How I did it: I've always played video games. I started playing when I was really, really young. It wasn't a problem that I spent hours and hours playing, because, after all, I was a kid. Kids are supposed to play, right? Also, I lived in an extended family that argued a lot, so nobody really blamed me for wanting to avoid everyone and escape into my own mind and virtual worlds. It was really an addiction, a way to zone out. Video games never made me happy. They were never "Fun" for me. It was about achievement and escapism.  As I got older, I did other, more productive things, but video games remained a security blanket for me. Whenever things got bad, I went back to playing. Sometimes up to 14 hours a day, or five to nine hours a day for weeks on end. Real life terrified me, and because I never confronted that truth, I never personally developed past the little girl afraid of her arguing family. Now when I try to rationalize game-playing by thinking, "Oh, well, I've earned at least a little bit of play time, right? Just a couple hours....just the weekend, right?" I know this motive is not one that will bring joy or fun into my life, but rather, a slip back into bad habits.

Lessons & tips: Recognize whether your desire to stop playing video games is simply to increase productivity or practice other activities outside of the house, OR whether it's to beat an addiction or a method of procrastination.

Resources: After ending membership to a popular MMORPG I played, I used a Mozilla Firefox addon called "FoxFilter" to block websites where I used to go to buy or play games. That way, if I start to slip, I'll get a gentle reminder that it's a bad idea.

Oct 24, 2008, 02:21PM PDT | 0 comments | 2 cheers