camerondare

cant wait to use this

Great breakdown. Would be interesting to see over the next month what the churn is on your new followers from the giveaway.

A single yes to one question isn't necessarily indicative of a problem - it's the combination (for the DSM proposed criteria it's 5 or more of 9) that creates the pattern and may show a problem. These questions are from the Gentile Scale of Internet Gaming Disorder (published in the APA) with a few adjustments based on other research (such as King's paper on Tolerance.)

It's certainly a valid concern and something I think is always worth being in the discussion. Personally the way we've navigated this is making sure you don't (need) any of the paid programs to succeed - all of the help and more is available either for free on youtube or with peer support on the forums. The paid programs are only a curated version of the content with a few bonuses like extra worksheets.

That worked for my brother too. Just kind of grew out of it when he went to university and got a girlfriend. Glad you're doing well. :)

WoW was really tough for me to break away from - it was pretty much a 'second life'.

Was there anything particular that helped you quit when you decided to?

Amazing to hear your story bro. Thanks for sharing it.

Hi HN! I am a former video game addict who searched for help online and found none. When I shared my story in a blog post I heard from thousands of others asking for help, and decided to create a community for all of us to support each other: Game Quitters.

We have hundreds of resources, inspiring stories, free tools to find new hobbies, and community support. 99% of the website is free with a few reasonable paid programs with structured step-by-step guides and additional bonuses.

Happy to answer any questions you may have. :)

Escapism is a big part of it, and also the heightened level of stimulation (immersion) you get from games. Overall games fulfill our emotional needs (to escape, to socialize, to see measurable progress, and to feel a sense of purpose) much better (seamlessly) and easier than 'real life', which is why you can find yourself gaming more and more and more. The level of safety and control is also a big part of it.

Anyways if you're looking for help we have a ton of support for you on the site. Happy to answer any questions you have.

Thanks for reading. Gaming is a very common substitute for social interaction - for me as someone with social anxiety it was easier to just stay home and 'socialize' online then to go out and meet other people, but that only left me more isolated and depressed. Getting out and interacting with other people has helped me more since I've quit.

Glad you're doing well! :) Would be happy to share your story on the website if you feel inclined to share: http://gamequitters.com/submit

The difference between a passion and an addiction begins with the negative impact (the thing) is having in your life. The World Health Organization has an official criteria for a "Gaming Disorder" which you can find here: http://who.int/features/qa/gaming-disorder/en

If someone is gaming and their life is fine, then it's no problem, but if they are failing school, dropping out of college, struggling to keep a job, or getting divorced, amongst other negative factors, then it's something they should be able to seek professional help for, and removing gaming for a 90 day period (what I personally recommend) has been shown to help immensely as a 'reset'.

Thanks Channing for sharing my interview here.

Hi everyone, my name is Cam and I'm the founder of Game Quitters - the website profiled here.

If you have any questions let me know.