Hello, My name is Nathan, I am 17 and I have realized in the past couple of years that video games have affected my life negatively. Although, I want to stop being addicted to video games, I don't want to quit altogether. I still want to do it as a hobby, I just do not want to have it as an addiction and let it control and manipulate my life.

Step in the right direction, welcome and good luck!

Hi Nathan! Welcome to the forums. ?

I will be honest with you, bro. I thought the same back in the days but you can't just change addiction into hobby it doesn't work like that. I've learned it the hard way. It's up to you but I really suggest to look for other hobbies, cheers ?

Hey Nathan,

Welcome to the forums!

Good on you for recognizing this at 17. Wish I did!

While I concur with @S1.M0NK above (if you're addicted, it's pretty much impossible to be moderate in your use of games), at the same time I think we all have to discover that for ourselves. I thought that I could game moderately for a long time, until I finally had to concede that I couldn't. But that was my deciding this for myself, which is different from someone else telling me that.

We do recommend that you start with a 90-day no gaming detox and that you keep a journal. The journal is super important as it helps you track your progress and pay closer attention to your emotions, triggers, negative influences, etc.