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i (26f) live with my (25m) boyfriend. my boyfriend is a very sweet and caring person and i love hanging out and spending time with him. we both want to have a family together. but him playing video games every night makes me feel isolated and invisible to him. i feel like he can't get away from me fast enough to get to his games, and i don't know if this is something i can handle long term every evening up until the morning he is playing video games with his brother. this bothers me and i can't tell if i'm being irrational. we do spend time in the day together, and we do go on date nights once every couple of weeks. but i'd like to have some companionship in the evenings. i'd like to be able to make dinner with him at night, but he hops on the game in the early evening without a word while i am left alone cooking and cleaning. it also bothers me when it's the middle of the night and im awoken to him yelling at his game, or him finally coming to bed at 2am. and he doesn't even wake up until 12. this is effecting his brother too, who he plays with at night. his brother has to do school at home but is struggling because he doesn't go to bed until early in the morning and wakes up late in the afternoon. i told my boyfriend that his actions have causation to this, and him staying up late with his brother isn't helping either of them. but he says "he will stay up late anyway" and "thats his problem, not mine"

this has been an ongoing issue for me for well over a year, and i can't tell if i am asking too much or trying to be controlling over his life. i don't even ask him to quit games completely! whenever he does talk to me before hopping on the game, i tell him to go have fun but to also just acknowledge my existence every couple of hours and try to come to bed before midnight.

i brought this up to him, saying i don't think it is healthy for his sleeping habits but he says he will stay up late regardless because he's a night person. he also said i can't expect to have every single waking moment with him, and he is spending time with his brother and i'm trying to take it away from him. he also argues that he is gaming, not going out to the bars. i asked him if this is the lifestyle he is going to have forever, and if we were to have a family is he going to be able to step away from the game to help with things at night and in the mornings.. he said that this is the lifestyle he is going to have forever and "maybe you should find someone who is a morning person"

so, i don't know what to do. this has been an issue for me for well over a year and he knows it bothers me but he doesn't seem to actively be doing anything to change it. but i can't tell if i'm being insecure and irrational over this. am i being too controllling? should i just accept that this is his routine, and his life, and i need to focus more on my own? i want to be with this person, but i don't know how to cope with this being his life every night for the rest of his life. i need someone to tell me if my feelings are valid or if i am potentially ruining what is otherwise a good relationship out of insecurities.

Hi everybody, I want to get ride of Lol for ever. I spend waaaaay to much Time on it and I am total addict. I want to delete it but can't have access to my email so Riot don't want to. Also the 30 day of rétractation can be source of temptation of course. If anybody can remove my access (change the mail and use it, delete it, ban it, whatever you want) I would be very grateful ! Thanks 🙌🏼

I started gaming with my school friends when I was 13. We used to go to LAN cafes to play CS and DOTA and although the moments I spent with my friends were some of the most fun moments of my life, I regret how my life has turned out. I had to move to a different city after a little while and in order to get the same high that I used to get during those times, I started solo queuing till the long hours of the night. And then COVID just amplified those habits.

Fast forward, I am currently jobless and just came out of a long fought addiction with DOTA 2. All my friends that I used to play with have settled down and have moved on with their own lives. Although I had realized very early that gaming for me is bad but just I couldn't stop. Just one more game or I can't end my night on a loss. It was as though I was just drowning with the sun getting dimmer the more I drowned. I had uninstalled and reinstalled STEAM more that 20 times within these 3 years. I was miserable.

But my parents saved me. We had a long conversation about our future and what dreams they had for me when I was a kid and just like that I left gaming. Although the first few days were hard, I replaced gaming with the Gym and other forms of media and although I am jobless right now but I am preparing for an interview.

I used to be a lurker on this sub but some of the stories of people here resonated with my own and I wish you all the best. Even though most of start gaming with friends we end up alone at the end. We fight and fight hoping for something magical to happen and we just stop but it never does. We relapse again and again just for a chance but please seek help from your close friends and family. It doesn't have to be this way. We are all fighting this addiction together and I wish you all the best.

The last game of DOTA I played was in August 24 and I hope I can continue the streak. Wishing you guys all the best.

TLDR: Seek help from close friends and family

Sign up for StopGaming's December 2024 here! Or share your on-going accomplishment!

Hey everyone! Welcome to the official sign-up thread for StopGaming’s December 2024!

Use this thread to share your commitment to abstain from playing video games for the entire month of December 2024.

New to StopGaming?

• Need help to quit gaming? Read our quick start guide. Learn about compulsive gaming and video game addiction by reading through StopGaming, the Game Quitters website and consider attending meetings through CGAA.
• If you are committed to your 90 day detox, sign up for this month by replying to this submission.
• To track your progress setup a badge. We also recommend using an app like Coach.me or a whiteboard/calendar in your room.
• Document your progress in a daily journal. Having a daily journal will help you clarify your thoughts, process your experience and gain extra support.
• Ask questions and get support by posting on StopGaming. The more involved you can be in the community, the more likely you are to succeed. We also have an online chat.
• We have added an option to get an accountability partner this month. Post your own thread hereand find an accountability partner.

Ready to join? Reply to this thread and answer the following:

• What is your commitment? No games? No streams? Anything else?
• How long do you want this challenge to last? By default it is one month, but 90 days is recommended for your detox.
• What are your goals?

when you feel the urge to play what do you to get your mind off of it? does talking through it help at all?

I have a close friend who i've been trying to help for years to varying degrees of success. I want to give him some type of guided structure thats psychologically effective and I noticed that many people keep daily addiction journals.

for context i've been a gamer my whole life but have never struggled with addiction and barely play games anymore (although I did used to play league a lot lol)

I thought that when I quit gaming my life would suddenly become much better, like flowers blooming everywhere I walk. I know that I am learning to process real life and real emotions and that this will take time but it's becoming overwhelming. People here suggested outdoors exercise and new habits which do help, but I don't think I can live much longer this way, whether relapse or worse. Self-doubt, Bad thoughts against people that love me, feeling lost, no incentive to yap... You know the usual depression stuff but this is the first time the pressure has built up so much. The worst thing is I have no hope left of escaping it. Can I get some help?

[Note: This has been going on for 1 week]

Hey everyone. I want to quit gaming but I'm addicted to gaming. Specifically, I'm addicted to Age of Empires II. So, a game so old that you can run it on a potato. Any suggestions on a laptop that won't run any video games AT ALL? I'm the kind of idiot who spent $250 on a flip phone and $600 for a Freewrite "typewriter." So, I'm willing to hear all options... as long as they don't involve self-control.

(19M) College was taking all my time the last few weeks (had more classes and homework than usual) , a couple days ago i had some time left i wanted to play a game that i never finished and always wanted to play ,

The game is elden ring my friend copied the game files to my hdd , and i started playing , it felt very overwhelming , once i stepped in limgrave i was like nah that's too much , but i still played , fought the first 3 main bosses (margit , godrick ,renalla) and decided to stop right before Radhan

Once you experience life without these escapes , you realize there's more to it , to the level that you don't even have to cope

As a former gamer , now i prefer a long walk over a gaming session no matter how short or long that session is

The gym is good too but i Always go to the gym even when i was a gamer who plays all day

Having nothing to do in itself will lead you back to gaming , so you gotta replace it with what seems fun and productive for you

And remember always , it gets better

This post is going to be very long in order to contextualise and help the reader understand the current situation, please have patience, thank you in advance.

My partner is 18 years old male, im 19 male. He has clinical depression, has been diagnosed years ago (around 2019) and has had it years even before that. He has 1370+ hours on his favorite videogame, and plays it all day everyday. I know that videogame addiction or any addiction at that, can interfere with treatment of depression. He uses gaming as a distraction for his everyday problems, he's a shut in who doesnt go outside, has only me and his family as friends and a support group, and doesnt have goals/ambitions. He's a highschool dropout, and pretty much doesn't have any goal for the future, hes brought it to me multiple times he doesn't see a point, and sometimes would tell me he wants to take his own life.

My point isnt to shame him or pity him, I love him a lot and I'm proud that hes trying his best, he's acknowledged his problems before. I just dont know how to help him, and I don't want to enable him.

His videogame addiction started years ago, hes very fixated on this particular game "splatoon". He used to play the splatoon 2 version way less, and was more social. This was when he was still attending highschool, had friends both online and in real life, (who were horrible mind you, and made his depression worse at times, i believe its also the reason for it developing altogether.

Splatoon 3 released, and ever since then it was a point of no return. in his previous game, he has had 900 hours, which is a lot, but not as much as nearly 1400 hours. This game released in 2022, and before it was released he was in deep depression, he was addicted to s*lf h*rm and had very unhealthy habits. He lost a big chunk of his friendgroup because of his depression, and used this game as a coping mechanism. He went to a not so good therapist, which told him to either deal with it or go to a mental hospital. He was assigned medication, and nothing ever since then. He's had a terrible experience with his therapist, and doesn't want to go to therapy because of that. He has severe social anxiety, he shakes when he talks to new people, and avoids going outside because of it. He had an old friend come over and try to make friends with him again, but he told me because he was shaking/jittering so much she was freaked out and they stopped talking. (this was around october of this year)

At first when I met him, I wanted to spend time with him and be impressive to him, do things he likes. So I had him teach me to play this game, and we had lots of fun. He used to play with our friends a lot, and invited them all the time, he wasnt so much of a solo player. Ever since I came into the picture and became best friends with him, he has gotten happier. Teaching me was something he enjoyed, introducing me to his all time favorite piece of media, both lore wise and game-strategy wise. He's also an artist just like me, so he would draw our characters, and I think this is when he was his brightest. First ~3 months I was fairly new to this game and unemployed (recently quit my parttime job) so i had time to spare, and a new guy to meet that I really liked.

After 3 months of knowing him and becoming best friends with him, he slowly opened up to me about his life issues and his depression. I knew he had it, but didnt know how severe it was. When we were in contact, he was no longer medicated. I think hes told me that the medication didnt really do much for him aside from making him feel odd/numb. I always thought it was not great that he had so many hours on this game, but I never judged him, because I knew of his situation. Fast forward a few months later, were having issues and arguments, both because of my worries and his depression ( I also have mental health problems, but I go to therapy consistently now and I am way better than before) I assume our problems made his depression far worse, forcing him to believe hes not good enough. I admit, I should've been way more supportive, but I never insulted him and I had always let him know hes amazing and that I love him wholeheartedly. Multiple times throughout our relationship, I talked with him about his suicidal ideation.

We used to spend more time before, and I even helped him at times want to get better, brought him surges of serotonin and motivation. I am very affectionate and give him presents and provide him with support, but sometimes we just have roadblocks and bumps in our relationship, so its very tricky. After some time, he grew a bit distant from me (around june where we had worse problems) he has also stopped talking to our entire friend group in january 2024 and I did the same (since they treated him horribly) and ever since then has been addicted to videogames. I know that our relationship problems are a cause, but they're not the main issue either. We've had phases of no contact, and he told me he was miserable in them. I feel guilty for ever letting him get to that point. It's gotten amazing for us in august, no arguments, consistent affection, support, and such, but as for time spent? not so much. I always suspected something was off, but never said anything because he said hes feeling alright.

Around beginning of 2024, he had around 600 hours. Now its nearly 1400. You can just imagine how much he plays. Recently, I brought up the fact that I find it odd we dont spend much time together, and that something feels off. It went from me thinking it was my fault, to him completely blaming himself, saying hes horrible, that its his fault, and he eventually relapsed on sh. He has bad self image issues, and calls himself terrible, ugly, and undeserving of kindness. I think hes beautiful, and I told him multiple times about every single internal and external quality I love about him. But you know how insecurity is. After his relapse, I made sure to monitor him (not pryingly) be very supportive and loving, and help him find motivation for everyday little things. Like, right now Im trying to get him to get water everyday, because he doesnt drink a lot of water. Were starting out with small steps.

but i have NO idea how to help with his videogame addiction. I can handle other things, but this is the most difficult thing ever. Today he stayed up till 3 am to game and I told him to go to sleep at 12 am, 1, 2, he kept playing and at 3 he stopped. I told him we need to start limiting his gaming, he agreed, but said "one more time, today is a special rotation" and I said, "fine, todays the exception, but please not for long." This was around the morning-noon, which is when he played. But it continued until night. I got him to get out of his room at chill in the livingroom today, but no water, and he went back later into his room so it wasnt for long. Im still proud of him for going out of his room, though.

Please help me help him. His family isnt really strict at all and they dont do anything about his addictions. Theyre also too busy to spend time with him, he only goes out to run errands with them, and usually hates going out and stays in the car with them, so it doesnt count as going outside.

Please, no harsh comments.

I tried to stop I really did. But now I am just at the point I have no friends if I stop playing this stupid game. I hate it so much but I have no friends without it. I want to keep my friends but I can't do anything else but game with them. There's nothing else to do at this point.

Everything I've tried I'm so shitty at I have no fun with it. My friends are too far away to do all this stuff I see online that people do with their friends. What the fuck I am supposed to do at this point?

Hey all

Been sober for a while and have had cravings but I have been able to ride them out by getting busy with work or stuff around the house. Now I am on a 4 day holiday, Thanksgiving is done and I’m jonesing like no other. I recognize my brain trying to scheme into gaming. Idk what to do…I have books I’m reading and right now they are not helping. I’m anxious and bored…stressed. I’m wanting to escape but idk what..

Any advice or encouragement would help. Or if anyone wants to chat.

I've been two years clean and still get urges to play. Still miss them, still think they're fun.

What the hell do I do? I have hobbies now, a better job that's stable. But I still want to play again.

I’m looking for websites to watch, play, do. but with no screen limits

I quit video games about 2 years ago for about 6 months, then introduced them slowly and had them pretty well under control. I could tell when I was playing because I was having fun and when I was feeling compelled to play, and would stop when the fun stopped (usually ~30 mins to 1 hour)

I'm pretty sure I was off long enough because I found great joy during this period in things I found mundane when I was addicted.

I'd say about 6 months ago, I maybe lost track of that limit a little bit and the past 3 months I've been full blown addicted again, playing 6-8+ hours a day.

I'm going cold turkey again, and I'm wondering if a shorter stint like that still takes just as long to rewire the brain?

I tried to find research on the topic, but they all reference the first quit, couldn't find as much on the topic about duration of addiction vs relapse of a previous addict, etc.

I saw the advertisement for one nobile game months ago. It was very ugly ad. But i gave that game a chance. I saw how good storyline is and continued playing. Game includes alliances/guilds and for me it was perfect for killing time, but I never figured out that game was swallowing my mental health. I've failed all my exams due to playing this stupid game. Game really ruined my life, and it was so late when I realized that. I cried a lot after quitting. When I say that, I mean I was obsessed with game so much to the point where game was only in my head for months. I knew it was bad but I was addicted to it and I couldn't delete game. I saw how much people are obsessed and addicted with it, and I was envy on everyone who quit. Now I quit gaming and I kinda feel miserable but I think it's a part of healing process. Somehow I think game helped me but I think I'm just brainwashing myself into thinking that. People are obsessed with drama within game. Like it's an everyday life. It's a virtual world and for me,that game is nothing but extremely toxic. It swallows mental health and money. I'm really glad I left.

M35yo, married and with a kid.

I got a pc and played a lot of dark souls, and alt tabbing a lot while working remote as software developer; My Pc broke and than i started to play Magic Arena on Macbook.

Three month ago i decied to leave my currently job, was not happy and not interested on the job I was working on some useless technology that i cannot use on others companies, that was the main reason to leave this job.

I got some reserves but now I almost broke, i doing some freelance but still with no real job. Besides all I am still craving for gaming. Feel real guilty and shame while my wife is working without game and Why in the world i have this urge to gaming during work.

Uninstalled MTG, installed web extensions to block the url and relational MTG things

I've decided to quit playing video games. There were really two segments of my life where I gamed a lot.

My teenage years were spent gaming and I feel like I missed out on many better ways to spend that time. I remember sinking ungodly amount of hours into things like the Grand Theft Auto series, Fallout, Skyrim etc etc. It probably didn't help my studies at the time and I wasn't as social as I could have been. As well I was far more anxious in person than most my age. I naturally stopped on my own in my 20s without much theatrics.

The second time I think was more destructive. At my workplace I was pretty much a machine. I was a top performer and everyone praised my work and I was always ahead of everything. I spent my free time doing productive things such as extra classes, working out, learning cool skills. The least productive thing I did was maybe watching tv and movies a lot but I think that's usually not so bad because a movie is 2 hours one time and a show lasts a season. You also have more opportunity to discuss them and they don't take active participation. I performed well at work so nobody minded that I had House MD or whatever on a side screen going to my earbuds while I worked.

But then the pandemic hit and I was forced back inside. Classes, gym, and skills were cancelled. So I started gaming again. It was especially easy with remote and hybrid work. I got hooked again. I stopped doing other more productive hobbies, I was okay staying in just gaming 5+ hours a day, and my performances in many areas fell dramatically. I still performed okay at work but I became a bare minimum kind of person which didn't help my career and by contrast to my earlier performance it was more glaring. I didn't really start gaming again until late 2020. So it's not even a pandemic specific change as I was still mostly the same as before for most of 2020 until I got into it again.

Anyways long story short after some reflection I think I want to be more like the old me. I know some people can handle it better but to me it just hijacks my dopamine too much and it can become a problem. The funniest part is I barely remember most of the specific details about or what I specifically did in GTA IV, V, Fallout, Persona, Apex etc but I have hundreds if not thousands of hours in these.

There's a South Park episode about the real problem with drug use and the takeaway message is that "Drugs make you okay with being bored but being bored is when you should be seeking out more productive things to build on yourself as person and if you use them then you will grow up to realize that you don't have that much going on." Something like that. I would probably add that both drugs and games suck out other parts of your life and they make you less likely to handle boredom in other areas so you seek out the dopamine more.

I am in my forties with wife, 2 children (11 and 20) and 2 jobs. I work 60 hours a week, although both jobs are very flexible so it gives me a lot of freedom. I meet my requirements. My wife doesn’t hardly ever complain about my video games, nor do my kids.

I have quit video games 3 or 4 times in my life. Last time i was about 10 years ago, and i also quit 5 years before that once. Each quit was for about 6 months.

I decided this morning i am going to quit 6 months again. Then re-evaluate.

Reasons: Physically, I feel the adrenaline/dopamine is harming my body and i need a break. Also, i have family visiting us right now that i want to spend more time with, plus lots of great family vacations planned for the next 13 months (7 vacations planned) and i want to focus on preparing the family for those trips, enjoying them, etc.

Here is my current hours/week:

Total hours: 7X24 = 168 Work = 55 (60 hours of work from home but both my jobs allow me to take breaks, which i do here and there for 5-15 mins throughout the day. Taking a break right now to write this) Sleep = 49 hours (very regular 6.5-7.5 hours/night. No problems sleeping. Generally 7 hours) Excercise = 7 hours (I actually excercise 14 hours/week. But 7 of those hours i walk, do pushups, crunches etc mon-fri during meetings. Multi-tasking) Spend Quality time with wife = 10 hours Spend quality time with kids = 7 to 14 hours/week Play video games = 28 to 35 hours/week Meal prep (or driving to pickup food) = 5 hours/week

There is def some flex here. You can see i will spend more time with my kids some days, and i pull that time from video games. Whenever my kids ask me to help them, or play with them, I immediately do.

I am very active, go getter, nonstop doing things. 5 hours/day is a lot of time for a grown ass man to play video games. Chess, Roblox strategy games, other strategy games are my go-tos and these games def give an adrenaline/dopamine rush.

Quitting all my solo gaming, but will still play games with my kids if and when they ask me! This usually amounts to 0-7 hours/week and is nba 2k or roblox, both with my 11 year old.

Cheers everyone.

Do you need to type anything in the "Is there anything else you'd like us to know" part? Other than being unable to play VAC servers and make purchases. Also heard in the Community features part, does this prevent you from buying from the community market, upvoting workshop content, etc?

Title. I just deleted my Left 4 Dead 2 permanently from my Steam account, because I just play this game all day, and even if I uninstall Steam from my PC, I just re-download it and play it again.

I just wanted to have a better life, like studying, or reading a book, or at least play different games.

However, the second I deleted permanently, I just regret it, and I hate myself for it.

Can anyone just say something so make me feel better? Or please tell me some tips that I won't ask Valve to restore the game or buy it again.

No matter how good you do, the game will screw you. You will get bad teammates, you will get a lagging server, you will get random game bugs-something will screw you over. Why play? I worked my ass off all day to rank up only to rank down due to a bad server.

Hello all! Till 7 years back, I used to be a gaming addict, clocking in 10 hours a day in Dota 2

However I decided to change my life and did post-grad in MBA and have been working for 5 years now.

I've realised that I find it difficult to focus on routine-based stuff. I'm constantly looking for dopamine for my brain to function. I get bored easily!

I'm yet to be diagnosed with ADHD, but my therapist thinks that I mostly do have it. ( That explains the gaming addiction)

How do you folks keep your brain simulated after quitting gaming? I'm fearing that I might have a relapse and might start gaming again!

And I know one thing for sure, that if I buy that gaming laptop again, I will not be able to stop myself!

Also, I go to the gym, go for runs and also do journaling!

Hi I just found this page from looking up “Mobile games ruined me” because they did. I really need help stopping myself from getting on mobile games and just impulse purchasing those little in app purchases. I go from one game to another. The dopamine feels good until it doesn’t and the money goes down the drain. Help.

Hi everyone, I quit gacha games several years ago, and quit mobile games for good months ago; I've been mobile game free for 217 days and counting. I had a very hard time with those in the past as I would procrastinate at work, to the point of hurting my performance and also affecting time with my family.

Well, I've realized in the past few months as I've been driving the rest of my passive screen time down, that social media has been just as much of a problem for me, or if not even worse. I use it just as compulsively as I used gacha and mobile games; I have lost entire work days to scrolling through Reddit, Facebook, Discord, even forums like rabbit hole or gamefaqs (yeah even that dump). Jumping on topics about pretty much anything; entertainment (games, tv, movie, music), or things like news, politics and current events, or obsessively researching the "best" thing like ways to do workouts or history of a country or area, or even just to find drama... and so forth.

I've wasted like 10h in one day just spouting verbal diarrhea on the internet. Even when I stop, it's hard to stay stopped. I have a problem, and I can't just "control" it. I know that.

I have enforced limits using an application called Stayfree. I've given myself 10min on Reddit to type this, so this is my goodbye to Reddit. I wanted to put it in this community because it's your messages that drove me to a helpful realization; I have long felt like I didn't belong due to not being "fully game addicted" as some are here (this is why I don't have a day counter here, because I feel it would be hypocritical of me). But I certainly empathize with everyone else here who struggles because that is how I feel about social media. This community motivated me to seek help in r/internetaddiction and communicate my struggle with my spouse to get help.

If you haven't taken that step, trust me, it's worth it. Communicate with someone close to you about what you're going through. It helps so much.

Except for direct messages through Messenger and WhatsApp and the GameQuitters forum where I have been journaling every day since the start of October, I've been off all social platforms for 55 days as of today. I almost fooled myself a few days ago thinking I could go back to a forum... but I know I was just fooling myself. From past tries, I know that I will likely never moderate my participation on internet discussions.

My final message to this community is one I heard from a fellow sober and recovering internet addict. A technology addiction is dangerous because it is invisible and it can blend in with the public; just look how many people are glued to their phones, completely absorbed and hiding in public. But it's just as dangerous as a substance addiction; you may not literally die from it as you would with drugs or alcohol, but you are effectively declaring yourself dead to the world by not living your life and hiding with your device. This really spoke to me.

So this is my thank you to this community, and a long goodbye to using Reddit. This community is a great form of support for those who need it, and I really encourage everyone to keep up with their journey. I hope that my message today can bring you closer to your sobriety.

Hello! I am 13 and this is my first time posting on this subreddit. All I think about is playing video games and I want to stop. I play 3-5 hours a day on games like siege and cod. I wanted some ideas on healthy starting goals I can set. I don’t experience lots of problems like poor schoolwork and such yet, but I want to try and find the root before there is any problems. I was thinking 2 hours of video games and TikTok’s/youtube shorts as I have more time than 3-5 hours on those as well. Anyone got any ideas? Thank you for everything!

Long time lurker, first time posting about my progress. After many failed attempts this is the furthest I’ve got so far. As expected I am grateful for that. I want to say it becomes easier and some days it is. However, in during leisure time or while being bored, the pull is still very strong. I understand its part of the process but it does not make it easier. Hope everyone has a great one today, cheers

I’ve been playing Overwatch 2 for a while now (+2k hours) and, like 50% of players, got stuck in gold/plat. I can’t shake the feeling that this game is designed less for fun and more to keep you hooked, no matter how frustrating it is.

The matchmaking is a mess. One match, you’re dominating, and the next, you’re completely crushed—it’s like it’s intentionally rigged to keep you chasing that elusive “good game.” It doesn’t feel random; it feels manipulative, like the system is just stringing you along with highs and lows to keep you engaged.

And then there’s the grind: the battle pass, the FOMO events, the trickle of rewards that barely feel satisfying. All of it feels engineered to trap you in an endless loop of frustration and hope.

But the worst part? Community:

When you are losing team starts to cannibalize itself. People complain, point fingers, and insult each other. I play support most of the time, and it’s a nightmare. I’m dodging bullets, Sombras and Genjis diving me every two seconds, while trying to heal and support my team. And no matter how much I heal, it’s never enough. Team usually hits tab and compares our healing numbers to the supports on the winning team. They completely ignore the fact that the supports on the winning team don’t face the same pressure. But somehow, it’s always my fault for not pulling off miracles.

I main LW, and one of the things that triggers me the most is when I use Life Grip to save a tank from a 5v1 situation—and then they insult me for pulling them out! Like, I’m doing my best to keep you alive, and this is the thanks I get? It makes the losses so much worse because it’s not just the defeat; it’s the constant toxicity from teammates who act like it’s all your fault.

Of course enemy team isn't nicer on chat I can mention at least 20 different phrases they usually write after destroying u, kicking u when u are already in worst moment.

What really gets me, though, is that I’ve never felt this way with other games. I’ve played tons of games, but none of them made me feel this powerless, or this miserable. With Overwatch 2, it feels like I’m not playing to enjoy myself; I’m playing because I can’t stop, its easy to play (I already know mechanics) and

What’s worse is how this is bleeding into my real life. It’s impacting my studies and professional work. I keep procrastinating because I’m caught up in the game, hoping for one more good match or a little bit of progress. But it never comes. When I finally log off, I feel drained, frustrated, empty, and a failure as a player and human being.

Is it just me? Does anyone else feel like Overwatch 2 is designed to be addictive, even at the cost of your happiness? How do you even step away from a game like this? I’d love to hear if others have had similar experiences—or if it’s just me falling into this trap.

P.S.: I already tried uninstalling but somehow I keeps going back...

P.S.2.: Post was originally write to be post on but it got auto removed, what makes me even more frustrated than before

sup, i am a guy in 12 grade and been playing games for a long time.

i been playing minecraft for like 7 years and fortnite for 5 years.

i see recently that i am becoming addicted to games and cant stop. for minecraft, its sort of hard to stop, but its really really hard to stop fortnite.

i havent played fortnite or minecraft in about a month, but i still watch fortnite videos on youtube and this is the problem i feel like.

when im stressed, games used to be the only thing that got my mind off the stress, but since i quit, i just get overwhelmed because i know its time to move on but its hard to let go of the past.

when i get stressed, currently, i just watch fortnite videos because ive built (accidentally by playing too many video games) an emotional connection to fortnite. with minecraft, i just generally get sad because of the nostalgia, leaving my friends behind, and i remember playing video games since i was in 5th grade coming from shool/during the summer.

everything online just says to quit and itll be ok but im 1 month in and i cant stop watching fortnite or checking up on my minecraft friends, and i usually do this when i am stressed/bored.

after quiting i went on a huge spiral and searching about like dopamine and how video games are messing with it and all that, and how peopple shold go on dopamine detox, and when i tried that, the morning i woke up (day 1 of dopamine detox), i got my self so stressed about being away from fortntie and minecraft that i almost gave myself a panic attack, and had to calm myself down by watching fortnite

and theres also like stuff online that says i should slowly quit, limit my play time, but i KNOW i have to quit right now cus 9 months to uni and i dont wanna be an idiot whos just playing games (cus if u arent stopping now, why would u just magically stop when ur done uni?)

so i guess i am just like asking, whats a way (that actually works) to stopping video games ands stuff. ive read about like just stopping and letting urself be bored, but when i do that i just stress myself out and go watch fortnite.

i know games like minecraft and fortnite will always have fun stuff adding to it (like im a godzilla fan and theyre adding GODZILLA to fortnite, but im telling myself i cant), so far:

- i know i have to stop video games

- ive stopped for a month

and im just wondering:

- how do i break my emotional connection to video games

- how to i get closure and move on (cus i cant stop watching fortnite and checking up on my old minecraft friends)

if anyone can help thatd be nice, thanks

I'm so glad I decided to step away from video games for good. Yeah some of them made my childhood but honestly now? My hatred towards them keeps me going and now I can see why my parents wanted me to quit so badly as a kid and deeply regretted getting me on them. I was the problem back then... From how much I was addicted to my DS back then, to how much I was a brat and wanted to play my video games insted of spending time with my family that one Christmas, to how much they caused me to suffer through my grades and not give my parents the honor student they wanted and deserved... The past couple of moves and the nasty fights I've gotten in with them during then is when I decided no more to it, especially for this year. I've decided to give up on gaming indefinitely and all my other destructive "hobbies" and now I'm in college. Outside of drinking on occasion I feel free and better about myself once I took gaming from my life, and now I see how much the industry as a whole is truly evil, it's even worse than big tobacco. Please, please if you need a reason to quit gaming this is it now. All gaming creates is nothing more than sadness, friendship/relationship problems and a wave of destruction to not only you but your friends and loved ones. Let's abolish gaming for good together!

https://preview.redd.it/8w61zkx4oj3e1.png?width=581&format=png&auto=webp&s=0baea5d9c801d18ad4e7697ebdd21a3de89c8a49