous 😄 )

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@Gundham

Thanks for reading my posts. Glad it is helping you on your own journey.

Day 2-5

Recommend the website/app RescueTime. Passive way to keep track of time invested.
Looked over the weekly report - the 50 hours were not just Hearthstone. Half of those hours were invested into YouTube.

Welp.. YouTube is going to be shelved as well. The only positive resource drawn daily is mediation music to sleep at night. However, there are many others alternatives to get that result.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Since the last post, the symptoms from an upper respiratory infection peaked and stayed home for another week. Finished reading Demon Slayer manga series; and made the decision to game again. My preference is to begin at the 1st of a month, and go three months without gaming. Will be returning to gaming early next year.

Day 1 - 3

Feels a little unusual not rolling the quests at midnight. It was part of my routine - Hearthstone offers a new quest daily - rolling said quest will offer another one.  First day was mostly work, Saturday went on a movie date and today has been chores that had been put off due to being sick and gaming. Getting over the sickness and not gaming really creates a lot of space. The hours no longer go flying, so being able to fill that the space with healthier options has been great. Been reading the book 1984 by George Orwell. Enjoy reading the book with dystopian music playing to create an indulging mood. The parallels from that book and events going on in real life right now - the phrase "when fiction becomes fact" hits differently now.

Feeling tired at the moment will read and take a nap to be able to finish the day in a better mood.

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Day 4

Had a fun time at a science museum. Also managed to squeeze in a last minute movie, The Addams Family 2, great kids flick.

 

Day 5

Feeling tired. Did not sleep well last night - can associate the disturbed sleep due to a late night meal. Routine would usually be some late night gaming and water.  Will meditate and read a book before heading out to work.

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Day 6/7/8

Been enjoying sleep.

Would normally push myself into another match during a ladder grind.

Reading r/stopgaming - resonated with one post:
StopGaming can really improve your life. Gaming is bad even if you play just 1 hour a day. Competitive games can seriously hurt yourself - in case of relapses just try to avoid them and play some singleplayers.
 

Competitive gaming leads to my unhealthy behavior in gaming. Trade in vast amounts of time to refine my skillset.

As the days pass by during this detox; it will allow myself to create space to acknowledge how I'd like to invest my time.

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Day 9

@Gundham's post about Genshin Impact gacha gamemode resonated with my experience in Hearthstone.

Games that release content behind paywalls. The illusion of choice is given to the user... pay money and/or your time. Just as long as you're using the product. It can be a frustrating experience in Hearthstone, keeping up to date with the content released and learning the match ups/piloting builds. The anxiety that playing competitive ladder brings..it can take the joy away from playing.
 

Been changing the environment at home. It has been small but gradual changes that keep adding up one day at a time.
There are times were I feel comfortable and say that playing one match would not hurt. Acknowledging why that feeling rises - mostly due to routine - and doing something else helps out. It's not always easy decision what to do instead, but something as straightforward as cleaning the dishes helps out.

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Day 11

Looking at my previous journal entries- a lot of unknown regarding stomach issues.

Learned that it is all due to mitochondrial fatigue. That cellular fatigue can manifest itself into many illnesses - many that conventional science will not acknowledge. It was stressing not knowing what was causing all those problems!

Come a long way since then and my health has taken an exponential change for the better.  There is a lot of work left; changing lifestyle - a hardcore gamer lifestyle - has taken plenty of trial and error. One day at a time, one change at a time. 

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Day 13-15

Health, wealth, love.

Deficiencies in any one of these categories will create problems in the other two.

Skipped out on attending any family meetings for a whole year; any time that was not with immediate family or work was invested into gaming. While it was enough to get by; it was creating a deficiency in love. This deficiency was ignored, my focus was my digital achievements. 

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” - Viktor Frankl

Made the choice to attend a family gathering today- bond with my community after being isolated in the virtual world. It was a great experience.

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Day 18

Connecting with nature - been spending more time outside getting some sunlight.

Downtime at home - reading has been a great routine to implement. Whenever an urge to game rises - I've come to realize that it is a need to have a feel good activity. To escape/ignore and not process the situation I feel at that moment. Meditation has been an excellent way to ground and achieve mindfulness.

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Day 19

Work environment has changed.  The physical and mental demands are greater. During this period of adjustment, taking time to acknowledge when limits have been are being reached. Rest and preparations are helpful for recovery and achieving the energy required to successfully complete all the daily tasks.

Feeling tired, but still going to go out and make the best of the day.

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On 10/18/2021 at 11:50 PM, ChewyChickenBones said:

Day 18

Connecting with nature - been spending more time outside getting some sunlight.

Downtime at home - reading has been a great routine to implement. Whenever an urge to game rises - I've come to realize that it is a need to have a feel good activity. To escape/ignore and not process the situation I feel at that moment. Meditation has been an excellent way to ground and achieve mindfulness.

"To escape/ignore and not process the situation I feel at that moment", could you share your reason for why you try to escape from the present? My apologies if I misunderstood although it seems your problem was left unchecked. I agree with you, meditation does invoke mindfulness, also awareness.

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2 hours ago, AlexC said:

"To escape/ignore and not process the situation I feel at that moment", could you share your reason for why you try to escape from the present? My apologies if I misunderstood although it seems your problem was left unchecked. I agree with you, meditation does invoke mindfulness, also awareness.

Anxiety and boredom. Gaming was an accessible routine.

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On 10/17/2021 at 7:33 AM, ChewyChickenBones said:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” - Viktor Frankl

I watched a video about the components of happiness (in a video about personal finance, strangely enough) and it's probably why Frankl was able to get by the horrors of concentration camps. Feeling in control of our lives by choosing our responses is way more important than the place or stage we are in.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Day 0

Adapted a different way of looking at my gaming sessions through the year. It's not taking a break from games, playing games is my break.

Finished my 90 day detox late December, and went back to playing Hearthstone. Began gradually, and then got into the competitive scene. This month climbed the ladder exponentially quicker, created friendships with the highest skilled players, and have done well in the tournaments. Getting to this point has demanded more of my time. Learning the matchups, the meta, the long hours with tournaments, the grind in ladder. With each step I climb in the competitive scene, the more I have to put into the game as the opponents put an immense amount of practice and I have to beat that.

As fun as it has been, it has taken up way more time that I want to devote to the game... to the point I can say that my gaming break has turned detrimental. Proud my gaming break this time has not been as terrible like in the past; in a much better place in life. However, there are goals and ambitions that take priority over being a high skilled/ranked Hearthstone player. Maybe in the future, maybe not, at this moment in life, it is not my priority.

Today will clean out my devices of HS and getting ready for another detox. See you all tomorrow.

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