Gaming Addiction

In your own mind you can be whoever or whatever you want. This is one of the reasons why video gaming has become so popular. It's a way out. I love it so much. Many of us do!

But it can take over your life. You think 200+ hours on a single title is a lot? Put another zero on that and then another one after that...

Video games are addictive by design and on purpose. For most of us it's a pastime and not a way of life, but when it does become a way of life and you're no longer advancing in any meaningful or spiritual way, this can lead to depression because you're no longer achieving what you really want.

There are many instances where gaming is a god-send, stuck at home, disabled, caring, unable or unwilling to go out, but millions of others where it isn't good at all.

Especially when you become a committed grinder.

Every video game addict has been there, the voice in the back of their head saying get off it now, but they can't.

You don’t have to be an athlete, create anything special with your hands, have bundles of social flair or assets to be noticed in public. As long as you're improving in some way you're on the right track, so keep on pushing through the ups and downs to have a brighter future that's acceptable on your own terms and not on anyone else's.

If you have something mildly interesting to say and a single person connects to you and says, I feel you, this is an achievement. Gaming can help people connect, express themselves, feel better and get more involved. It can be a great social life!

However, gaming can also consume your life and give very little back in return.

My personal journey has been one of reluctant acceptance that I am unable to let go, walk away, put down the controller or swipe away the app. Life being consumed by someone else's vision or goal. The marketing geniuses with their claws firmly in and not letting loose.

Maybe you feel the same way about social media?

If you're having a similar struggle with gaming, it's possible to achieve a better quality of life by being honest and genuine with yourself. Try to be non-judgmental about your habits, but self-confessional with the least amount of pride and ego. Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself some questions:

• Do I spend too much time gaming?

• Is it making me happy long-term?

• Do I sometimes feel like my life is slipping away?

• Do I play games even when I don't really want to?

• Do I grind at all. Or all the time?

• Do I repeat the same things over and over again?

• Is it becominig an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)?

• Do I feel angry and frustrated for never having enough spare time?
  

If any of these questions ring a bell to you, it's possible you have an unwanted gaming addiction and would like to get some control back.

Start by confessing to yourself that you maybe have a minor addiction problem. Or perhaps an over-indulgence or mild OCD issue. Could it be superstition, or a psychological way of saying you need to do minor and repetitive things before getting on with the basics, which stops you in your tracks before you get started?

You know the answer already, uninstall the game or don't turn it on in the first place, but wow that is hard! Like any form of addiction, saying no or not right now is really difficult.

But you can do it once you realize it's not giving back and consuming your life like a repeat YouTube video.

My personal experience of video game addiction has been an emotional, dark and sometimes depressing one, best described as a cathartic journey to try and rid myself of the burden and try and help other people who are going through the same experience.

That gutted feeling that you should be doing anything other than this, but can't stop yourself.

If gaming has become an unwanted habit and you spend too much at it, be honest, admit it's a minor flaw and start to face up to it.

Video gaming is entertaining, let's face it. You feel extraordinary, powerful even. But when it consumes your real life, takes hold and becomes an addiction, it leads to depression, anger and that gutted feeling that maybe there's something more to life than this?

And life is hard work if you want anything valuable from it.

If too much gaming makes you feel pessimistic, cynical and thinking the worst about other people, maybe it’s a cyclical addictive trap. Being baited by the carrot and feeling like a dumb mule. You're hooked into a resentful cycle. Life is often amazing and people are incredible too, which is sometimes hard to fully grasp because you're caught up in confusing self-immersion.

If you can be honest with yourself, take one step slowly back and admit that maybe you've not got it right this minute, this is the road to getting out of a potentially dangerous rut and to becoming a person with more control of their life and hopefully a better person to know. A person closer to achieving their own goals at overcoming addiction and depression.

Richard Alex