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NEW VIDEO: The Dark Side of Gaming (Documentary)

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Posted

Hi everyone,

My names Sheldon, I'm 24 (scary how fast time goes by), this is actually my second intro, as I made one about a year ago but relapsed a 2 weeks later and have been pretty addicted every since. I think and have always thought I have to hit rock bottom before I quick, but unlike alcohol, my gaming habits are sutble and discreet. Nobody sees me for a  week, I don't reply to email, texts, pretty much drop off the face of the earth. I am currently studying Child and Youth Care in Uni, and I am normally a 4.0 gpa student, but I am finding that I just dont give #$%^ any more because I can just game everything is numb. I play 5-10 hours of Dota a day, and whats worse is I have  a younger brother 11 who is now doing the same thing. I feel like shit cause I dont want him to have to deal with this like me but I am too weak to set a good example for him. 

I decided to travel this summer and will be in Ecuador for 4 months, with no chance of gaming, I have traveled before and gaming has never crossed my mind so I know it has something to do with my environment and me not being satisfied with my current lifestyle, time to make some changes I guess. I started reading respawn again to get some tips which is why I am back on the forum. Unlike last time I plan on logging into the journal. I am really grateful for Cams emails, even if I didnt want to read them at the time. 

Hoping to get to know some of you, and move past this together, any advice is appreciated. 

  • Like 5
Posted (edited)

Hi and welcome! I am in the same situation with you pretty much. It's really nice of you to think that your gaming habit is probably going to have a bad influence in your younger brother, use the thought of this as your willpower trigger. I also had a situation where my younger sister (22 yo) was saying that she is afraid to introduce me to her friends because everything I did was gaming related and it would give a bad reflection of our family. Well, that's harsh but there is a seed of truth in there too :D I am not too close with my sister but if I'm thinking of relapsing, I will use it as something to give me more willpower not to relapse. 

I am also intrested in travelling, even tho I never travelled on my own yet. Would be nice to have some thoughts on travelling and destinations here as well :)

Anyway, hoping to see more of your posts and I wish you all the luck - like I was wished too by this awesome community. Also, starting the journal and being consistent with it might be even more helpful than you can imagine ;) Give it a shot!

-Jani

Edited by JaniP
Typos
Posted

Hey Jani, thanks for the welcome. It feels good to be doing something with a community all to often, beating this has felt like something that has to be done alone and without support. I have travelled, quite a few times and in December was my first time travelling alone, I did some backpacking through the Dominican, Colombia, and Ecuador, the great thing about solo travelling is your never really alone because you met really cool people along the way. One of the things it taught me was about spontinituty and that you can have an amazing time in the land of the unfamiliar, unlike gaming, a new experience can be equally invigorating.

I think its good that your sister, in her own way, provides you with a reason to think twice about gaming, while my brother often encourages me to game (play one with me) or join this tornement with me, I have to think of more creative ways to engage with him. 

It seems like both of us have are motived to do well in school, good luck in your exams friend, I was reading you daily post and I too think getting out of the house to study on campus is a great idea!

Looking forward to following your journey!

-Sheldon

Posted

Welcome back :) I had the same behaviour when i was in my heavy gaming episode, not replying anymore to messages or calls or whatever, cancelling appointments at the last minute ect. That you are back here and open up to people with the same problem is a good decision i think. Its also good you planned travelling for a long time. For me it was very important to fill that void gaming leaves when i stopped. And your brother is too young i think to see the consequences on the long run. Would be better ofc if his older brother could be a healthy role model for him. Maybe this can be motivation as well to quit gaming. ;)

Posted

Same here as well and I'm also traveling! @Cam Adair We can make a field study and check if traveling helps with addiction (which I'm most sure it does). South America is amazing, be sure to enjoy it! 

  • Like 1
Posted
On 4/5/2018 at 3:56 PM, Hitaru said:

Same here as well and I'm also traveling! @Cam Adair We can make a field study and check if traveling helps with addiction (which I'm most sure it does). South America is amazing, be sure to enjoy it! 

I'm pretty sure traveling helps with overall quality of life. Seeing new sights, meeting new people, getting new perspectives, eating new food all give me so much joy!

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