WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

Ummm lets see. I felt 2,3,5,6,7,8,9, and 10. I started seeing a therapist after i quit WoW. She brought up an interesting point about my symptoms. I told her i procrastinate alot and dont want to deal with life so i play videogames. She told me that another word for procrastinating is fear. I never thought i had fear but would just rather play and have fun. I have come to realize real life is fun. It may not be an instant rush of excitement, but your overall spirit is lifted.

So it comes down to two chooses when i wake up in the morning. Play videogames for an instant high but an overall depressing and useless life, or face my fear of hardwork and feeling like a loser.

I am on day 26 of not playing WoW and I would have to say i choose to face my fears 3 out of these 26 days, but you know what those were the scariest and best days i have had.

I'm only about 30 hours clean of World of Warcraft. I've gone completely cold turket, deleting my characters and cancelling my account. I have nothing to go back to.

So far I've mainly been experiencing big mood swings. From almost euphoria at the change I'm trying to bring to my life, to intense regret, anger and resentment.

Procrastination has caused me many problems also. I'm behind on my rent, and I owe money all over the place. Thanks for sharing what you were told about procrastination because I certainly think that fear is what causes me to do it too. I'm supposed to be trying to find work and have been for the last 6 months. Almost every day in that time I woke up with 2 options: to do something constructive or sit back at the keyboard and play WoW. I usually chose the latter. I guess now, one of the options has changed but the choice still has to be made.

what a good story, dnomyar one step at a time.

when i first quit, i found myself browsing old guild sites, and game-related sites. Sort of a way to look inside the game without actually playing it. And then the next step, I finally deleted those bookmarks and never went back.

If I stop playing games for a period of time then I just do other things on my computer, such as read web comics or e-books, listen to music, or otherwise occupy myself on the computer. If I am forced off my computer I just spend time thinking of when I will be able to get back on (which isn't hard as I only sleep for 4 hours a night) or what I will do when I next get back on. I'm not addicted to games so much as computers.

since i was in school, i loved video games. from the original pong to halo. one in particualr - enemy territory - i played everyday for 2+ years. i lost 2 jobs, including a small company i had owned. i became deeply immersed in the game, and part of the 'family' i had come to know. i was second in command with members of a clan from all over the world. i had respect and authority online, but was losing control of the real world. i was constantly lying to my wife and kids about playing. i was on the verge of divorce and losing my third job in one year.

i quit cold turkey. i have to, i have no choice now. for the second time in a month, i deleted everything. but this time i explained to my online clan family why i wont be back. i have also seen my doctor for possible depression symptoms for which i now have a prescription. i must move forward.

i quit last thursday and havent looked back.

I applaud you for your courage to do so... It takes a lot.

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I was addicted to games about the age of 8 years old all I would think about was when I was next going to play. This was affecting my school work and stuff. I loved my ps2 more than anything and nothing else seemed to care. Im now 15 and still addicted not as much though i fell bad when i am asked to stop i feel my self getting angry and this affects family life. Have tried to stop completly but always go back.

When I try and wake my husband up, he LITERALLY is dreaming about his game. He says "hold on Ive got to empty my bag into the bank" " No I can't kill them they are blue" Its crazy talk. He eat's, sleeps, dreams games. :(

If you were by some mircale about to get a addicted gamer to accept that they were having withdrawals how would you help them with it aside from getting them into some sort of counsuling?

Most of those sympton relate to my brother. I dont know what to do anymore. I have a 17 year old brother that is an addict. He plays excessively 8 or more hours during the day, and when my mom takes the xbox from him, He gets violent with her. On weekend me and him go to my dads house. For the past 2 years he has refused to go, because he wanted to be home and play video games. SO he would play the entire day, from 9 am until late night. He has no relationship with my dad because of his gaming.I dont know that else to do, and my mom is becoming to old and sick to fight back with him. He is so obessed with gaming, that he doesnt go to the bathroom while hes gaming. As a result, he poops in his pants. Gross, i know. I dont know what else to do, he has a huge rage and agressive temper when his video game is taken away. Im moving back to college during fall and Im just scared that my mom is going to give up on this fight.

I am addicted to a game called Evony and I did not think I was until today. I love my family alot but today I stayed in this game when me and my husband were supposed to go pick up my grandaughter at her mothers house. My husband could of went but didn't. I feel awful. Also we did ate Taco Bell for dinner, aT 10:30pm. I did not cook again. My husband di not say anything.... I am thinking he is a smart man. Because now my head is out of that game. I am so bad I have a desktop gadget called "post its" it is just like what it suggests. I have these lil virtual post its i can pull up with coordinates of enemies , members names, Wbsites to intel on how to medal farm, calculate loss in attacks.... long list of foolishness. I am deleting them. I have not yet. but I have decided I am quiting this game. I feel anxious, fear, relief , and about 1/3 of those things on that list up there. But I can tell you the best way to stop a gamer is don't help hiim. Period. Do not bring them food or water. Do not do thier laundry. do not tell them when dinner is or what they are missing. do not pay for internet. Cancel your internet. Because guess what ? If they have to buy their own internet they have to work to pay for it, which gets them away from the machine. do not buy them games, laptops, computers, controllers or any other game related junk. They miss dinner or want food let them make it themselves. Do not help them enable to play. Also if you are a spouse or loved one, sibling, write a letter to the addict. Tell the game addict how you feel. Tell them about the neglect. Tell them about the missed times with children, family, friends, dinners and all of your giref and sorrow put it into that letter. If you have children old enough have them write their own letters to this person, or vis a versa. Parents and siblings to a child. If they are on the next day again. When you go to bed, write down all the things they missed with you that day and tell them how much they are missed. Tape them to their screen. Go to bed. the best thing you can do is to remove all gaming harware from the house and turn off the internet if it is associated with the problem. Drug addicts do not get drugs?? So game addicts do not get games. I would try this as a last reort, but once you remove it, it cannot come back. A laptop but they cannot have the access password or be left alone with it. Remember there is free wifi every where. Trust me I know I am a game addict. Those are words I never thought I would say but it is true. I have so much to make up for. I love my fmaily and my husband. The game I am addicted to is Evony. The game that never ends unless you quit.

Nchantress sounds like you want "i need help for gamers"

do you think you can defeat yourself?

you know you will win.

ready fro something new?

Welcome to Olga!

What a sweet husband. Your husband did not enable you. He did not go pick up your grand daughter (maybe her mom was upset.) Your husband did not make you dinner. He did not tell you how upset he was by your abandoning your life for what you call "foolishness." But he did not go on "enabling" you by cooking, etc. Something woke you up! Good for you and about time! Keep writing here for support in your aim to not game.

How long were you involved in that "foolishness?"

Is Nchantress an avatar name?

so my friend is having these symptoms and if i ask him to stop he will say "why?" and he wont admit he has a problem. because playstation network has gone down recently and he got really angry and now he shrugs off his girlfriend when she tries to flirt with him. i really was looking for a way to descreatly get him from playing games 24/7 because everyday he gets home from school and just plays call of duty until he goes to sleep, everyday!

Hi ZeeBeast and welcome to Olga. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do for your friend. Once we are addicted to gaming, we can't see the problem that it has become to our lives. It's called denial. Our game pretty much takes over and everything else becomes 2nd to playing our game. You might try printing out the symptoms and giving them to him. But, most likely he will just ignore it or rationalize it. He has to realize, for himself, how gaming is ruining his life, and that's not an easy thing to do. Good luck!

My 15 year old has become addicted to XBOX 360...and PS3 over the past couple of years. Its been well over a year that its become really really bad; no effort to go to school, isolating himself in his room, numerous times of staying up over 24 hours.....having to tell him to shower and clean his room over and over again (sometimes, this can take days!), etc...etc.. He just doesn't do anything anymore besides online gaming, or some internet browsing (FBook, Skype, etc). What I have to do to get him to bust a move to shower or clean his room, is take that machine and laptop out of his room when he's sleeping.

6 Days ago, on a Friday, he woke to no PS3 system. I had removed it from his room when he was zonked out and his older brother picked it up.

My 15 year old hasn't stopped texting me, emailing me, etc., requesting this PS3 back, since its been removed. He was VERY angry at first (lots of text/email bashing from him, and directed at me, his step-dad, and his brother), however, he's now "calmer" and really wanting me to talk to his step-dad and negotiate (ie. he promises to only play for so many hours, etc.)........but my spouse won't budge, and I just can't ignore that and give in this time, right? Spouse says my son is wasting his life away and he needs to get a life. I realise that, but there's soooooooo much more going on with my son than just being addicted to this system that I don't know if tearing it away from him without any fair warning was the right thing to do. For example, just before getting into the system, he's been dealing with the loss of 2 close cousins in 2007 (1 week of each other), then his Dad leaving the family to sell drugs and getting busted, in 2009, especially at a time where my son probably needed him the most (13 years old)......and then also struggling academically in school. It was around Oct/Nov 2009 that I noticed he was zoning out to these games. Since then, I've managed to get him to go 4 times to see a counsellor and/or psychiatrist with regards to "depression", but that's it. Neither of those times got anything resolved/treated. My son voices to me, or will post on FB that he wants to change and have a better life, and exercise, etc....but that **** gaming gets the best of him - always! He wants contact lenses - missed that appointment. And for over a year, desperately needs new frames for his glasses, but misses the opportunities to go get them. Then at his request, he wanted a dental appointment for a cleaning, etc., but that didn't happen either. He misses these "appointments" bcuz he hadn't slept from the previous day cuz he's gaming!!! Hes lost pretty much all contact with his friends; they don't even bother trying to "hook up" with him anymore. Hes just in a real rut. I am too bcuz I feel we added to that even moreso by taking that system away from him, in hopes it will "make everything better". Of course, as his mother, I know that wouldn't be the case. I do know though, hes been steady asking me for it every single day, throughout the day, for 6 days. That's his main focus. I want to give-in, as I ususally do, cuz now I see, this is the WORST (he still doesn't come out of his room....him and his brother aren't talking till my son apologizes for a rude email, me and him hardly talk anymore (the only reason he communicates with me is to ask his step-dad to negotiate about the PS3), its just AWFUL.

So, tell me - was it a good thing to strip him of it while he was sleeping? Should it be returned with a contract (ie play for 3-4 hours only).

Thank you for reading and I look forward to your input :)

Whether or not it was the right way or time to yank the game, it is done. Do NOT give it back. Read the posts in the Parents' forum, as Liz has suggested. We hear two things from parents here repeatedly: The parents who took control of their kids' gaming while they were still minors say they are glad they did, and those who waited until after the kid was 18 say they wish they had done something while the kid was still a minor. Ours didn't become addicted til after he turned 18, so we never had the chance.

Sit down with him and lovingly explain what you were seeing that indicated addiction (all the missed appointments, lost friends, etc). Explain that you love him too much to continue to let him throw his life away. Don't be angry at him. These games are specifically designed to draw kids in and keep them there, and he was probably born with addictive tendencies.

Have your husband come here and read posts as well, so you both understand what you are dealing with. Hugs to you.

Lizwool & Gamersmom.....I thank you both very Very VERY much for responding. Here I was, waiting on my email to get a notification for a response to my posting here, and never seen one. Figured I'd just drop by today to do some reading because I've been struggling since yesterday about giving it back to him today "until his Dad gets back in town, on Tuesday, and he goes to spend time with him". This is what my Sons been telling me anyhow. A part of me though was saying, "Don't do it". AND yah, he is also promising me everything and says he's not addicted, just wants to have fun cuz his friends are avoiding him, blah blah blah. I have to tell him AGAIN, straight out, he won't be getting it back...ever. BUT yah, this is AWESOME! This is so what I needed to hear. This is where I need to be too. THIS is where he needs to be as well (will be encouraging him). This has gone on for wayyyy too long. (I was quite surprised when I Googled "Gaming Addiction" the other day and the results came up).

I'm definitely going to go thru the Screening with him and explain things.

We don't want to contribute towards him wasting his life away anymore.

Again, VERY much appreciated.....BIGTIME!

In Friendship....GiverInner ;)!!

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. Imostly 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-J

Everyone's brain is different so I can't tell you how long your symptoms will last. However, I will share my story--I was gaming partly to self-medicate bipolar disorder. I felt negative and agitated when "up" and very very depressed when down. The games calmed my agitation, allowed me to escape my depression and all of the terrible circumstances that had filled my life.

So it's important for you to realize that withdrawal will get better. But if the depression isn't getting better, it could be that it's not only withdrawal, it could be the underlying issue--you might have used gaming to self-medicate. This isn't the only reason people game, but sometimes it's a big one. You might consider going to a psychiatrist who works with mood disorders to see if you have depression or perhaps a different disorder that can be treated. Especially if your depression doesn't start to get a little better in a few weeks.

In the meantime, all the obvious stuff--get enough sleep, healthy food and exercise to bring your body into a better balance. Do prayer and/or meditation.

Good luck to you. I'm still trying to get balanced but being on my meds helps a lot and being on OLGA also helps a lot. I'm also in therapy, and I have a sponsor, and I only work part time. Lots of support and slow progress. But it IS progress. I wish the same for you!

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Welcome to OLGA, odchere and wasted dreams. I've not had any personal experience with what you're describing here, but as a gaming addict, there are a few things that I can tell you about addiction that I think might help both of you.

First, you didn't cause the addiction. Addiction is a disease, and blaming yourself for somebody else's sickness is unhelpful at best. Not only does it do nothing to address the sickness, it makes it much harder for you to be happy and enjoy your own life.

Second, you can't cure the addiction. Part of this is because addiction is a disease for which no cure exists, and part of this is because the addict is the only person who can choose to take the steps that will halt the progress of the disease.

Third, you can control the addiction. Nobody, including the addict, is capable of controlling the addiction. The addict can do all kinds of things that help stop the otherwise steady progress of the addiction, but to actually control it is beyond the power of even the addict. When friends and family try to control the addict's behavior, the addict usually will get defensive and actually retreat further into the addiction.

If you have specific questions, you might want to post them on the new threads, and there are people here who would be happy to try and answer them. None of what you say here about how gaming is affecting somebody you love will suprise the people that are here...we've seen it or even been it ourselves at various points...let us know how we can help...

I think this is what my husband does, but he does go back.

Hi liz , i  agree with you upto some extent, but I also would say, Say yes to stop addiction in the initial is not easy, but once you try with your full efforts than nothing is impossible for you.