I have replaced alcohol with video gaming.

[Judge]

This is very concerning and seems quite ignorant of the authors:

I hope they've learned a lot since 2017 to catch up with reality. (I couldn't read the article because of the paywall.)

I wasn't even aware of the notion that autistic people could be less prone to addiction than others. I mean, just on the surface it seems preposterous. That we must pathologically deal with the same issues NTs do in this respect.

 

[Levitat0r]

I can vouch for a resistance myself. I don't do heavy nor sustained drinking, and I get very ill and hung over long before a habit sets in.

 

[Greening]

There seems to be a tendency for some people to add the word "addiction" to all kinds of behaviour. The contrast between having an addiction to alcohol and / or other drugs and being a gamer is so huge, it sounds like a black and white thinking, that tries to invent the idea, that everything can be an addiction. It is a thought pattern, that can actually be addictive in itself, because it does not break the comfort zone of creating dogma out of anything. And because it does not break it, it can lead to a tendency of dictating what other people should do in order to "truly work" as humans but based on this individual's ideas, formulas etc.

In the worst cases people with this black and white thinking are not really trying to help, at least not in the long run, but are instead trying to make spiritual clones of others. An example could be when I was getting out of an addiction to alcohol 19 years ago, and someone suggested that I could go to church, sounding like that was the best idea ever. But why? There was no interest in that for me there. I am not Christian, and I have zero interest in becoming one. It was just an idea of me going to church, and, maybe, becoming religious (Christian) in the same way as that "advisor". It is a template of thinking about other people that approaches protofascism, pointing towards some leader, some "führer" ("God"), that we must all follow, without question. Why? Because questioning authority always makes the authority fall. It reveals, for instance, non-existence. So it is very important to do so. As well as questioning the motif some people have for "helping" to reveal if something is not as it should be.

 

[Metalhead]

My sponsor has really been pressuring me into finding a church and into becoming a PT student. He tells me that I am way too intelligent to waste so much time "playing (expletive) video games". But I have fun when I play and it keeps me connected with friends I have on the other side of the country. I am not sacrificing either work nor health for gaming, either.

Some people feel like gaming is an inferior hobby, it seems.

 

[Rodafina]

My sponsor has really been pressuring me into finding a church and into becoming a PT student. He tells me that I am way too intelligent to waste so much time "playing (expletive) video games". But I have fun when I play and it keeps me connected with friends I have on the other side of the country. I am not sacrificing either work nor health for gaming, either.

Some people feel like gaming is an inferior hobby, it seems.

I thought a sponsor's role was to support your sobriety and your hopes and goals along that path. Fun and friendship is extremely important to sobriety.

It seems like the last thing you need in your life at this point is another person telling you what you should and should not do and ignoring your own hopes and desires.

 

[Magna]

I like how @Rodafina said that you're engaged in "harm reduction" by having the propensity for gaming to become a compulsive habit but having that be the "lesser of two evils" in comparison to compulsive alcohol consumption.

Substituting one addiction for another isn't anything new. Heavy nicotine addiction has always seemingly gotten a "pass" in traditional 12 step programs, for example in the way it's not been considered an addiction in that "circle" that needs to be addressed or it's considered "harm reduction" for many addicts with severe addictions to other drugs.

Also, being a "functional addict" of certain drugs is nothing new. Would it be better if such people had no addictions at all? Yes. In my opinion it would also be better if people who need to use habit forming/addictive pharmaceuticals had no such need for them either.

The musician David Crosby was known to battle severe drug and alcohol addictions for a large portion of his adult life. In his later years he controlled this by being a "functional" cannabis user. He developed a habit and routine where he would not use cannabis during the day because he needed to accomplish tasks, get work done, etc and then he would smoke cannabis in the evenings. This "functional addiction" of harm reduction in relation to his overall history and propensity of drug use worked to keep him from sliding back into his previous drug use.

He didn't "beat himself up" about using cannabis daily as a failure to resist any and all forms of addiction. It's my opinion that the "all or nothing" approach of traditional chemical dependency models (except caffeine and nicotine) just doesn't work for everyone. It does for some people and for others with severe addictions it's likely a "do or die" issue with no other options. For those that can't function under an "all or nothing" approach to chemical dependency, the anxiety, guilt and shame of the idea: "I can't be addicted to anything or I'm a complete failure." can cause a person harm in their life in a different but still significant way.

I have to think that in the not too distant future the view of "functional addicts" will change to be more tolerant, compassionate and perhaps even supportive of people who respond best to this approach. @Metalhead, you may be just one of those people in relation to gaming by your own admission.

All the best, brother.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

What if it's not addiction? What if by gaming you are just regulating your brain? Stimming? I play solitaire card games often. I notice that my overwhelmed "aspie hackles" go down as I decode the numbers and line the cards up. A similar thing happens when I weave.

 

[Thinx]

Also, it sounds like it could be about liking to follow a routine? Pretty typical autie trait, but I'm guessing the sponsor isn't autie? You like doing the same winding down thing daily, maybe?

I like codeword puzzles, I do those in quite a routine way, first thing, maybe at lunch, also later maybe, I like the way they engage my mind a while. Addicted? Maybe, but maybe not fully, it's more a routine part of my day. Enjoyable, engaging, predictable, has an outcome, quiet, absorbing.

 

[Aspychata]

@Metalhead , it seems you had a problem with another sponsor too. Maybe time for new sponsor? If you are staying sober, and easing into a new routine, that's more important.

 

[jsilver256]

My sponsor has really been pressuring me into finding a church and into becoming a PT student. He tells me that I am way too intelligent to waste so much time "playing (expletive) video games". But I have fun when I play and it keeps me connected with friends I have on the other side of the country. I am not sacrificing either work nor health for gaming, either.

Some people feel like gaming is an inferior hobby, it seems.

It sounds like someone who is very inexperienced with providing support, and is overzealous with prescribing cures for the "root cause" of addictive behaviors. He had no business pushing any of that on you. I agree a new sponsor is needed.

 

[Greening]

My sponsor has really been pressuring me into finding a church and into becoming a PT student. He tells me that I am way too intelligent to waste so much time "playing (expletive) video games". But I have fun when I play and it keeps me connected with friends I have on the other side of the country. I am not sacrificing either work nor health for gaming, either.

Some people feel like gaming is an inferior hobby, it seems.

Pressuring someone into "finding a church" is wrong. It has nothing to do with quitting alcohol or other drugs, but some programs (I know them) try to mix some badly camouflaged Christianity, or other religions, with ideas about getting sober. I would suggest finding other programs, or at least a new sponsor who does not try to cram religion down your throat. SMART recovery for instance has no religious overtones in their program, so you can look into that, if you want. Good luck with it.

 

[Levitat0r]

Pressuring someone into "finding a church" is wrong. It has nothing to do with quitting alcohol or other drugs, but some programs (I know them) try to mix some badly camouflaged Christianity, or other religions, with ideas about getting sober. I would suggest finding other programs, or at least a new sponsor who does not try to cram religion down your throat. SMART recovery for instance has no religious overtones in their program, so you can look into that, if you want. Good luck with it.

It's pretty natural to cast addiction as a personification of the devil, and then that sort of serves to merge sobriety in as being an ordinary challenge among Christian struggles. The trouble is that reliance on others only goes so far, and they are keen not only to corrupt a good idea, but to take advantage of the weaknesses it's supposed to address. If you go somewhere for help, there's going to be someone somewhere who wants to bend that purpose for their own benefit. There are cults, there are McReligions, and false faith is pervasive even in the churches.

 

[Dagan]

Not to offend...I'm serious...because I have seen this happen to friends, and then doing the research, it's just factual. Every addiction is handled with displacement one way or another, but more often than anything, addiction councils push that replacement to be Jesus / Mohammed / Buddha. It's obvious to me why they do this, as having an addiction means that someone heavily, fully idolizes something...and religious types have the mindset that your replacement should be whichever messiah instead - only a god should be idolized, etc. If their intent is genuine and pure, fine, good, they are in the right. I can't say that this is always the case, though because many instances have been that they just see easy targets for redirecting your compulsion to throw your money at whatever makes you think it's the solution. Do your best to confirm the reputation and background of any such council of people. Make sure they are legit compared to just running a scam and exploiting you. I'm serious. The same goes for if a council of folks approached you for a gaming league and claim that it'll be what helps you more than anything else. Always dig into references checks. I've seen it go wrong and just send someone spiraling worse. Be absolutely sure. There's just awful people out there who like to prey on others.