World of Warcraft no more

[Code]

Hi,

My name is Robin, I have been playing games for 15 years and WoW for 11 years. I have quit gaming 2 days ago. 

Reason for posting
Reason for posting is that I was hoping there would be someone kind of like me that wants to do this together. Maybe someone who keeps me accountable and vice versa. Been playing an MMORPG for really long, never really had real friends and knows there is potential but just can't get yourself to do anything. In my case, WoW is so strong that if I would objectify ''real life'', it would fall into the same category of it being a simulation as WoW. The fact that WoW feels like the better of the two, makes it harder to quit than just the factor of dopamine. 

The addiction
WoW is no longer a hobby but a life style. I play at least 6 hours a day. But that's rare. Usually 10 hours but 16 hours isn't unusual. WoW has made me quit university 3 times, and I feel like my internship is damaged right now. That's why I'm quiting. I want to maintain a good relationship with my girlfriend and succesfully finish my internship. A deep thought of me suggests that if I don't quit, I may not live very long. 

Excuses
Everytime I quit gaming, my head creates excuses. And that's why I end up playing again. It usually starts with ''Just 30 minutes of WoW''. Or just ''30 minutes of a game I don't like''. When I play this game I do not like, I end up thinking ''well might as well play WoW since I'm wasting my time''. And boom, here I am in a 25 man raid. 

Strategy
Right now I'm making habit after habit. They are very small habits. I'm not going to entirely change my life and become the perfect version of me. Instead this months habit is to make sure my house is clean everyday. Next month I will try to read 10 pages a day (prerably more). Until I have so many small habits that I can fill up my day without thinking about my M+ keys in WoW. 

Psychology
Having tried psychology multiple times. It just doesn't work for me after trying over and over. Deleting my account excites me to make a new account. I tried 3 times. 

Thank you

Edited February 17, 2021 by Code

[Samage]

Hey mate,

You're on the right path, small changes are easier to maintain.

However, you may need to ditch the things that allow you to relapse. Your PC is probably on of those things. Reading your post, it seems like you think about WoW in terms of playing it, and not in terms of the damage it's done to you. This leads you to compromise with yourself. removing the portals that allow you to relapse is an important step in breaking from addiction. An example from my experience with quitting drugs, I have to get rid of all the equipment and tools around that habit. Even one glass pipe is enough to trigger a compromise that leads to a relapse.

Good luck mate. If you haven't already, read 12 Rules for Life. It'll help.

[Code]

8 minutes ago, Samage said:

Hey mate,

You're on the right path, small changes are easier to maintain.

However, you may need to ditch the things that allow you to relapse. Your PC is probably on of those things. Reading your post, it seems like you think about WoW in terms of playing it, and not in terms of the damage it's done to you. This leads you to compromise with yourself. removing the portals that allow you to relapse is an important step in breaking from addiction. An example from my experience with quitting drugs, I have to get rid of all the equipment and tools around that habit. Even one glass pipe is enough to trigger a compromise that leads to a relapse.

Good luck mate. If you haven't already, read 12 Rules for Life. It'll help.

Hi Samage,

Thank you for your suggestion. Swapping my PC at the moment is a little hard. My work requires a strong GPU for data science. I was thinking about selling it and getting a Macbook pro but I worry that I can't get enough money for a strong enough GPU. As for 12 rules for life, yes absolutely. I'm a big fan of JbP 🙂 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Code

[Samage]

Then my suggestion is to do your best to remove as much of gaming from your life as you can and that may mean sacrificing things you want. I have the same issue with video editing and my desktop, but I've removed all steam, origin, bookmarks to sites, youtube subs etc, so when you're on the machine, it's just work.

[Yan]

Welcome! Consider starting a daily journal, documenting how many days you have been free.
It is completely possible you'll have to reset it a few times ( I hope not ), but remember that If it happens just start again right the next day! Will (hopefully, no commitments) check up on you from time to time too. 🙂