Video games addiction

Thats understandable they purposely make games a certain way to be addictive which is why candy crush has appealed to the masses, its also the reason COD throws points at you left right and center for every little thing you do to make even the worst of players keep playing and unlocking them perks and guns.

Gaming is very addictive to some i believe i am addicted to gaming although i dont think of hours of life wasted playing games (well maybe the ones that i have looked back on and they were crap)for me gaming is my passion in life i dont spend every waking hour of the day playing games i get about 2 hours a day on the computer maximum, but if i am not playing games i am usually reading about them.

I have met people that just like to lose themselves in a big game that lasts ages like rpg's and mmo's and while thats fine if thats what they want to do i personally cant play 1 game for that long i need to play a variety of different games from a variety of different genres to be entertained i havent got the time to devote so much of my precious gaming time to just 1 game lol.

If thats how you feel about your time spent playing games though Je m'abstiens i say best of luck to you on your no gaming and pmo journey and hope you feel better for it and appreciate the free time you now have not playing games

And yes also i said something similar to my girlfriend earlier tonight in my country we have a drinking culture and if you were to tell people you wanted to give up drinking people usually look at you like your crazy and then come out with the standard 'why dont you just drink occasionally in moderation'
Oh yeah why didnt i think of that lol.

Nobody would say to a heroine addict 'why dont you just inject your smack in moderation' its rediculous really.

Best of luck to you mate all the best.

 

Hi, I also have a tendency to videogame addiction. And in my opinion the problem is primarily about which games you buy. PMO always works the same way, you have to abstain completely to get rid of it. While in gaming there is a huge variety. Well, I also wouldnt tell you to moderate the time you play by just saying: two hours are enough for today. That doesnt really help, as you said. Instead I would give you the advice to choose very carefully which games you buy. I know that you want to quit completely, and I respect your decision. But I also know that it will be hard. So IF youre having urges, IF youre about to relapse, some tips about which games to play might be useful (may be also be interesting for others). As Anon says, some games are more addictive than others.

Role playing games (especially multiplayer) are most addictive in my opinion, because of achievements, item collecting and levelling. Avoid them. Also because these things incite you to do things that dont make fun. You just want to level up and do everything for it, regardless of having fun in the process. Avoid them.

Games with a lot of freedom and no real goals are also very addictive. Minecraft for example. No goals let you wander around, wondering what to do, having no fun. But you still do it. Or you do things that are absolutely no fun (or even exhausting) just to achieve something. You think yo will be proud after achieving something great, but that pride rarely can balance all the hours you spent. Its like you said: Noone cares.

Some multiplayer games are deadly. Strategic games, egoshooters, browser games. They all let you compete with other players, and thats very addictive. I made my exerience with egoshooters, you get angry all the time, you swear, you hate. You have no fun. But you still do it because you hope for that reward you get when winning against other humans. But that cant balance all the time you spent. And dont talk about clans and allies and guilds: They force you to play, because if youre not playing, you get kicked out. There are also games, where your base can get attacked while your offline. Dont touch them.

The only games I can recommend are singleplayer games with a story, without leveling and without achievements. You play the story one ore two times and then youre done with them. And you have fun throughout the whole process (in the ideal case where you dont get stuck somewhere). You dont get the feeling of doing somthing useless, because you follow a story just like in a book. They can be art. They can be inspiring. Thats what differ them from other games. Its also good when they have distinct chapters, because its then easier to say how much you want to play for the day. I mean games like Splnter Cell, or Tomb Raider, or Bioshock. You cant get addictet by them in my opinion.

Good luck all.

 

Been off video games for a 2 months nearly. Right now, don't feel like going back at all. You're dead right. My problem with with games only began at 25-26, a couple of years ago and I only meant to use it as an alternative a gambling problem I was in a mess with. That wasn't a wise choice in hindsight. In a sense, I traded one addiction for another.
There's nothing wrong with a game with an ending, which you could just sell once completed, it's the multiplayer gaming that never ends. I'm incredibly mixed up by this, still. As part of me still wants to whirl away my time playing games. It's escapism (same with porn and gambling). Right now, I'm kinda indifferent. Online gaming is a no-no though. Not that I'm even likely to game at the moment though. Far happier reading books, right now.

An alternative hobby is a must, friend. Even if it's just a bike ride, once or twice a week.

 

I think it really depends on the kind of games you play. In my case I mostly play single player games. As a result they're like experiences, similar to reading a book, or watching a movie... Rather than being a competitive thing. I noticed that playing games exclusively in this manner makes it not addictive at all. But this is my opinion.

One thing you could do is take your experience with video games and turn it to something productive. A person who played a lot of games probably knows what differentiates a good game from a bad one, so why not spend some time to make your own game?

 

I guess for most of us they're an amazing opportunity for us to escape from shame and guilt most of us have carried all our lives. I think it's that simple, well at least for me. The Mass Effect trilogy enamoured me. I pretended I was ill the day Mass Effect 3 came out. Best. Day. Ever. Ordered a dominoes and just slothed out. This isn't really relevant is it haha. One thing I would say though, I have a less extreme version of ADHD and one of the classic symptoms of this is to preferentially place large amounts of focus on things you find more enjoyable when the alternative is say, work. So don't feel too guilty about enjoying them. The mind is a fucked up place

 

Yeah Video Games are addictive, but so are real girls brah - that game trumps any other for sure.

Stay spartan.

 

If you can, check your in game stats and see how long you've been playing. That could be a wake-up call. With one game I was playing once, I clocked up about 200 hours. 8 days!!! That is too much. Now I don't play it anymore.

 

I had my fair share of games. My smartphone never saw a game, I promised I would never dare to install a game on it and I made it. My computer doesn't have games too anymore. But these are things you have to get exposed to no matter what, it's like viruses, after getting exposed you can develop a defense.

 

Fantastic! Good luck.

 

Maybe not relevant but it made me laugh the amount of times i have bunked work to play a new release whenever i'm not there the next day everybody (including my supervisor) says "so what game was you playing yesterday"

I have no shame though i think i probably only get to play games about 15 hours a week which i dont think is too much at all really so a sloth out day off every now and then is no harm (for me).

I spend most of my gaming time playing retro consoles and i never play games on my phone.

 

It's good old escapism that's all, but I'm aware of what it's like to delete then reinstall a game because you're drawn to it like some sort of drug. I was terrible like that with Football Management games, as well as Fifa too. Best solution I've found was to either destroy the game, which is quite self-empowering or sell it. Better yet, sell your console and buy a bike instead or something.

You're only 18. Don't be to hard on yourself. It's a funny age. You might feel grown up, but believe me you'll know differently in a few years. Well done for doing so well with Nofap. If you continue to play games - Try to avoid online gaming if you can, don't bother to much with achievements, focus on a good story, play the game out and put away.

 

Wow Je m'abstiens you are so inspiring. I also am addicted to games, mostly not quite violent games like the sims or minecraft, but I also spend billions of hours playing the elder scroll.

I'm actually on the verge of deleting all my games... Fuck me am I able to do this??? I have 15 games I can play if I want to...


Crap. You know what guys you are so courageous you give me the courage to do it. By the end of this message I will delete all my games, and more importantly, I will delete all my saves. Jesus Christ it will hurt even more than when I stopped PMO :'( 500 hours in Skyrim is not something you can forget easily. I love this game more than myself but it's time the virtual world make place to the real world. My hugest problem will be my Wii and Gamecube that are back in France. I can survive without Skyrim but I'm having a seizure at the sole thought of leaving Zelda. I think I will give all my games and my to my sister and brother.

So guys I will follow your example. I'll take this as my PMO addiction.

It will be fucking hard but I'll do it. And the time I will not spend playing games, I'll spend it learning spanish. It's been a long time I wanted to do this. And I'll try to involve myself more in religion.



Christ guys you are so inspiring you make me wanna cry. Have the nicest day ever buddies.

 

Well done, cocorosie. Smart move. Not saying people shouldn't play games, but all things in moderation with things of leisure. We shouldn't let games games or any other vice control our lives. Really pleased for you.

 

Buenisimo! Te ayudo a aprender español si queres

 

An oldie of a thread.

I've largely given up video games. There are the occasional instances where I still check a game out, though it's far less than it was. I fully understand the feeling of it being a waste of time, though it seems unwise to view it that way. We made those choices, now we can choose to let it be and move on to something else. There is no need to compare ourselves to someone who skipped things like video games and pursued other endeavors and get hung up on a life we don't have.