Thoughts on lenght of time for withdrawal?

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David-J
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Thoughts on lenght of time for withdrawal?

Posted this elsewhere before I realized it should be here. Apologies for the double post.

I used to have a horriffic addiction to Everquest many years ago. It affected my work, my family, etc. When I saw that my daughter was going to grow up with an absentee father (even though he lived in the same house) I knew I had to do something. I sold my EQ account and bought Hooked On Phonics and instead of gaming I spent my time teaching my daughter to read. It was a great time.

Over the course of the next twelve years however, games slowly creeped back into my life. We are currently living overseas in a city with no real other foreigners, so I made the excuse that I could start another MMO up again (this time Dungeons and Dragons Online) just to give me some "social interaction" with people who speak my language. My wife aquiesced and from February to August we had a scheduled time in the evenings when I would play, after everyone had gone to bed. In my mind I was getting my work done, not taking time from my family,etc. I proudly convinced myself I had my addiction licked.

Then we had to go to another city to get our passports renewed for a couple of weeks. We were free from work and "on vacation". We took a fmily trip where we did some sightseeing and hiking, but when we got back to the city we still had another week before our passports were ready. I told my wife and daughter that they could go and shop and do whatever they wanted, but that I wanted to spend some nonstop game time getting some things accomplished. The demon was back. For four days straight I was online gaming with few breaks just to take care of bio breaks, eating, etc. I was right back to ignoring my family and consumed by the game.

Day 4 came the meltdown. It was the biggest fight we had in years, and despite being very angry at her "selfishness" in not respecting my "me time" I knew I had to choose the game or my family. I sold all my stuff on all my toons, donated the proceeds to my guild, and deleted my characters. Nothing to return to I thought would me no regrets and nolooking back.

I was not prepared for what has happened the past two weeks. I have become increasingly irritable and lethargic. My work and family time is still happening, but I find I have no passion, excitement or drive to do anything. When I was gaming, I also enjoyed reading and writing fiction and watching movies as free time activities, but lately I cant bring myself to write, dont enjoy reading and even wont bother to watch a video. I mostly when I am not working or leading our family Bible study or anything, pretty much just want to sleep or lay on the couch staring at nothing. My 14 year old daughter had been asking if im ok and even quipped at me the other day trying to get me to laugh "Dad, depression hurts, Cymbalta can help". We both laughed but I cant seem to break myself out of this funk.

Can anyone tell me how long this is going to last or any way to speed up getting through it. I know beyond a doubt now I cannot let gaming in even a little. I even deleted my iPad games (including solitaire...) and now the only games I have put on the OK list are family board or card games or interactive wii games that I can do with family. No matter how much self control we have, an addiction will just crouch in the shadows and wait for your guard to be down to take over again. A game addict just "gaming a little" would be like a heroin addict only shooting up on weekends. It cant happen. I just hope I get through these DT's or whateveris happening with me soon and get bavk to being the husband and father and servant of God that I am supposed to be.

David

GrowingUp
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David, On the short

David,

On the short side.... 15 days can be the time for withdrawal. I'm out 6 weeks now and still think a bit about my game... what I would do in there IF I went back in. But, having done that.... nope. I realize that the mistake is just waiting to be made, and we have the choice to NOT DO IT!

Zoe

Hey, If quitting was easy, everyone would have done it.

Bangowango
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Joined: 12/14/2011 - 8:07pm
I feel for you. The

I feel for you. The withdrawal time was about two weeks for me. Just in time for me to take a test. I'm out for awhile now. I don't think about games at all. It might be easier for you as you have a wife and daughter in your recovery team. Listen to your inner compass; it's good to take risks in life. It's worth suffering for what's right.

exazzy
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Joined: 05/27/2012 - 6:36pm
I've been told that it takes

I've been told that it takes 21 days to break a habit.

I've also been told that truly emptying your withdrawal symptoms can take up to a year. I wasn't clear whether they meant for ANY time of addiction, or mostly for physical addictions like drugs or alcohol, or whether there's a difference.

I'd say a month is a decent expectation for withdrawal from physical symptoms due to gaming. If you clear the hurdles sooner, good for you. :)

Twelve miles into the forest, 12 miles out.
Left my poisonous game July 4, 2012. Left online communities June 4, 2013.

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