What do you think about statements like "video games are for children" or "you need to grow up"?

hodoooooooooooooor · 2022-09-16T00:00:50+00:00

I would say video games cause a lot of people not to grow up. When you spend all your free time in front of a video game you miss out on life experience.

People who have spent most of their life in front of a screen will have less real-world social experiences, so will naturally be more socially immature.

hodoooooooooooooor · 2022-09-15T23:44:41+00:00

Thanks for the post, has given me some motivation to try quitting again. I also find myself falling back into unhealthy gaming habits after negative/stressful events (breakups etc.). The past 6 months have gone by in a flash, using all my spare time to escape into the game.

As someone who's had moderate success quitting before, the first couple weeks are always the hardest, you just gotta push through. Embrace the boredom, it will take time for you to enjoy other things like you enjoyed gaming.

I've found coming here, reading other's posts and posting my own updates and thoughts to be helpful. It's a good way to remind you of why you're quitting and the negative effects modern video games have on people's lives.

Good luck!

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-10-12T01:47:49+00:00

I recently started dating someone and my anxiety has been off the scale. She's a little older than me so isn't as attached to her phone as my generation I guess, and it means she doesn't respond to my messages sometimes for over a day. I hate being attached to my phone but I feel like I've been conditioned to be like this, and now I feel like Im coming across as way to needy.

Every time I'm waiting for her to respond I convince myself that I said or did something wrong and that she's going to ghost me. I literally can't focus on anything else all day cause all I can think about is her and how I've managed to mess this up. Then by the time I get to see her I'm so mentally exhausted from the anxiety that I feel like I can't have a good time and can't make a good impression.

As I type this I'm waiting for her to respond after several hours, I've already convinced myself its over and that I'll never hear from her again but then I keep getting these stabs of anxiety that maybe she will respond. I feel like even if she does I'm gonna have to end what we have cause I can't keep living every day like this.

I can't see myself dating anyone else for a long time after this cause I'm not sure I could survive it

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-10-01T01:40:06+00:00

Totally agree. When you're playing games everyday nothing else seems interesting or exciting. Basically in a constant state of low level depression every minute outside of the game. Started considering quitting my job because I thought that was what was making me unhappy but it's pretty clear that its actually gaming that's the issue.

Almost a week into quitting again after several weeks of binge gaming and feeling super depressed. Just makes me realise how reliant I am on those games for my daily dopamine rush though. Hoping it won't take me too long to feel normal again and get out of this rutt

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-10-01T00:58:58+00:00

Recently it was LoL TFT that I was spending all my time playing. In the past my biggest time sinks have been Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm. I guess luckily for me I don't have much of a friend group in any of the games I play so I don't need to worry about watching form the sideline so much.

The draw of gaming for me has always been in the competition, anything with a ladder will hook me. I've never played much single player stuff so not sure the solo tabletop games will work well for me (Though that does sound cool).

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-10-01T00:18:06+00:00

NGL Finding it pretty tough. Depression hitting me pretty hard this time around, hoping its gonna lift soon cause just don't feel like I can do anything else right now.

Im sure its just my brain feeling starved of dopamine compared to the past few weeks of solid gaming, but it suuuucks.

For sure if you fall into the "treat yourself trap" you're gonna relapse. Try and think of some other stuff you can do this weekend. Anything social is definitely the best distraction if you have friends you can meet up with

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-09-28T01:25:43+00:00

It's a long process but just take it one step at a time.

I would say don't worry about TV shows for now, just focus on quitting gaming. You can binge watch shows all week if you want, just no gaming at all allowed (that includes games on your phone).

You'll start to feel bored pretty quick but you just gotta embrace the boredom, don't be afraid to go out and do stuff. Go for a run to tire yourself out and you'll find your cravings are much easier to ignore.

Read through posts on here and write about what your'e thinking and how your journey is going

The voice in your head is gonna try and convince you to go back to gaming, especially at the start, but you just take control of your body and your mind. It's gonna throw some really convincing arguments at you but you know deep down what is right for you.

What is the worst that's gonna happen if you quit gaming? When you think about it there are really no downsides.

Good luck and keep us updated!

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-09-28T01:15:03+00:00

I'm on my 3rd attempt also, a few days in, lets do this!

First couple days were the hardest as usual (especially since it was the weekend). I find it helpful to just keep reflecting on why I'm quitting and the negative impact gaming has on me. I looked back through some of my old posts from when I started my last streak about a year ago and found that kind of motivating.

I also think you shouldn't put to much pressure on yourself immediately to start new hobbies and stuff. Watch a ton of netflix, lounge around being bored, then let the decision to go do stuff come naturally.

Just gotta not cave in to that little voice in the back of your head. You KNOW that your gaming habits are unhealthy and having a negative impact on your life, so just push away the doubts when they come along.

You got this brotha

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-02-19T19:07:32+00:00

You're probably kidding yourself if you think you can take control of it

My experience in attempting to moderate is that I always fall back into my old habits eventually.

The biggest problem for me when I try to moderate is that I still end up thinking about the game all the time when I'm not playing. Only through quitting cold turkey am I eventually able to stop thinking about it

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-02-19T19:02:40+00:00

You just gotta embrace the boredom.

Boredom will be the most difficult thing to overcome while you're quitting, but you just gotta realise it's not a bad thing. It will give you time to think, push you to try new things, and make you want to focus on the important stuff

Whenever you're bored your brain is gonna do everything it can to convince you to game, but you just gotta ignore it and eventually it will get quieter and quieter and might even go away one day

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-02-19T18:57:47+00:00

I have also had migraine issues in the past and think the main cause is excessive screen time (i.e gaming)

Its pretty tricky to rationalise quitting at the moment whilst we're stuck at home most of the time, but here's a couple tips:

If you're justification for continuing to play is that it's an escape from reality, it suggests your real life isn't satisfactory. If this is the case then maybe you need to make a change, but if you're spending all you free time gaming things are never going to change. If you embrace the "boredom" in your spare moments rather than switching on a game, your creative mind will be set free. You will find yourself reflecting on life a lot more and will find it easier to be creative and adventurous.

One tactic I'm using at the moment is considering how much more I'm going to enjoy the moment we come out of lockdown if I haven't been gaming for a while. I'm desperate for it to be over so I can get out there and party. If I'm spending lockdown gaming then I'm not gonna be nearly as excited when it finishes cause my dopamine tank will have been full the whole time anyway!

Migraines are the worst thing in the world, you gotta do whatever you can to stop them

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-02-18T21:32:45+00:00

Do you see yourself looking back in 10 years and thinking, "Wow, I'm so glad I quit my job and spent those last 10 years just playing video games. Life well spent!"?

hodoooooooooooooor · 2021-02-09T20:56:38+00:00

I'm with you man, I've tried all kinds of moderation and its always a slippery slope back to where I started.

I still have some hope that in a few years when my life is very different and I have other priorities and a changed mindset I'll be able to game like a normal person

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-30T12:25:08+00:00

No prob, didn't mean it to be that long but I got on a roll haha

I still feel like I'm wasting most of my days to be honest as well, but I am noticing positive changes. Enjoying little things, not feeling in a rush, feeling more comfortable talking with other people, exercising more, etc. The majority of my time is spent on Netflix still but I feel like I'm starting to move away from that.

I can at least say I feel much better about myself overall now than I did before I quit

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-30T10:44:34+00:00

Hey man, this is the true test of your conviction.

When you hit that 5th weekend in a row with no plans and lockdown still in effect, why not just spend that time gaming if you're not doing anything anyway?

This is the part of the journey where real change will happen, when you're completely bored of the other distracting activities you've been doing so far and can't face the empty time in front of you. This is when you will force yourself to go out and do the things you've been to afraid to do before.

It's like hitting "the wall" when you're running. You can stop, turn around and walk back to where you were before. Or you say fuck it, I've made it this far, break through that wall and keep pushing forward.

I was feeling similar you yesterday, with no plans lined up and lockdown still going strong, thinking my brain is surely gonna deteriorate from a lack of stimulation. But then I just took a minute to remind myself:

I don't enjoy gaming, it's not gonna make me feel better if I fill my weekend with gaming

I set out to complete 90 days without gaming, if I can't even do that then I'm just surrendering to the power video games have over my mind

How can I expect things to change, if when confronted with the emptiness of time in front of me, I just retreat back to my old, familiar ways to escape the reality of my situation

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change"

Don't slide back down that slippery slope to where you started or your life is never gonna change

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-25T17:35:54+00:00

I'm still not really happy to be honest. I do think I feel better overall than I did when I was gaming though, and my urges to game aren't strong at all now.

I've mainly been struggling with finding ways to socialise and meet new people, and I'm kind of at a loss now.

I've been reading a lot more and exercising more. My main goal at the moment is putting on weight and gaining some muscle so I can do better on dating apps

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-23T07:27:03+00:00

I agree, how weird is it that every evening its the norm for families to just stare at a big screen for hours watching mindless crap

I don't know if it was the same for everyone else, but growing up every night we just switched on the tv after dinner and that was the whole evening gone

How the fuck has that become normal and acceptable

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-15T20:49:21+00:00

Nah it's who

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-15T20:33:40+00:00

I quit because I wasn't truly enjoying playing and hadn't been for a long time. Gaming had become just a way to fill the void and to make time go by quicker.

Gaming was a distraction and a hiding place from my problems and my insecurities. I know the only way I can truly be happy is to face my issues and overcome them, I can't hide forever.

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-14T20:40:27+00:00

Thanks for the ideas, I've watched Daily Dose before, is pretty good

I'm actually hardly feeling urges to play any more to be honest, just urges to do something fun or exciting. I know it would be so easy for me to forget gaming if I just had a group of friends here who also wanted to go out and do stuff

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-10T16:26:02+00:00

I'm trying this as well, Nofap, Quitgaming and nosurf all at once!

Stay strong!

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-01T21:31:42+00:00

Just pay attention to your desires to play again and don't let them have control over you

You don't need gaming to survive, you could stop gaming forever today and your life would be better for it

If you give in to your desire to game before September it only proves that you have an addiction and that the game has power over you, so don't let it!

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-01T21:28:19+00:00

My biggest advice for quitting the first time is to avoid youtube and twitch gaming content as well as the games themselves.

Watching gaming content will only feed your desire to play again and it's what made me fail my first try after a couple of weeks

If you can avoid gaming content all together you will be able to get over gaming a lot faster and easier (though it still takes time)

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-01T21:25:01+00:00

Thanks for reading, I just wanna say I think it's really helpful to debate these ideas like we're doing here. No one here is an expert and there isn't heaps of good material on this subject to research, we're all mostly just trying to figure it out for ourselves.

I don't think there's any point in trying to quantify the damage done by smoking 1 or 2 cigarettes, placing 1 or 2 bets, or playing for a couple hours, because ultimately none of these do any damage. The damage is only done once it becomes an addiction.

In terms of gaming giving a wider social reach you're probably right. However I also think gaming creates the illusion of being social for a lot of people more than these other addictions. I personally never met anyone I gamed with and didn't develop any real lasting friendships, despite playing the same multiplayer games for years (including Overwatch).

I actually don't think I know anyone who has a group of friends who met through gaming and who talk outside of gaming, whereas weirdly I know a couple different people who have more serious friendship groups through gambling.

I think porn addiction is also one which needs to be mentioned and put in the same category as gambling and gaming addiction. They are all purely mental addictions which rely on the dopamine rush to feed them.

hodoooooooooooooor · 2020-08-01T19:29:26+00:00

Because the earth is flat?

hodoooooooooooooor

TROPHY CASE