I've been gaming for as long as I know

[Zenrenn]

And now I'm here!

Hi guys, I'm Caleb. I've had a very rough time coming to grips with needing to get away from games. My parents didn't pay much attention and didn't help me along much emotionally when I was younger and instead just threw games at me for as long as I've lived because it seemed to keep me happy.

 

Now I'm 30 and just now realizing how bad this has affected me as an adult. I've done things to help but quitting games is most likely one of the best next steps I can take.

I have been depressed all my life, dropped out of college three times, left school my senior year because of my gaming addiction (still graduated luckily), am extremely overweight, and I have many problems displaying any type of emotion or feeling to others. All this, combined with possible ADHD (seeing a psychiatrist soon), makes for a pretty unhappy life.

 

I've done things to help with it, I take brazilian jiu-jitsu, I disc golf, and I like to lift weights but I have such a hard time sticking to anything, most likely because gaming pries itself into my thoughts everyday but I'm sure there are some things I could be doing better as well.

 

If you've stuck around this long, thanks for reading, reach out to me I'd really like to hear how everyone else is doing with it and what your results are. I'm super frustrated with everything and I'm feeling the big sad (depression) take over because it's been about 24 hours since quitting and I JUST bought the new Fire Emblem game. Haven't played it more than 2 hours. It sucks and I'd love some backup here.

 

Otherwise..

TL;DR I'm addicted to gaming, I'm working on it. It sucks, tell me if you agree.

[Sarma]

 I haven't played games for over 40 days and I'd say it's worth the effort. Don't get discouraged by being 30 years old. You can become good at any aspect of your life in a minimum of 2 years. So think of it like this, you can have your ideal life by the age of 35. If you haven't already I recommend you buy respawn. It will help you set yourself up against huge mental struggles during the detox. 

Good luck, my friend! 

 

[Neman]

Hi there Caleb, wellcome and thanks for sharing. Felt moved by your story and want to share some support for you!

Get the hell out of the house like right now! The strongest desire to play is rather short actually. And when it's gone you will be able to get back and delete everything. Or at least something.

My own result is 38 days now, it gets much better as the time wents on. At first I was just like a one cell organism amoeabae -- just lying on the bed and mindlessly browsing the internet, watching replays , etc. But after a week or two I actually started doing something usefull! So be strong in your decision, it will pay you 10 times more then you have invested and it gets much easier over the time.

Yeah and make sure to check out 90 days detox motivation video. And maybe a psychologist. It really helped me out.

Looking forward to hear from you!  (and subscribed as well)

[Luiz F.]

Hey Caleb, I feel your struggle.

One of the reasons why you have a hard time sticking to these healthy hobbies is mostly because of the games, because games drain all our energy since they are so intense, and because of that it makes enjoying other activities (like reading, doing sports, meeting people, etc) REALLY difficult.

But if you quit gaming (for good) you will start to notice in a few weeks that these types of activities will start feeling good again, and you will also have less excuses to not stick to them.

I know it's really hard to give up on all your games, but trust me, it only hurts for a while, until you fill your time with other stuff (stuff that will fulfill all your needs like games did, like being rewarded, dopamine bumps, socializing, the feeling of knowing what to do - goals, etc).

Keep us posted on how you're doing.

 

[Zenrenn]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the replies.

 

Games definitely do drain me and make it hard to stick to healthy hobbies. I'll check out that detox video and I'm excited to talk to a psychologist and psychiatrist. It's exciting to think that I can become pretty adequate with some skill I choose in just 2 years. Makes me feel like I can accomplish quite a bit!

 

Things have been going well, I'm messing around with the thought of some hobbies that I had never dreamed I would have the time for (writing, drawing, programming).

 

I've definitely thought about playing, but luckily my girlfriend has also stopped playing and we've kept ourselves busy with some disc golf these past couple days. Anytime I begin to wind down, my mind wonders to sitting and relaxing with games so the temptation is still strong.

 

However, I know currently that these last couple days my relationship has been much more fun. I seem to be coping by eating more unfortunately but I think that will be sorted out eventually, and it probably won't be as much of a struggle as it was while playing games.

 

Thanks again for the replies, I need to browse the forums a bit and check all these other posts out. It's frustrating at times but I know it's for the best, and I like having this forum available for others who are empathetic.

[Zenrenn]

Hey everyone, I wanted to respond to how things have been going for me.

 

October was a pretty tough month, my girlfriend and I were having a ton of issues and I ended up turning to gaming for comfort. Come to find out she was pregnant so that was what was causing a lot of the issues haha. We've having a boy, which is pretty crazy because I wasn't planning on having kids at all but that's fine!

That being said, I've been having a lot of issues staying away from games and regulating my moods. I realized I've basically full tilt gone back to games but I reason to myself that I'm not addicted again, but I am. I've decided to start again today, I did feel a lot better not playing games but I need to keep finding things to keep my time busy. I think I might start doing the daily journal to keep on it.

[WhatAboutToday?]

Hey @Zenrenn, welcome back! Contratulations on your son! Must be a big surprise having a son out of a sudden but maybe he is gonna transform your life!

From my experience, journaling is a good way to track your progress and hold yourself accountable, so I highly recommend you start a diary.

So, once again, welcome back!

[Zenrenn]

Thanks a bunch! I'm definitely going to start journaling because this sucks haha.