When in therapy sessions with my Dr. Bill, in the past I've asked him why I still have urges to go back my game or engage in gaming behavior even though I don't want to. One time he responded with this:
"You aren't actually missing fake things, though this could function as a mantra for you. This is the urge of the return to the addiction that happens in all addictions, whether it is hunger for a cigarette, a drink, or a turn at the craps table. It is a neurological siren call and not a moral failing so try not to take the content too seriously. If you need a mantra to resist it, you can say 'I am no longer attached to fake things. I am real'. Very few addicts feel freedom when they interrupt their addiction because they are confronted with the feelings that they were using the addiction to avoid."
"Even when you think it's about you, it's not about you." Dr. Bill
Yup!It takes a lot of time from playing the last game to feeling of comfort and normality. And I'm still working on it.
Thanks for sharing this Exa. I really needed to hear it. Lately I'm feeling that I'm losing the line between the addict brain and the real me, as the desires to game again seem to be coming from the real me instead of the addiction. So this helps me to affirm that it truly is the addiction wanting that game and the real me needs to stand firm in saying no to going back.
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~Maria Robinson
Pat...I think it's important for people to know, just like you said, it takes time. There is no quick fix unfortunately. Silver...aw I'm glad you benefited from hearing this. It's something I've kept on a sticky on my computer screen because I need to hear it too. And often!
"Even when you think it's about you, it's not about you." Dr. Bill