Video gaming addiction.

[Metalhead]

I think it may have reached a problematic level for me.

Last night, I played until 11PM, getting dopamine hit after dopamine hit, then when I tried to sleep, I was in bed all night wide awake, revved up by the game I was playing.

This is not an ideal situation.

 

[thejuice]

Try to switch to an audiobook 1 hour before bedtime maybe. I'm trying to find a bedtime routine that works for me.

Also try not to force sleep, try to get up and do something else if you can't sleep and wait for sleepy feelings to come before going back to bed

 

[Judge]

Might be worth it to read this article about managing your own dopamine relative to possibly addictive behaviors.

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/31/1090009509/addiction-how-to-break-the-cycle-and-find-balance

 

[Metalhead]

Yeah, a dopamine detox probably is not a terrible idea at this point.

Maybe I should read some of those books that have been sitting on my bookshelf, just waiting for me to read them. If I keep neglecting them for games, I will never read the classics I keep on telling myself I will eventually get around to.

 

[thejuice]

I bought that book,.need to read it again

 

[thejuice]

Maybe you could use gaming as a reward for reading a chapter of a.book. Or just a page to start with.

 

[Seladon]

Bush league. Come back when you're nightly commenting on forums at 3 in the morning.

Joshing aside, though, we likely both...have a problem. And it's good that you're facing the possibility head-on, it creates space to effect change. As @Judge says, it's about breaking an entrenched cycle to give your brain a rest and a jolt. Best of luck.

 

[thejuice]

I remember reading it can take 2 weeks minimum to reset dopamine levels

 

[Metalhead]

Perhaps it is not the gaming I am addicted to. Perhaps what I really am addicted to is avoiding thinking. That is a real possibility in my case.

 

[thejuice]

Perhaps it is not the gaming I am addicted to. Perhaps what I really am addicted to is avoiding thinking. That is a real possibility in my case.

Oh that's definitely true if you're anything like me and probably 90% of western people.

A wise man once said: ()

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone"

My interpretation of Judge's article is something like we're addicted to dopamine rich activities and running away from dopamine withdrawal. The craggy, irritable and restless anxiety it brings. Which will probably bring on some of your bad thoughts as well.

I also saw that apparently its easier to go cold turkey for a month and then reintroduce pleasurable hobbies than it is to reduce the pleasurable activity on gradual scale.

I found that true with alcohol and diet coke. I quit both instantly. Scaling it down would have been a nightmare!! (Don't do that if anyone reading is a hardcore alcoholic though)

I still struggle with food as that's Pandora's box I have to open 3 times a day. I have had limited success with intermittent fasting however which is a form of cold turkey.

 

[thejuice]

So the article talks about 3 ways to limit addiction.

How would these apply to you?

Physical binding: keep addictions away from you. For me, it means not having junk food in house. It means not bringing mobile phone to bed for example.

Time binding: place a timer on pleasure activities. For me it's setting timers around house and on phone for using internet. Also timing breaks where I do something else, be it a chore or just breathing. I also did an overnight fast which counts as a timing binding.

Categorical binding: limit what you can consume. Swap in an activity which is less addictive, for another one which is more addictive. For me I had limited success with changing from a high stress Real Time Strategy Game to a relaxing open world exploring/ building game called Valheim. My food addiction lessened a lot. I caved and went back to an RTS but I can always try again!

It also says to try to follow a path of purposeful pain, and a healthy pain/ pleasure balance in a hedonistic world. Building a sense of meaning. Easier said than done and I'm miles from it, but I had a go at volunteering. Is there anything that you could do to give you a sense of purpose?

 

[Jonn]

Also try not to force sleep, try to get up and do something else if you can't sleep and wait for sleepy feelings to come before going back to bed

I read somewhere that there is a 90-minute sleep cycle.
Miss one and you might have to wait for the next one.

 

[thejuice]

I've heard of it but never thought of it like that!

 

[Jonn]

Perhaps it is not the gaming I am addicted to. Perhaps what I really am addicted to is avoiding thinking. That is a real possibility in my case.

Thinking is bad, so maybe it is a good thing.

 

[Metalhead]

Well, I played until 9PM last night, then I stayed in bed wide awake until I stopped trying to sleep around 3AM, I started up my games again and I gamed until it was time for me to start getting ready to go to work. I poured two cups of black coffee down my throat and I am being productive at the office, knowing that my bed is waiting for me back at home in a few hours from now.

This can't be healthy.

 

[Judge]

Perhaps it is not the gaming I am addicted to. Perhaps what I really am addicted to is avoiding thinking. That is a real possibility in my case.

I suspect if you were truly addicted to gaming:

1) You wouldn't be here.
2) When you were, gaming would be pretty much all you'd want to discuss. Not your work, not your struggles, not film and not your family.

It strikes me as simply very human to seek meaning to one's life. But hopefully to recognize just how dynamic the process can be over time. That it's not likely to be a linear or consistent process despite a drive to make it that way.

 

[Jonn]

Well, I played until 9PM last night, then I stayed in bed wide awake until I stopped trying to sleep around 3AM, I started up my games again and I gamed until it was time for me to start getting ready to go to work. I poured two cups of black coffee down my throat and I am being productive at the office, knowing that my bed is waiting for me back at home in a few hours from now.

This can't be healthy.

Missing a night's sleep is something that happened when I was heavily into shooter games.
I could function well for one day.

 

[Metalhead]

After four days in a row without sleep, the doctor agreed to modify my psych meds for the third time this month, as we both agreed I was showing the starting signs of a manic episode, and I did not want to go down that road.

 

[Metalhead]

I finally got some sleep yesterday.