Hi, introducing myself

[Christine]

Hi,

My name is Christine. I've been playing computer games since I was young; I started with Civ 1 when I was 10. The first game that was problematic for me was Civ 2. I would play it through the night in high school (the call to action is literally "...just one more turn...").

Computer games have never dominated my life, but I've consistently turned to them for comfort and numbing over the years. For example, if I've had a crappy day, I'll spend 24 hours playing a game on my day off. Also, I've found that I cannot keep promises to myself about how long I will spend playing certain games. It's unnerving to feel like the game has more control over me than I do.

The main reasons I'm planning to quit games are:

1. I want to always get a full night of rest. Sleep is so important! I don't want to give up sleeping for games anymore.

2. I want to use my time for activities that leave me feeling better, not worse. After playing a game for many hours, I'll find that I feel worse than when I started. I want hobbies that make feel satisfied and proud.

[chiliflavor]

Welcome to the forums @Christine!

10 hours ago, Christine said:

After playing a game for many hours, I'll find that I feel worse than when I started.

Indeed! I experienced this too. I decided to quit when it came to the point that I felt like gaming is meaningless to me, regardless of my in-game achievements and time spent playing. You may want to check out the journal section of the forums. It helped me to stay away from games. I'm still on the 90-day detox tho. 😅 

Congrats on quitting and see you around! 

[Christine]

On 6/28/2020 at 11:18 PM, chiliflavor said:

Welcome to the forums @Christine!

Indeed! I experienced this too. I decided to quit when it came to the point that I felt like gaming is meaningless to me, regardless of my in-game achievements and time spent playing. You may want to check out the journal section of the forums. It helped me to stay away from games. I'm still on the 90-day detox tho. 😅 

Congrats on quitting and see you around! 

Thanks @chiliflavor!

And thanks for the encouragement. It's nice to feel like I've got something to fall back on, i.e. a group of people who are going through a similar thing and talking about it.

[Arthur]

Welcome @Christine!! Good luck in you journey to stay away from games. I encourage you to quit entirely and pursue other venues of entertainment, comfort and fun. Gaming is an unhealthy quick fix for a lot of us, so we quit. Don't let games keep you away from what is important :)

[OptimisticMalcontent]

@ChristineYour story reminds me of how i used to play Age of Empires 2 for hours... Yikes!!! Welcome!