Hello!

[ShadyCB]

Hey! Just a short introduction;

Call me CB or C, up to you I don't mind. I'm 19 years old and I first got into a strong habit of gaming when I was approx. 10 years of age. School was challenging and I didn't realize that gaming was giving me a relief of stress but also creating a bigger issue later on with continous playing. I've recognized my issue and I'm doing atleast 2 months without gaming to see what I can achieve with other activities and see if accomplishing my goals are being blocked by my habit of gaming.

I'm also somewhat philoshopical in terms of finding answers to things. One of my examples of this would be happiness and motivation, I found by eliminating negative self-talk and padding myself up with praise is helping me to keep a steady routine and schedule!

Because of my gaming addiction (although I would argue I don't have one, just no moderated gaming) I almost fumbled my lesson this week. That was the time I recognized I should atleast give this a fair try to see how things turn out.

CB. Hope you guys are having a lovely day!

[ShadyCB]

Cam when you have the chance, could you link or give abit of information on what signs and symptoms are gaming addiction?

Thanks!

[Cam Adair]

Yo CB! Awesome to have you join us here.

Cam when you have the chance, could you link or give abit of information on what signs and symptoms are gaming addiction?

Here's what you want to think about:

The definition of addiction I like to use is:

Addiction: any repeat behavior, substance related or not, in which a person feels compelled to persist, regardless of its negative impact on his life and the lives of others. The distinguishing features of any addiction are: compulsion, preoccupation, impaired control, persistence, relapse and craving.

And then you want to evaluate yourself based on this criteria:

Pre-occupation. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about games even when you are not playing, or planning when you can play next?

Withdrawal. Do you feel restless, irritable, moody, angry, anxious or sad when attempting to cut down or stop gaming, or when you are unable to play.

Tolerance. Do you feel the need to play for increasing amounts of time, play more exciting games, or use more powerful equipment to get the same amount of excitement you used to get?

Reduce/stop. Do you feel that you should play less, but are unable to cut back on the amount of time you spend playing games?

Give up other activities. Do you lose interest in or reduce participation in other recreational activities (hobbies, meetings with friends) due to gaming?

Continue despite problems. Do you continue to play games even though you are aware of negative consequences, such as not getting enough sleep, being late to school/work, spending too much money, having arguments with others, or neglecting important duties?

Deceive/cover up. Do you lie to family, friends or others about how much you game, or try to keep your family or friends from knowing how much you game?

Escape adverse moods. Do you game to escape from or forget about personal problems, or to relieve uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness or depression?

Risk/lose relationships/opportunities. Do you risk or lose significant relationships, or job, educational or career opportunities because of gaming?

 

Generally, if you have 6 or more that's definitely something to look into. Also, if you're playing more than 21 hrs/week, that's the GENERAL danger zone.

[ShadyCB]

Hey! No problemo, it's an awesome community here and I feel comfortable atleast.

Hm.. welp, I unfortunately kind of relapsed. the main issue for this was I geninuely wasn't sure if I was addicted or had a strong urge to do nothing but play games all day.

Thank you for the help!

[Cam Adair]

Think of it this way. The harder it is to not play games, the more validation you have that you need a break. It's easy to focus on "am I addicted or not" instead of looking at what you truly want (whether you want to game or not) and/or whether games are helping you live the life you want or not. Most likely if you've found your way here at this point, it's worth it to take the 90 day detox and then re-evaluate afterwards.