Computer Gaming Addiction: How I Beat It!!

I've personally struggled with computer game addiction. This is my story of how I overcame it, and how you can to. Best of luck to those struggling with it - Josh

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00:00 – My Computer Game Addiction
01:38 – Understanding Computer Game Addiction
07:01 – Strategies for Fighting the Addiction
07:58 – Establishing Life Goals
08:54 – Controlling Game Time
09:36 – Seeing the Big Picture
10:06 – Helping Others with a Gaming Addiction
10:48 - Conclusion

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#ComputerGame #GamingAddiction #Gaming

[JarrodsTech]

Between 2002 and 2018, I put over 20, 000 hours into Runescape. It's no coincidence that my channel and health really started building momentum after I stopped. Ultimately I decided I'd rather level up in a game that matters more, life.

[TheChaoskg]

And here's me sitting and thinking about how to find the time and energy to play video games more often..

[omsingh]

I was so happy when you said its a choice. I keep getting told by everyone around me to not game or watch anime but I love doing it. Thanks

[wbest]

This is a great video format. Very sincere, vulnerable but also solution oriented. I have had computer game addiction in phases, but it's def. a different angle of it. Your focus on winning the rounds is something I don't recognize. I would play more for the sake of playing and not care too much about the result.
I also had similar experience with social media and reading news. But never had that with substances. Always felt ok to quit or take longer breaks. The best way to not play now I think is to not have access to a PC or Console. Mainly working on a mac actually massively helps. Thanks for sharing your story. :)

[koreanfriedchickenguy]

Thanks for sharing this story, Josh. I never thought I'd be able to relate to this kind of thing, but for 9 months I was playing a gacha game during the pandemic in fall 2020. At first, it really helped distract me from a lot of the bad things going on in the world. Life was stressful, the political climate wasn't looking great—and various personal matters were making things worse. Over time, I was lucky to have developed a more positive outlook for what the future held, but I never stopped playing this game. It became a habitual routine I'd developed as a distraction to a grimmer reality. And even when that reality started to look better, I didn't quite realize I didn't need this game anymore. I kept playing it, but I began resenting it more.

"Why does it take so dang long to acquire X item/character? When is the next update of content? This game is just a money sink!"

I wasn't having fun with the game anymore, and my real life activities were more fun. Despite this, I'd still pause my real life activities to take care of things in this game. I played this game daily without a miss for 9 months straight. I'd have to login to perform my daily tasks, and sometimes that would require logging in multiple times because they designed certain tasks to refresh at different times of the day. And because I played it so religiously, I'd basically be missing out on some resources if I wasn't on schedule. I literally had reminders set up to login and do these tasks.

What finally got me to quit was when I bought another game I'd really wanted to play when it was on sale. I gave it a try and started having genuine fun and enjoying the story and characters. But when my scheduled reminders would go off, they'd tear me away from a game that I was having fun with—in exchange for a game that felt like a dreadful full-time job. And when I had that realization of how miserable it was making me, I immediately uninstalled the game everywhere I had it. In fact, I had resources I still hadn't collected (but paid for), and I also spent so much time creating such great characters and stats. That sunk-cost fallacy popped into my head right when I was about to uninstall it. But I reminded myself that it I keep letting those things dangle over my head, I won't ever let go of my addiction. So I went cold turkey.

The problem wasn't solely the game—there are plenty of people who play it casually. But I did not. I used that game as an outlet for other things in my life, and eventually I became addicted to what it originally made me feel, and as life changed outside of that game, I kept lingering on that honeymoon feeling I'd once had that with it. It was definitely better that I let it go in the end.

[dmsNdmsE]

Breaking your addiction will also make your mother very proud

[NeedyChris]

I have been playing video games since I was a little kid so I've always been passionate about them. I used to play World of Warcraft when I was like 9 or 10 years old and I was completely addicted to it. In my late teens, I was really into CoD and Fifa (the most toxic games lol). I'd play every day for minimum 3-4 hours. A lot of times I'd get less than 5 hours of sleep during school days and I'd be extremely tired. I don't even know how I managed getting above average grades since I almost never studied for anything.

I only slowed down playing videogames once I got into University and the only reason is that I became way more social and started prioritising partying and going out more. Eventually, I could go for weeks without playing anything. Now-a-days I'm even trying to get back into gaming and I'm struggling to play for more than an hour without quitting and doing something else. I must admit that I missed a lot of the popular games like Fortnite and League of Legends on purpose because I'm scared of getting addicted. I have never played them and probably never will because I know how addictive they are and given my past I don't want to risk it. It's the reason why today I mostly play single player games whereas in the past I only played multiplayer.

It's also the best advice I can give to those struggling with video game addiction - if you are addicted to multiplayer games, try and transition to single player. You are more likely to decrease your playing time because single player games are less "grindy" and you don't feel the pressure of playing with others and having to perform all the time.

[MT-rygv]

That was so personal and reflected! I loved that type of video. Im impressed and proud of you admitting your addiction and all the ugliness that comes with it! ❤

[nananikinas]

moving to a mac has helped a bit since less games are available, and also getting a console to separate gaming from work helps create more manageable barriers for casuals

[bartbroekhuizen]

Thanks for this reflection! Clears my mind. One thing i think game publishers should do is reward people to take a break, not only encourage. In the case of League of Legends, i've some IP if you take a break from a 2 - 3 game sessions in a row. That way you can think and rethink your priorities of real life.

[AjayKumar-hhhx]

Thank you for this video, Josh. :) I believe your advice can be applied to procrastination in general and a few other forms of addiction.

[alant.]

Hey Josh, I was addicted to video games too, and would spend entire days playing league. Things spiraled and I eventually dropped out of university due to failing all of my classes. Fortunately, my family was very supportive and was there for me when I needed it. Since then, I'm doing much better. I stopped games cold turkey, and have kept it up because that moment when I came clean to my parents was the worst feeling in my life, knowing that I failed what should've been an easy road that was handed to me.

With games no longer in my life, it's given me a chance to reflect on how much of my life it had consumed. Now I have so much time for exercise and other skills. I can play music now. If I had to compare my life to back then, I could say that now I am a little bit happier. Back then, I was a prisoner to myself. You're right that even though I had life goals, I couldn't DO what I wanted because of games.

Thanks for this video Josh, means a lot to me.

[notfunny]

The thing you said about when it is an addiction really resonated with me.

I'm tired of playing games in order to get something in it, aka grinding.

I'm trying to only play games that I actually genuinely enjoy, and make me happier afterwards.

Good luck to everyone else who is having trouble managing their time.

[atreusduvelll]

Thanks for your tips and vulnerability here Josh. It’s refreshing in this day and age. I have struggled with a video game addiction in the past and it was definitely a dark period in my life. I still play, but avoid the games that aggravate me and cause the cycle to re-emerge

[muthukumaranc]

I love these types of videos. I always learn something from it. Thanks for making valuable content like this!

[thegamevids]

Hey Josh, former dota addict here, been watching your videos for a while. I think in general I like to agree with what you're saying, even I broke a dota addiction after realizing how it made me feel but there are a few points I'd like to address. Firstly, yes, video games can be an escape for a lot of people. You mentioned that if you're using it to escape, focus on addressing the issues in your life making you want to escape in the first place. However, for a lot of people, that straight up might be impossible. Maybe you're in a terrible economic situation that you can't do anything about, maybe you're in an abusive household with parents that argue all the time and you can't do anything about it so you play video games instead. While I don't think this justifies addiction, it makes it understandable why people develop it, and I don't think people should be belittled because of it.

Secondly, while success is obviously a good thing, promoting the mindset that if you're unsuccessful, you're a loser is also an unhealthy mindset. There's nothing wrong with wanting to play video games with your life. While we can argue about what makes a life fulfilling, if someone does want to play video games all day and does find enjoyment in that, who are you to tell them what they should and shouldn't be doing with their lives as long as it doesn't impact other people? I do think the mindset society promotes about becoming the best individual you become can in it of itself promote a lifestyle of depression because if you don't work towards that, then you're seen as a loser.

But regardless, I think the video is great and makes me like you much more as a content creator. However, I also do think that the advice that worked for yourself might be taken the wrong way by others.

[MoChuang]

This was an amazing video!! I love the laptop reviews but I also love it when influencers can openly make content like this and share. Thank you so much.

[tc]

Thank you for making this video. I get sucked into competitive video games if I play them. Your video gets to the heart of the issue. I will share this video.

[retroluminico]

Among all the incredible content of this channel this might be the most valuable off all. Thanks for your sincerity and time

[Isdale]

LoL is one of the most horrifically tilting games, it seems like almost everyone who plays it is in a shitty mood and deep down hate the game.