How to overcome gaming addiction?

[amitkokiladitya]

Most of us face this phase of gaming addiction sometimes or the other. There are times when we get so obsessed with a game that we cannot think about anything else.

Gaming it good until it is done for fun. But as soon as it starts overpowering the mind and the soul it starts affecting the physical and mental well-being.

What are the steps that can be taken so as to overcome this addiction?

 

[lindbergh]

Hey there. I used to play video games for long periods of time every day. But I managed to get over that habit. Here's what I did - I kept myself busy with other things like:
-Going out with friends and partying with them
-Keeping myself busy by taking care of my dog
-watching k drama
-getting a job
-gardening
-learning new stuff like cooking, swimming, etc.
-going on an out of town adventure.

There are lots of ways. The only hindrance is yourself.

 

[amitkokiladitya]

Hey there. I used to play video games for long periods of time every day. But I managed to get over that habit. Here's what I did - I kept myself busy with other things like:
-Going out with friends and partying with them
-Keeping myself busy by taking care of my dog
-watching k drama
-getting a job
-gardening
-learning new stuff like cooking, swimming, etc.
-going on an out of town adventure.

There are lots of ways. The only hindrance is yourself.

I agree it all lies within ourselves only. A strong will power with strict determination can really help to overcome this addiction. Keeping ourselves involved in different activities is the best resort. But still, nothing can work without self control.

 

[giovanniiiii]

I consider mine not to be an addiction but part of my daily life, although if you mean if how one can control his gaming urges, I recommend actually just going out for a walk and try to think what to do from there. I always think about responsibilities to restrain myself from playing too much. Also one should try thinking of the good consequences of gaming too much compared to doing something productive instead.

 

[peachpurple]

My 10 year old son was addicted to PC game that he refused to have meals regularly, take shower or complete his homework. I had to stop his game addiction. So, I gave him a stern warning that he has to take his lunch , do his homework and take a shower before he starts playing PC game. In addition, I put an alarm that allows him to play 1 hour. If he exceeds the time, I will punish him the next day by not allowing him to play the whole day. He stopped the game addiction.

 

[fishmonk]

I find it important to acknowledge the addiction as a problem.
In order to overcome this addiction, my advice is to focus more time on other areas of your life.
I overcame my addiction by hanging out with my friends more in non-gaming activities.
I also found that getting a new healthy hobby would be great.
Going for long walks or jogs is great for relaxation. Otherwise, you can learn new skills like dancing, painting, or even cooking.
Having more activities meant less time for me to spend on gaming.
It is essential to be disciplined and stick to your plans.Otherwise, it will be hard to conquer this addiction problem.

 

[streettallest]

I agree it all lies within ourselves only. A strong will power with strict determination can really help to overcome this addiction. Keeping ourselves involved in different activities is the best resort. But still, nothing can work without self control.

This is so true with any type of addiction. Although I have not been addicted to playing video games, I was once addicted to watching the TV. But I was able to overcome it by going for more outings and getting new friends, coupled with the will power. Because at times you may not feel like doing the right thing, but its your will power that will keep you going.

 

[valy]

This is a gaming forum and I guess that most of us are gaming addict. It is really hard to overcome any addiction without any outside help. I don't have a diploma in this to know that some of the steps that can be taken to overcome this addiction are:
Keep your self-busy doing something
Spend most of your spare time out of the house with your friends or family
Always seek to have an occupation
Try to keep your PC shut off most of the time

 

[Denis_P]

Overcoming any type of addiction usually comes with the same instructions. Obviously it's important to first admit that one does in fact have an addiction and that it is getting in the way of them leading a normal life. Then, they have to want to be rid of it a become better. Staying away from gaming thankfully doesn't involve the same physical consequences that withdrawing from drugs or alcohol does, but it still takes an equal amount of mental discipline. One needs to keep themselves distracted through positive means such as a hobby, work, traveling, or connecting with friends and family. Eventually, old habits will fade.

 

[gamergal]

I do these to overcome my gaming addiction:

* First and foremost, spend more time with your friends and family. Yeah, it's important to play games. But it is also important to spend more time with your family and buddies than sitting in front of your consoles or PCs. We are humans not machines. We are meant to interact socially. So we should engage more in social interactions than gaming or virtual interactions.

* Join a social club. Like interacting with friends is important, so is joining with a favorite sports club or social club. Sports develop our whole body; games, yeah our reflexes and our brains. But still outdoor activities are important. Joining in a social club helps in our overall development.

*Engage in an activity. Any activity or hobby can prove useful to get rid of addiction. I engage in mangas, art and craft, cooking, reading, writing, blogging and many more activities to overcome addiction.

That's all. Not impossible tasks, are they?

 

[thart]

It's a bit hard to overcome addiction, but you have to control it and don't make it you first priority, in the past i was playing all day and i ignored everything, my food, study... but after that i told to myself that it's so bad to keep this way, and since that time i play only in my free time for a limited period.

 

[arachnophobik]

I think what really made me get over my addiction is when I broke my device. And recently as I was being addicted to PC gaming, I then got hassled by college studies and failing grades, so I think that was the turning point for me in a way as I was supposed to graduate this year but ended up being delayed for a year simply because I failed most of my subjects do to gaming addiction.

 

[Pixie06]

It can be so difficult to overcome this addiction. There are many ways to get rid of this addiction but it takes a lot of time. If someone really want to let go of this addiction he must try his best to stick to this decision and prevent himself from getting influenced. A good way is get involved in other activities like gardening, crafting or cooking. If the mind is busy somewhere else then the person will not think too much about gaming. Even I used to be addicted to gaming but ever since I started working I don't really play as much as I used to before. I usually feel tired when returning from work and at times I want to rest instead of playing games.

 

[fireball916]

The will to overcome addiction of any kind has to come from within. When I need to take a break from gaming I find it's best to find ways to distract yourself by finding a new or different hobby. I like to go for a jog and see if I can improve my mile time or go for a longer walk with my dog. If you have the time find some new recipes you might enjoy and cook a nice meal for yourself or for your family. It's difficult to break an addition but if you put in the work and have some determination you can do it. It gets easier the longer you keep with it.

 

[BatmanWayne]

Well, I think that the people can overcome the game addiction easily, they just have to hang out with their friends, I haven't been there, I like to play games but I haven't been addicted to a game, but I have friends that have done that, they stay several days in their houses, just playing, we (my friends and I) had to their houses and took them to hang out and relax, this can be addictive as a drug.

 

[reginafalange]

I know a person addicted to games and their family tried to help by assigning more things to do, telling them to focus on studying etc. It's better to go somewhere where there's no access to computer or games (and not take a laptop with you!) so you can't play the games anyway.

 

[Pink_Turtle]

My 10 year old son was addicted to PC game that he refused to have meals regularly, take shower or complete his homework. I had to stop his game addiction. So, I gave him a stern warning that he has to take his lunch , do his homework and take a shower before he starts playing PC game. In addition, I put an alarm that allows him to play 1 hour. If he exceeds the time, I will punish him the next day by not allowing him to play the whole day. He stopped the game addiction.

I agree with this! we can let our kids become addicted to gaming and disregard other important activities for they grown. As “mean” as it “sounds” you did well. They also need to interact with other children in the outside world. I have meet teens with serious problems because their parents didn’t realize they were becoming addicted to gaming until it was too late to control. After all when they are older is hardest to make them listen.

 

[Soulwatcher]

Well I will be the first to tell you that your never going to overcome a gaming addiction until you're ready. You have to really want it or you're just going to relapse. You first step is to try not to game for a week and see how that goes. Then two weeks and finally 4 weeks. And if you can make it 4 weeks without gaming then your ready to sell your gaming devices and games.

Don't bother trying to sell everything without trying to not play for a month. Because your just going to go out and buy everything new again. ANd don't bother trying to stay away from gaming websites. Because the first second you go on a gaming website and see a game you really want you're going to relapse.

You have to really make sure you're mentally strong to be able to quit gaming. It took me 3 years to get to the point of my life where I can go days without gaming and only game 1~3hrs a day. And if you feel like you need professional help then you need to go to a gaming rehab center.

 

[Jameson]

Well one step one could take to overcome gaming addiction is through systematic desensitization.You can do this by reducing the number of hours you spend on gaming in a systematic way.

 

[amitkokiladitya]

This is so true with any type of addiction. Although I have not been addicted to playing video games, I was once addicted to watching the TV. But I was able to overcome it by going for more outings and getting new friends, coupled with the will power. Because at times you may not feel like doing the right thing, but its your will power that will keep you going.

A strong will power is the only element that helps us to achieve what we want in life. Be it like adapting a new lifestyle or getting rid of nay addiction a strong will power always helps.