I remember when I began my recovery journey, I was in treatment. I was listening to others share. I thought about my life, I knew nothing about me. I was a blank slate. There was no one there. I had nothing to share. As others shared about themselves, I would catch glimpses of myself in what they said. Yes, that is what I thought, that I can relate to, I understand that. That was the beginning of my journey of self-discovery - learning about who I was through others.
Connecting with others is so important to our own recovey!
We have many tools here to help you do so. (Any time you see blue letters with a line under it, that is a link. Click on it to go to the item described.)
1. Go to meetings. There are chat meetings every day, often twice a day. Check the calendar for the day and time: Meeting Calendar . Go to an OLGA face-to-face meeting or find other members in your area to start an OLGA face-to-face meeting. If yiou can't find an OLGA meeting in your area, we suggest another addiction recovery group, such as N.A. (Narcotics Anonymous). Face-to-face meetings are where the real human interaction and healing can be found. This website is a stepping stone to that.
2. Read the forums. There is a lot of information here related to gaming addiction. Many stories, many suggestions from others who have gone before you. Suggestions from other gamers who figured out how to go one day at a time without gaming. Start with the I Need Help for Gamers forum. This is found by selecting Forums, then OLGA (Recovering Gamer) Forums from the top menu. It is the first forum. Then scan through the "Stickied" (posts at the top) posts first, and read those which interest you.
Enjoy.
3. Post your story. Many people begin posting by introducing themselves and explaining why they came here--i.e., telling how gaming has negatively impacted their lives. This is the first step. We suggest posting in the "I Need Help for Gamers" forum. People will respond.
There is also a Recovering Gamers (OLGA) Members Only Forums section. These forums can only be accessed by OLGA members. The general public and other groups do not have access to the Recovering Gamers (OLGA) Members Only Forums. They provide a separation of the recovering gamer (OLGA) members from the public and the other groups. Moderators and Administrators do have access to the Recovering Gamers (OLGA) Members Only Forums.
If you only want to hear from your OLGA members please post in your private OLGA Members Only forums, rather than in the public forums.
If you do post in the public forums, anyone can see your posts. Any members can respond to them. This can be helpful. Please be supportive, sensitive and courteous when you respond to posts!
The OLGA and OLG-Anon fellowships each have a members-only area that others can’t access. Although you should always try to be polite and considerate with anything that you post, you should especially keep that in mind if you are replying to a thread in the OLG-Anon (i.e., family, loved one of gamer) section. Although this cross-fertilization can be useful, you should generally try to keep those replies to a minimum.
Before posting, please read the forum guidelines: Registration and Participaton Rules
4. Blogs: Once you have created an account and are logged in, you will be able to blog about your healing journey.
5. Get to know people here. Welcome new members, as they join.
- We offer Instant Messaging. Look for the small Chat box in the lower right hand corner of the screen. You can instantly chat with anyone who has a Green Light. If there is a time that you do not wish to chat, please click the Go Idle option. You will get a Yellow light. If people still try to chat with you, ignore them. To back Online (with a green light), click Go Online.
- Go to our chat rooms and chat with others there.
- You can also send private messages to other members on the website.
- You can private message (pm) during chat meetings as well. Get some recovery buddies that you can call when things get tough. (Please read Phone Calls and the Internet, if you are concerned about the safety of doing this.) Make friends and get their phone numbers and emails.
- Find members in your area, who you can meet up with for more support. Go to our Members Look-Up By Location (That is why you have been asked for the city and state that you are located in when you registered). Select the Country, State/Province you are from and hit the Apply button. Contact other members by clicking on their username in the list and sending them a private message (near the bottom of the page). Meet up and encourage each other in real life.
6. Ask for help from others. Ask questions about your own recovery. Respond to others questions, by sharing what you have been through, and what did or did not work for you (your experience, strength and hope).
7. Get a sponsor and work the 12 steps. Get A Sponsor, Be A Sponsor Millions and millions of people have recovered from addictions of all kinds by doing this. Including gaming. Right here.
Bottom line: There is help here. If your gaming is diminishing or ruining your life, you're in the right place. We've been there.