Everytime I tell myself once I reach said goal, I will play way less or even quit. First it was with maxing, I maxed and still play alot. Then it was with Quiver (best in slot ranged cape item), I got it and still play alot. Then it was with ToA fang kit (cosmetic item for a weapon), I got it and still play alot. Now raids 4 got released and its basically the same shit again. My eventual goal was getting all grandmaster achievements done (basically the most prestigious thing you can complete) but I know I'll still play alot after getting it.

The grind never ends in this game and I feel like quitting cold turkey is the best way to stop. Anyone else in the same boat?

There are great games out there but I still just try my best to find an open world game where the graphics feels almost real.

Even if I feel it's slightly not realistic looking, I just use mods or just change the game to find other.

The thing is, I have been inside home for almost 2 years and barely go out, I couldn't make it in the thing I worked and AI is doing the only thing I am decent at.

So I just try to escape reality and think it's the real world and play the game as if it's the only and the real world and I am living it in.

Game's world matters to me more than even real world at this point.

I just look at screen and the graphics looks great and that means that's the real life for me and I just enjoy being and doing the thing that I enjoy and feel great about myself.

I just can't stop, I keep coming back no matter what. There is nothing interesting in real life now.

I'm not sure if I do, I do spend a ton of time gaming whenever I'm able to. But I don't have a ton of responsibilities currently (I am waiting for nursing school on the waitlist)

I will occasionally put off responsibilities putting off a doctor's appointment and whatnot to game, but nothing that serious. I take care of myself In a general sense, shower, eat good, brush teeth, spend time outside, etc.

I have a lot of free time so it is hard for me to tell if I am developing/have an addiction to gaming or not. What do you guys define as a gaming addiction and how do you know if it is a problem? I probably spend on average 6 or so hours a day gaming although I've had days where I spent 12.

TL;DR: I've quit weed (832 days) and porn (494 days), but gaming is the one I can't shake. I keep buying and selling gaming gear. Looking for advice and people who've been through this.

Background

I've been gaming since I was 7-8. Now, after all these years, I don't feel any purpose in it. When the PC is off, the progress is gone. The GTA: SA server I played on for 3 years shut down for good, and it all vanished.

What I've already quit

Cannabis: 832 days (5 years of heavy use, went through rehab)

Porn: 494 days

Social media: 1-2 months

Nicotine: quit

The cycle

Over the last few years I bought and sold a gaming laptop, two PS5s, a gaming PC (on loan), a Steam Deck and an Xbox. I lost a lot of time, money and energy. Now I've deleted all games except Chess and Duolingo. But I still catch myself planning a new rig: picking parts, budgeting, and then the price makes me sick. Then it starts again.
Gaming never made me feel relaxed, only tense. I skipped chores just to play more.

What's going well

I'm learning to drive, fixed my teeth, and want to start Muay Thai. I work in a bakery and enjoy it. When I'm working, I don't even think about gaming.

What worries me

I'm on paid sick leave after a work injury, with 2 weeks left. Being at home all day is when the urge is strongest.

My question: How do you overcome the want and need for gaming? What do you do in the moment when you catch yourself planning a purchase? And is there anyone with a similar experience I can talk to?

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

The title pretty much says it all. I’ve probably spent around 2–3k hours playing competitive games like CS, R6, LoL, etc.

I’ve always loved the process of getting better, practicing, and constantly trying to improve. But for some reason, I’ve never been able to find that same drive in real life.

I recently promised myself I’d quit these games because I just don’t have the time for them anymore, and honestly, I don’t really get anything out of them. Most of the time, I wasn’t even having fun.

So, do you guys have any advice on how to channel that same motivation and desire to improve into real-life goals? How do I get myself to grind in real life the way I used to in games?

So I’ve come across an interesting shorts on Yt talking about chinese parent’s strategy for their gaming addicted children. The kids agree into skipping school to spend their time on a real esports training center with a professional schedule… and they quit not long after.

The initial trap is thinking that you can become pro and live off gaming, but the routine is not what the average addict does at all:

The thought process itself, is something I’ve done personally before - Instead of playing relaxing games alone that I’d spend hours on end engaged, I’ve purposefully chosen to play competitive games where I had the exhausting pressure of performing, getting better, games where I had to interact with other people, learn, focus.

At the beginning the grind felt rewarding, the learning process was engaging, it loses the grip as soon as it becomes a chore, a payless job, when you don’t want to play that specific game anymore, that’s when you know you never wanted the grind in the first place, you were never willing to make this into a job, it was an escape to the things you have to deal with in real life, to an actual job.

There is nothing wrong in enjoying playing games, but like myself, I know many people find themselves miserable, for a multitude of reasons - because the mechanism that gets us addicted is making games a escape route, avoiding: school, socializing, stress, overthinking, boredom. Those are the triggers for misery in the first place, we are all too scared, that’s why many of us fight an endless loop against withdrawal.

I’m linking the video below if you wanna check it out, I have my doubts if this could be a self-applied strategy but it’s still interesting.

https://youtube.com/shorts/aUra-wcVCp8?is=rMrgS6OanDsfUu2_

Sometimes you hear people tell you should change for a non gaming laptop or delete your accounts. But so far just throwing away my mouse worked great for me. There's no way I can play without a mouse, after all. And buying another mouse demands way more than just opening the game.

Sometimes I can't help but just think about how much years I have wasted on video games I really could've been good at other things that are super useful like reading, writing, art, etc. but wasted all on god damn video games :/

Anyone else feel this way?

I want to quit and I know it’s possible without deleting ur accounts, but I was thinking deleting them accounts would be like a nail on the coffin, like I wouldn’t wanna make another account ever again to spend all that money I’ve burnt on cosmetics and all the hours I put in grinding ranked and that kind of stuff.

I’ve been playing on and off last few weeks. But wherever I give in and start playing I end up wasting the whole day pretty much or stay awake till late. Was deleting/selling account helpful to you. Or did you regret deleting ur gaming profiles that could be kept like a badge of honour for hitting high ranks in the past and that kind of thing. (Even tho it’s meaningless irl)

Thanks.

I'm 14 and lately none of my games seem fun anymore. I can sit at my PC, look through my Steam library for ages, and still not want to play anything. Even gaming and game development, which I used to really enjoy, don't excite me like they used to.

I've been feeling sad and low on energy for a long time, and I miss being able to get on my PC and genuinely enjoy myself.

I don't necessarily want a list of new games to play. I just want to feel that excitement again.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did the enjoyment eventually come back for you? I'd really appreciate hearing from people who understand.

There are people saying that if you play lot of video games and love video games, you should be able to take advantage of it and become a programmer to make games, or maybe be a youtuber, get into e-sports, or analyze video game mechanics like a scholar, like it doesn't work like that... most of us just simply consume video game not actually be productive.

Hi, like the tittle says I have a LoL addiction problem. It’s not that bad has like i’m not working or skipping sleep just to play it but everytime i have time to play a video game it’s the one that I choose to play.

I can play it like 2-3 hours a day in week day and 5-6 hours a day in the week end, but i have 0 fun playing it… everytime I queue up I know i’m gonna be matched with people going 0-18, inting, flamming my ass because i’m a shit jungle etc etc

But I don’t know why I keep queuing this game even with a positive win rate of 53% i’m not climbing and yet i’m still out there queuing game without having fun at all, i watch shit tons of videos on how to improve knowing perfectly it wont do shit and yet when i have time for a game I hop on league to be mad for 30 minutes

I dont wanna stop playing video games because it’s not really an issue I just want solution on how to quit this trap game, I know I could simply just open another game but my brain is acting like it’s not gonna be as fun, but the games are not fun neither

What can I do, even if I uninstall it’s gonna take 3 minutes to reinstall

So I've been playing LoL for 6 months, like 10 hours a day. A week ago I was finally able to stop, and only played one night Friday. But now I'm having constant brain fog and I'm finding myself unable to work and sleep properly, even though I eat fine, and try my best to exercise everyday. Is that common when quitting gaming?

I really don't want to relapse and go on with my life, and have a purpose like I did before. But now do I even have a life anymore?

I have a few kinda loser friends who have no work or education. I buy every COD but just play it from here and there. I was very addicted to COD when i was younger. But we started playing and it was like crack. We played for 10 hours a day for weeks, months. I only had college but my grades suffered. I stopped working because i wanted to play COD. I played for 12 hours a day, for 2 weeks to get a special camo. I gained weight, my hands and fingers started hurting and we joked around that we entered a sort of psychoses. COD is really dangerous, especially if you’re new to it.

Ok, so I'm addicted to gaming and just sort of coming to terms with it right now. I know it's not healthy for me. I try to not play but every single time I end up getting completely sucked into a new game I play. With this semester of college it's happened 3 times already, I'll find a new game, get absorbed and lose a whole day to it, uninstall it then the cycle repeats. I don't know how to stop it at this point so now this is my last ditch effort.

Part of the reason I keep doing this is because when I do cardio I find if I play a game on the treadmill at a 15 degree incline at 3-3.5 mph I can just get completely absorbed and forget I'm even on the treadmill. So that acts as motivation to reinstall a new game telling myself I'll only play it when doing cardio, but then I don't and it sucks, and even when Im not playing some of these games I'll just think about them all day, especially with strategy games, it just takes up so much or my mind.

Does anyone have any tips on what to do here?

I quit for a long while and only play during vacations where nothing in my life is urgent. What I realised lately is the fact that when I completely quit playing video games, I have a lot more free time to do many things, especially contemplating my current position in life. I admit that the way I spend my time is a lot more healthier rn, but the fact that Im a lot more just to myself now, can lead to some bad feelings. About what I could have done and what should I do and that I'm not doing/did enough.

Is there anybody who had similar feelings?

Hey guys. I’m 28, been playing games since I was 5. I have a very successful business, girlfriend, I’m pretty good shape, and am generally doing well in life. However, I’m quite miserable.

Most of my weeks look like this: M-F working during the day then gaming at night. Saturday and Sunday, occasional social activity or gaming. If I start my Saturday or Sunday with gaming, it’s all I’m going to do all day long. I feel like I have little desire to do other things besides play games. My main game is league of legends. Couple questions:

1. I feel like I can play certain games, like rainbow six siege, and not be addicted. I can play a few rounds then get on with my day. Is it all or nothing for you guys or just certain games you have to avoid?

2. I am unhappy with regular life and avoid doing social activities because it takes away from gaming. Have you seen this feeling change after you quit?

3. How has your general mood changed since quitting? I think I get grumpy if I can’t game and kind of frustrated

I want to say a big thank you to this subreddit. Reading other people’s stories about their partners’ gaming addiction made me realize that I’m not alone, that there’s nothing wrong with me, and that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fix things on my own.

I want to wish everyone who feels lonely in a relationship with someone struggling with gaming addiction the strength to choose their own happiness and find the love and relationship they truly deserve. ❤️

And if anyone needs someone to talk to who understands what you’re going through, please feel free to DM me. Sometimes, just knowing that someone understands can make a huge difference. ❤️

My prev. posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/StopGaming/comments/1xb5cq0/update_we_broke_up_are_games_really_worth_it/

https://www.reddit.com/r/StopGaming/comments/1qe1dyx/i_dont_understand_my_bf_addiction/

I've been gaming almost my entire life and have racked up 20,000 hours on almost 20 years of being on this planet. I feel so far behind others, mentally I'm just so depressed by everything and nothing feels important anymore. Physically I am underweight, my hygiene is absolute shit, I'm having so many health issues, and even education wise I am facing the fact that I have to repeat my first year at university for a third time, I want to quit and improve my life but every step I take feels like walking through quicksand.

I don't know where else to post this. I used to have a gaming addiction when I was younger but life made it too hard to keep up with that so it hasn't been an issue for a while. The issue is that all of my friends have always played games and it is very very difficult to talk to them about anything besides games. I've been feeling lonely for the past 3 years and I always tried to ignore it because I am not alone, I have plenty of friends. I've started to realize that I probably felt that way because it is very very difficult to talk to anything with them that isn't about games. Has anyone else been through this type of situation and if anyone has can they give me some type of advice

The problem is you!

What helped me: get a notebook (out of paper). And write everything in it. Create your own system of friction. Figure it out by yourself. In the end no one can advise the way you can advise yourself. But for this you need time to think. This will stop addictive behavior.

I still have a gaming pc and ps5 in my room. But it is forgotten and veiled by an evergrowing layer of dust because i find it way less fun then writing, thinking and developing.

This is my last post here as i will leave reddit. Reddit is just too boring and i dont like people and their behavior here.

Be well.

I’m just going to be listing out the main issues with this game, but will not be naming it.

1. My friends and family have told me I’ve been addicted on many occasions.

2. It is the only game I play, but I will play other games if it’s with a friend/if I’m not feeling like playing my main one.

3. I’ve been playing it for one year, collected around 98% of the cosmetics and play at least once a week.

4. It’s my comfort game, which I believe made my loved ones call me addicted. I have relatively bad anxiety, and this game just takes that feeling away.

5. It does not get in the way of my schoolwork, as I have straight-As, play sports, and currently participating in a school club.

I don’t believe I’m addicted, as I can stop playing when I want to… The only exception is for events, like right now— but I’m just a collector, and enjoy playing the game. Does that make me an addict?

I’m probably overthinking this but I think my quality of life would be much better if I didn’t play or played less video games. I was looking at my bank account and I said to myself “Huh, where did all my money go?” I realized that most of my money went to buying games that I wouldn’t even play. Honestly, it feels like an impulse. I’ll buy a game, play it for a few mins or hours then never touch it again, the cycle repeats.

I see myself as a lazy person. I know what I need to do to get myself to higher pay or better-paying jobs but I don’t follow through on it, I almost never do. But I can park my ass and play through 100 hours of BG3 or grind endlessly in PoE2. I even neglect going to the gym after work because I’m “tried” but I’m never tired enough to boot up deadlock with the boys.

I have to sit here and wonder, would my life be a bit better if I didn’t play as many video games if not at all? I feel grimy thinking about how me, a 25 year old clock in over 20 hours a week playing games but can’t spend an hour studying for certifications.