I now play more than 100 hours a week. I just started to think I may have an issue. However i dont play MMOs. I dont like them they take to much time to play and i feel if i did play them i would be addicted even more than i already am. If im not playing im sleeping. I try to not go out since the sun hurts my eyes and dont like people. I've been treated for depression however they can put me on all the pills in the world and you cant change someone if thats just how they are. Ive been a gamer since computers had games. It sort of attached to me since my dads a programer and wrote some games. I dont know how to stop because i dont see anything else to do. I read alot of the other posts on here for the last week and i see all the stuff your posting to try when ur trying to quit or bypass time. I dont rly like any of them. Most of them require me to talk to people or start new habits. I dont like ot change habits rapidly.
Wow, try to not hit tab in this forum.... anyways editing now since i hit tab to make a paragraph and enter to skip it acutally posted it lol. But anyways if anyone else has had this sorta situation where they dont like changes fast. I mean my parents have tried to intervene by putting me in a boarding school for 2 years of my life but all that did was when i got out was wanna do nothing at all and made me hate my parents. So much hate i dispize looking at them and talking to them. Before we used to be pretty cool and now i dont wanna be around them at all. I have a brother that older however hes a drunk and drug addict, so most of my parents attention is on him anyways. I hate when people tell me to get a life like my parents do all the time. I believe a life is how u make it. however i wouldnt mind cutting my gaming outa it, but ive tried to stop, i didnt play for 2 months and thats the longest ever, mostly because i threw my computer across the room because i got mad. so i was without a computer and i decided that i would never gona buy another one. But i started college then and that lead to more depression and i went back into my game. My ideal of a perfect life is a 1 bedroom apartment or condo where im able to work from home and never be bothered by anyone. i dont wanna play games either. The only thing i do like besides computers and games is Offroading, but u have to be around places that allow it and i live in one of the biggest citys in the world and far far from any place that i can do it. Also obtaining a vehical to do it nearly imposible since gas prices are nearly 4 dollars a gallon here. I dont know what i wanna do anymore i just wish that one day im crossing the street i see a lil kid run for a ball and push him outa the way before a car hits him so my life actually ment something...
the coincidence of actually stumbling upon this website is, i find quite hilarious. I was playing diablo 2: LOD for my fourth hour when i decided to take a break. Quickly opening up firefox and about to head to myspace, i noticed the yahoo article about video game addiction. I immediatly found it hilarious but then when i actually stopped to think about it, I realized that maybe i am addicted. I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember, but I found I seem to do it in a wave fashion. where I will become obsessed with one video game for a while, play it until i've got everything and then move on with my life and not touch a video game for an average of 3 months. Guild wars on the other hand. Unlike WoW, Guildwars is free so I feel like I don't need to play it so I'm not getting ripped off of the $15 a month fee WoW charges. Since the announcement of Starcraft in Korea I've been anticipating the release of Diablo 3. I don't want to just list the amount of games and the hours i've spent in each because it would be such a long list. I'll just take Diablo 2: Lod and Guild Wars since i've already mentioned them. Guild wars = Currently have 1500 hours logged into since the day after Prophocies was released. about 2 years ago. Diablo 2 : Lod If i had to guess.... between the two times where i played it and then literally burned the disks (with fire) to stop myself from playing it maybe 500-600 hours total. now i've spent similar hours like that with halo 2, pokemon, GTA, and countless more but I'm still not certain i've i'm an addict. I mean I go out a lot, I have lost one girlfriend over video gaming. I gave up guild wars for a long time after that. But i don't find myself playing video games everyday or thinking about games everyday. I was in the army for two years and that really helped me from not playing. not given the chance to and actually doing something else put my mind at ease about it.
This is exactly how I found out about this site. ;)
Sounds alot like me, spending up to 14 hours a day at games, or nothing at all, but for me, it is simple... I never had friends. In my life when I was younger, everyone seemed to shun me, the only real break in the monotony being school, and I spent the rest of the time alone.... When I first picked up a game, old number munchers, I became hooked on computers in general.... I found myself wanting to dive into virtual reality, and leave the hell known as real life behind. There, I always felt content, but lacking at the same time... I found myself alone, as nobody would be willing to join me in a game, and you can only push the AI so far... Then, I found the world of the online, and though it did not start with MMO's, I quickly ended up hooked on chat rooms, perhaps from a hidden longing of wanting to communicate with others, even if what was being said had nothing to deal with reality. I became lost in that world, and yet I felt content, for the first time in as long I was able to remember, i felt that I had a place, that I belonged online, and I still do. I have never fit in in the real world, and only online, do I really feel that I am accepted. I was going to school, not only to take classes, but to talk with my friends, the ones I felt really cared about me, as no real person did. I have had jobs, but they all ended in failure. Everywhere I look, I do not seem to be "good enough" to anyones standards. The only place I feel I belong, is right here... I picked up Guild wars just two months ago, and a laptop 6 months ago, and I finally feel at ease....
all i have to say is guild wars was my major gaming addiction and i haven't played it for 7 months. but i was at the point where i would go onto GuildWars websites, get every detail of information there was about it, print it off. i have binders of information on it I still keep, all highlighted through, written on, all to make sure i had everything.
I was into Furcadia before guild wars, and YIM before that. I play online, cause it makes me feel like I am actually talking/working with other people. I don't feel lonely like I do IRL.
Yea, I printed out all of the maps for EQ and notated all spawn spawn sites on them. I would spend massive amounts of time looking for offsets so that I could cheat in EQ with macroqest. It really consumes your thoughts.
I think gaming actually helped me in a way though. though it may consume you, games like RPGs force you to think. I look at tactical games, and go through every combination, every strategy, and this is not limited just to video games, but tabletop games as well. learn to look at ALL possibilitys, choose the best path, then do it. It can expand your mind, the only problem is getting off the game, and applying that skill elsewhere.
How ironic. I actually found it the same way. And to be honest I never thought anything of it. I play roughly 10-12 hours a day, if not more. I haven't showered in over a month. It's really funny though, I never thought of this as an "addiction", I just thought, well, I had nothing better to do, only 2 friends, which I rarely ever hang out with because we don't share any of the same interests. But, after reading, a couple of these stories, and what OLGA is about. I really must say, I am addicted to games, it's very hard for me to admit this fact considering I thought this was just the "new-age" thing to do, Online-gaming. So caught up in chatting with "friends" online, I never bothered to get REAL friends. I must say, I can really relate to your story. I don't go outside cause the light also bothers me, heh. And I do not like people, to be honest, I am a VERY anti-social person. It's really amazing though, it makes a lot of sense, I dropped out of school, when I turned 16, (I mean right when I turned 16) and I said to my mom, "Mom, I don't like school, it's just boring." 'Cause I was never going, and we didn't have a vehicle, and she had to work in the mornings, so she decided to let me drop out, but she told me I had to get a job, yeah, so... Months go by, I end up getting so depressed sitting in the house, lonely and bored every day. (Yes I would say I contemplated suicide several times, only thoughts though, thank god.) Anyways, I finaly pushed myself very hard, to go out and get a job. So, I get accepted for the job, go to training, It's a real nice job, great manager, really friendly staff, and helpful. I mean, it's like the best job you could get, paid decently too for a first job. So I go through 2 days of training, and then quit. I said I wanted to get back into school. Boy was that the dumbest thing I ever did, yeah, I quit the job, but didn't get back into school. Another month or so went by, and my mom started to get mad at me for not doing anything, not only with my life, and around the appartment while she was at work, taking out the trash, cleaning the kitchen, etc... I was doing nothing at all. So a few months went by, she finaly takes me to a psychiatrist, and I get diagnosed with depression (bipolar), I get some anti-depressants and I've been taking them for the past month and a half or so. I was told they take roughly 3 weeks to "kick in". To be completely honest, I feel no different than I did before I took them. And then it dawned on me. I'm not depressed 'cause I'm not getting outside, not going to school, have no friends. I'm so depressed because I do nothing but play video games, all day long, 12 hours of gaming, then 12 hours of sleeping (Yes I sleep a long time, sometimes even longer.) Thats ALL I do. And it really disgusts me, but It's SOOO hard to pull myself away from playing games. I mean, I'll play a game so long, that my wrists starts hurting badly, but I keep playing 'cause I don't want to stop. I never really thought of that bad before, but after reading the information on this site. It, just WOW I am just so amazed, literaly. It makes me sad, to admit that this is true. I really thought of myself as one of the normal kids, who had few friends and did stuff with them, nah.. I used to, but then I started saying I didn't want to. Didn't give a reason, just said I didn't want to. Losing friends over a game. It's just pathetic (I'm sorry if that offends anyone, it's more of a degrade for myself). I would just like to mention my "game of choice". Surprisingly, it really isn't an MMO. I played, EQ, WoW, Ragnarok, The Realm, Guild Wars, EQ2, Diablo 2, Had 60's, 70's, etc...(W/e the level cap is now-a-days.) And just got bored of them, I seem to lose interests in games very easily. But nope, my game of choice is Warcraft 3, online. DotA (Defense of the Ancients). I know what you're thinking, "How could you play that game so much?" (For those of you who actually have played it.) Well, I don't know. I just enjoy the game so much. It's basicaly the only thing I'll play. My mom plays WoW, she isn't addicted though, only a few hours every so often when she's not doing school-work or at work. I apologize for posting in your thread Placo. Really I am. I just got into the typing and felt I'd give my "story".
same here, actually kinda laughed when i read the post on the yahoo page. read it and saw the part where it said something about "video games possibly being the reason for mental illness" or something like that. and i literally laughed, thought i was going to come in here and laugh at some of the stuff. BUT. i too am an addict -_- i'd rather help others, than help myself. i have the time to burn with my gaming, the stories about people losing jobs and major parts of they're lives, thats nothing to laugh about, and thats not the time they have to burn with gaming, thats the time they should be spending with they're families and with they're jobs. im still kind of a teenager, being 18. i dont have too much to do, have to save up so i can go to Community College, and then thats where my classes will cut into my game time and push me a little bit further from my gaming : / but it will help me with getting my life straight and settled the way i want it :D -- Big Gamer
[color=Blue]Guys, we are here to help folks who want to quit gaming and return to real life, not to compare and contrast the features of our favorite games. Some of what is posted in this thread is helpful, but a lot of it is not. Please stick to the helpful stuff. I'm glad you all stumbled onto this site, and I hope you will all decide to quit when the time is right for you.[/color]
"Small service is true service while it lasts. Of humblest friends, bright creature! scorn not one
The daisy, by the shadow that it casts,
Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun." -------William Wordsworth
i don't mean to sound rude but isn't the point of overcoming an addiction firstly to admit you have a problem? it seems like thats what this thread is about, actually admitting we have problems. so now you're asking us to not "compare and contrast features of our favorite games." literally meaning you want us to actually say stuff more like, "well this is how i got off gaming." maybe we aren't there yet. I can understand your lack of approval for this thread where we are just posting our own stories, but maybe thats what this forum is about.
Sid, We're all a little stressed today. So I'll save her the trouble of responding. This is the pertinent part of the rules of these boards: [color=Blue]The Color, Blue:[/color] Blue text is used when moderators are giving explanations or directions in an official capacity. Use of blue text is prohibited by non-moderators. [color=Blue]Posters are required to comply with directives in blue, from moderators, immediately. [/color] So please drop it, she posted in blue. You are free to contact me or other admins by PM, [color=Blue]don't debate moderator decisions in the posts.[/color] Thank you. Xandtar
Leveling in Real Life
I used to game all the time!! I don't anymore, and I have real life.. and I'm happier than ever :). Real life is better, fantasy life (computer games) seeming better is only an ILLUSION, its not real! (Thank God) Its always hard at first to get going, but really only takes a month or so for the body and mind to detox from the "poison" in computer games. Anyway, blessings to all on the recovery path, its not for everyone.. but blessings the same! Game-free and happy :) Matt
Sometimes I just use games to cope with RL. There are times, where I just get so frustrated with RL I want to lash out at just about anyone, and yet, I just go off, play a game for an hour or two, and then I am relatively ok....
Placo, have you tried to talk to you parents about the fact that you play games to much? I don't know the specifics of the situation, but my guess is that if you sit down with them and calmly explain you have a problem you would like help with, that they will listen and try to help as best they can. If you don't feel comfortable talking to them about it, you might want to seek out a counselor to talk to. I know that sometimes while playign, I would get in a lonely desparate place and I truly needed help getting out of it. I too have a problem with depression (clinically diagnosed) and would really like you to get some help. In my case, the gaming made my depression worse and much harder to deal with, and I don't want anyone to have to go through that. Please get some help. Kathy
Recovering gaming addict
Ever think that gaiming could be the CAR? And the child a PLAYER that needs you and your experiences.
not to seem to argue, if it shows that way. but i kinda agree with Sid_The_Kid64, the first step of over coming a problem, is admitting it. and to show how bad the addiciton was, you have to explain what you did, for example, i used to smoke 3 packs a day, i kicked them to the curb (you can tell how bad the addiction was by reading on how much i used to smoke A DAY). just saying that you used to game, and your better now doesnt really.....give a full image to someones mind when they're picturing themselves doing the same. some people have to relate to others problems, and compare themselves and then attempt what the significant other did to drop the addiction. some addictions arent easy, and saying how bad the addiction was and how you over came it, helps pave a path for those that have the same problem, its the building blocks of recovery. i know we shouldnt just come in here and chat about how we gamed, or how long we did and not say how we overcame it or someway someone could possibly over come it. but in my opinion (and i think some others will agree, even if they dont post an agreement) giving a description of the difficulties you overcame, and what you did to make that recovery easy, is actually helping even more than just saying your better now, that you just stopped playing. like i said, i dont want this to sound like im argueing with the moderator. and i dont want to, i just want to put in my opinion, and i think Sid_The_Kid64's opinion as well (please, dont point fingers at Sid, i posted this, if you want to point fingers, point at me). if you show how bad the addiction WAS, and what you did to solve it, and what you do now, it can actually help more to others that need the help now with the same problem. -- Big Gamer
i really don't mean to argue either. its just that the indefinet color blue rule seems, kind of... odd.. by all means go about your moderator ways i guess. i almost made a "last word" statement but i decided to cut myself off before i got a moderator mad at me. AND to make this post legit enough not to be deleted; I, instead of gaming, went out and played pool with my friends after work, rented a movie and ate some ice cream. haha. i feel better already! I think movies are the perfect solution to gaming, because you can think about a movie before it's released, go to the theater which gets you out of your house, SPEND time with other people, and talk about the movie after. a short term solution, i won't lie, but its still a solution nonetheless.
Good for you Sid! It's a start. One day at a time.
"Small service is true service while it lasts. Of humblest friends, bright creature! scorn not one
The daisy, by the shadow that it casts,
Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun." -------William Wordsworth
Thanks, however my parents wouldnt be much help currently there talking of divorce and im a lil to old to be asking them for help. Second they are way to worried about my brothers drug issues and other things hes up to. The only person i have to turn to is my aunt and she was just diagnosed with cancer for the second time. So shes really caught up with her own stuff right now. So truly all i have no one. I dont know what else to do.
placo, you're never too old to ask your parents for help. I love it when my 23-year-old son asks for my help. When you said in your first post that you wanted your life to mean something, there are so many other things you could do that would make your life mean something. Why don't you sign up to be a Big Brother. There is a long waiting list of kids waiting for Big Brothers. A lot of them have divorced parents. You could relate to that and understand what they are going through. A lot of them probably play games because they have nothing better to do with their time because their single moms are too busy to do stuff with them. Your life could mean SO much to a little guy who just needs a big guy to look up to and keep him out of trouble. Think about it.
"Small service is true service while it lasts. Of humblest friends, bright creature! scorn not one
The daisy, by the shadow that it casts,
Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun." -------William Wordsworth
But please don't play games with your little brother (not the video kind anyway).
eh, just wanted to add something small. since we're all equal, and i really like to deal with equality, it IS single moms. but also single dads, both work hard to support they're kids when they get divorced, and both do what they can to help they're kids. just wanted to add that tid-bit in. -- Big Gamer
Very true, but it is the children of single moms who usually apply to get a Big Brother through that program.
"Small service is true service while it lasts. Of humblest friends, bright creature! scorn not one
The daisy, by the shadow that it casts,
Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun." -------William Wordsworth
Placo,
I just wonder where you have gone since seven years ago. I have seen many people on here who have stopped using the site. I feel sorry for all of them. I wish you and all the others are still doing okay.
Best,
NewDay
"The trouble--it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found." - Home