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Have you ever spoken to a therapist about video game addiction?


RB1

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Hi all.

I just made a post in my journal saying I'm considering seeing a therapist for many reasons, but primarily to discuss my addiction to video games. Throughout my life I've considered therapy for many reasons other than my problem with gaming, but have always shied away from it. I've always felt weird reaching out to a therapist about my issues since I have a hard time discussing them even with friends or family. Honestly, I feel even stranger reaching out to one to speak about my problem with gaming since it's not a problem taken as seriously as other addictions.

I'm just wondering if anyone in the community has spoken with a professional about this problem in the past and what their experience was like with it?

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6 hours ago, seriousjay said:

I saw one for a little while. I'd say just talking to someone about it helps, but medical professionals aren't trained specifically for video game addiction as far as I know, so YMMV.

Thanks for the heads up. From your personal experience, would you recommend it though?

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18 hours ago, RB1 said:

Thanks for the heads up. From your personal experience, would you recommend it though?

Hmm... man without knowing more about your situation I couldn't say. There is nothing a therapist can do for you that you can't eventually do for yourself, however with a therapist it may take much less time.

That being said, I feel like the people on this forum can be at least as helpful because we have experience dealing with the things you're dealing with. What it really depends on is whether or not you're ready/willing to take action.

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I recently started seeing a therapist and I explained to her how the colours and milestones in a game seem to make me detach and escape from the world. I explained to her how it has become and addiction and she seemed genuinely concerned. She told me to stop playing if possible. I think describing how it makes me feel helped her understand but I also think it’s help you to find someone who might have experience with addictions. People can become addicted to so many things, a proper therapist knows this.

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I have seen a  therapist to deal with anxiety and a lot of confidence issues, but not about gaming problems.

I can say I thoroughly recommend therapists. Yes you could probably achieve what they do for you yourself over a longer period of time, but having someone there to unload it all onto was so helpful. A lot of the time when you're talking things out you're pretty much working out the solutions yourself, and by paying someone to sit there and listen to me I found it opened the floodgates, I didn't feel guilty about chewing their ear for hours on end at all. Plus I also knew they weren't going to gossip about it like some of your family and friends might, so there was no holding back. The personal development I got in such a compressed time frame was amazing. I ended up being a bit of a low priority for the therapist I was seeing and then I moved, so I haven't seen one for a long time, so I am contemplating getting another one.

As for talking about gaming addiction, I did a lot of work with @Cam Adair - the moons aligned and I happened to be in Vegas the same time he was so caught up for coffee. I found him relatable and really easy to talk to, and he helped frame a lot of my issues, which I then used to set new goals and values with a performance coach through my workplace.

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On 10/2/2019 at 8:01 PM, giblets said:

I did a lot of work with @Cam Adair - the moons aligned and I happened to be in Vegas the same time he was so caught up for coffee. I found him relatable and really easy to talk to, and he helped frame a lot of my issues, which I then used to set new goals and values with a performance coach through my workplace.

??????????????

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On 9/23/2019 at 10:56 AM, RB1 said:

Hi all.

I just made a post in my journal saying I'm considering seeing a therapist for many reasons, but primarily to discuss my addiction to video games. Throughout my life I've considered therapy for many reasons other than my problem with gaming, but have always shied away from it. I've always felt weird reaching out to a therapist about my issues since I have a hard time discussing them even with friends or family. Honestly, I feel even stranger reaching out to one to speak about my problem with gaming since it's not a problem taken as seriously as other addictions.

I'm just wondering if anyone in the community has spoken with a professional about this problem in the past and what their experience was like with it?

I see a therapist every Tuesday and have done so for almost 3 years. It's saved my life. I was afraid of how severe my depression was and after 2 coworkers at my old company commit suicide I needed a therapist. 

It took a year and a half for me to tell him how much video games were crippling my life. It took that long because I didn't know gaming was the problem. Therapy, this game quitters community, and my patience has gotten me almost a year without gaming so far. 

I highly recommend therapy to anyone even if it's for a little bit. 

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14 minutes ago, BooksandTrees said:

I see a therapist every Tuesday and have done so for almost 3 years. It's saved my life. I was afraid of how severe my depression was and after 2 coworkers at my old company commit suicide I needed a therapist. 

It took a year and a half for me to tell him how much video games were crippling my life. It took that long because I didn't know gaming was the problem. Therapy, this game quitters community, and my patience has gotten me almost a year without gaming so far. 

I highly recommend therapy to anyone even if it's for a little bit. 

I actually met with a therapist two weeks back for the first time. This last week we had our first official session.

Yes! I should have posted on this discussion board I made. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but just that first session did wonders for me. I've concealed my depression basically my whole life and just speaking to a professional who I knew would not judge me for my words made all the difference. He didn't even really suggest much that first session, but just listened to everything I needed to say and that was like treatment for me.

I will continue to go weekly until I trust can trust myself to stay on top of my life by myself. I'm not there yet and don't think I will be for a while. That's the goal for now. 

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9 minutes ago, RB1 said:

I actually met with a therapist two weeks back for the first time. This last week we had our first official session.

Yes! I should have posted on this discussion board I made. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but just that first session did wonders for me. I've concealed my depression basically my whole life and just speaking to a professional who I knew would not judge me for my words made all the difference. He didn't even really suggest much that first session, but just listened to everything I needed to say and that was like treatment for me.

I will continue to go weekly until I trust can trust myself to stay on top of my life by myself. I'm not there yet and don't think I will be for a while. That's the goal for now. 

I'm still not there yet. Sometimes I do every 2 weeks. 3 years though and no regrets. You got this. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been seeing my psych for I think 5 years now. I started from unrelated stuff and before I even started trying to quit. I took it upon myself to quit.

I mentioned to her that I was trying to quit (I don't have an addiction anymore and I hardly game now) - they said it's a positive thing and a great step in my own progress. I don't see why a psych wouldn't be concerned if it was distressing someone. Then again, if its not mentioned as a problem, it can be suggested as a way to 'relax'. But i've seen more psych's getting involved in the research and learning more about it too. They can't force people to change at the same time.

Not sure if they would give you material to help with addiction (how to handle cravings) they will if you ask. I was given that stuff prior when I was trying to quit pot and I finally did it, tho they were the one suggesting me to quit. Most psychs are great, it takes a few to find one you like. It was like having a life coach imo.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/23/2019 at 9:56 AM, RB1 said:

I'm just wondering if anyone in the community has spoken with a professional about this problem in the past and what their experience was like with it?

Psychiatrists have been a big help to me in the past when I have had issues come to surface and I recommend it to anyone. Without intervention of some kind it is sometimes impossible to recognize the unaddressed issues we drag around with us everywhere. 

Back in 2017 or so after being inspired by Gamequitters I scheduled an appointment at a local pro who specialized with addiction treatment and I asked her for some strategies on putting down the controller because it felt like an addiction. She said she did not understand the video game addiction but "as a good rule of thumb, anything you don't want an addiction to - get it out of the house." She also explained how like with cigarettes you can wean yourself off by buying a single pack to smoke one and throw the rest away, that maybe I could do something like that with the games.

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