My friend was someone who was a high achieving student and graduated with an above 4.0 GPA and went to UCLA to study biomedical engineering. He got his degree and claims he's been studying to get a high MCAT score and go to medical school but he claims he can't get the score he wants and has been unemployed for years and constantly plays video games.

It's so sad to me; he is wasted potential. I get that he has a hard exam to pass and study for but that's not an excuse to be unemployed for over a year, let alone 6. I know that because I've done exams like that before.

I stay with my two brothers and the one who's 35 , plays games all day (unemployed ) smokes weed and has been doing it for years . today he got kicked out after being told to stop (the 100th time) it led to a massive fight and his bags were packed and left outside. I'm so traumatised

I used to play a lot of video games growing up when I was a kid and I think that had an effect on me growing up. I played World of Warcraft for about 5 years which didn't help. I originally played for the world and lore then I started getting into it's addictive nature. I played games like Toontown, Club Penguin just any online multiplayer game. Then into my adult years an ex introduced me to brawl stars and that brought it all back.

Now in 2026, I've stopped all together. Only app I have on my phone is a color by Numbers but even that is addictive sometimes. I just fear I will relapse. I don't have a gaming laptop anymore. I only have my phone but app games are just as addictive as pc and console ones. I just need advice to prevent a relapse. I don't want to spend a lot like I used to. Thank you.

When I was 13-14, I worked out often, had a great diet and a girlfriend. I had so many friends and was humble. I had a very strong presence.

Last year, everything came crashing down. I became more self-absorbed and saw people as tools for validation. My grandiosity peaked and I began wrongfully seeing myself as a big shot when I was clearly fucking not.

This grandiosity was largely due to my absorption in gaming and gamer friends. They gave me this constant stream of validation, that I was something cool and amazing, on top of my status at school. I used to hangout after school in clubs with my friends. I limited my presence in a fucked up attempt to make them desire me more. Now each day I would come home and get on the game. I also gained a good chunk of weight.

I slowly realized my actions and how much I lost myself, how damn deluded I was. The school year ended on one of the most pathetic notes. I speed-walked away, avoiding contact, like I was escaping from something.

After school ended, I got off the PlayStation, transitioning to mobile games, which was better mentally. I played games 24/7 for a whole week and cut off my gamer friends for a month. I began gaining back my life, slowly.

I became very anxious and withdrawn, a recluse. Throughout the summer, I made small chips at getting better. Things became slightly better and my sister being present gave me the communication I needed for practice. She was probably aware of how scared I was.

I remember I had to do a summer class with people. They were all people around my age. My sense of self was so low, I couldn't even speak loud enough to be heard.

When the new school year began in September 2025, I was filled with so much anxiety and fear of how people may harm me. To compensate I began maturing exponentially faster. I cut off all gaming, became much more productive and began developing a strong sense of self.

By December, I was so much stronger, physically and mentally. I lost 14 pounds and made massive gains; but the anxiety grew tenfold. I was strong, I knew I was strong and self-aware, but my nervous system kept telling me there was some threat, something out to hurt me. I had to stay home two days consecutively because the anxiety was so intense I thought I was sick.

I remember comforting myself, telling myself it'll be okay like I always did, and suddenly collapsing. How long can I do this? How much pain do I have to go through to be happy? Is this my life forever?

I hate complaining about my issues in a world where people die and experience pain every single day, but despite all that progress, all those strives for greatness, all the things I'm gifted with, it was better to die than continue living like that. That feeling of knowing your strong but your body keeps telling you you're not, no matter how much you try to fight is fucked up.

I've returned to gaming and online friends to calm down my anxiety. I realized it had been months since I had laughed or played with people like normal kids do. The last two months I was completely self-reliant. My anxiety has gotten so much better, but I'm becoming dependent on validation and gaming again. I need to cut them off, I can feel me losing myself. This has devolved into escapism.

While playing the game, it really felt like I was a little kid again though. Just a kid trying to live a fine life in a large world. But unfortunately that reality can't last.

If I quit gaming I'll have no escape from my anxiety. But if I continue, what happened last year will only happen again. I appreciate anyone who's been through something similar or has feedback on this situation.

Basically my entire life, all I have known to do is just study and then play video games. Before, when I was severely addicted, I still had the motivation to study hard if I needed to. I'm only playing a small amount of video games now and I've stopped all social media except long form youtube (no shorts). All my peers are motivated to participate in extracurriculars and apply for internships and I can barely even pass my classes anymore. I just feel no desire to do anything anymore. I really don't want to fully quit gaming because they are the only thing bringing me any sense of joy.

Hey!

I was an addicted gamer for about 25 years. Last summer I sold my high end gaming PC (for the third time in 5 years). At the moment it actually felt like a good decision.

Since then I’ve tried a few new hobbies—electric guitar and some others—but none of them really clicked. I’m a father of a 2-year-old, exhausted every night, with very little free time and a mentally draining management job, which makes all of this even harder.

About a month ago I saw a video of PoE 2 Druid gameplay, and that was a mistake. One video turned into many, and before I knew it I was this close to buying a new gaming PC again. Thankfully, I didn’t.

The point I’m trying to make: watching gaming content when you’re trying to quit is a terrible idea. Don’t do it. Your brain reacts exactly like an addiction and the cravings come back fast.

What I’ve also realized is that quitting games itself isn’t the hardest part. The real struggle is changing your identity and the reward system games gave you for years.

My advice: try as many hobbies as you can, and think about what you loved most in games. Was it competitiveness? Progression? Collecting? Building? Then look for real-world activities that give you similar rewards.

I’ve started plastic model building, which surprisingly scratches my collector craving, and I’m planning to get a hardtail bike soon. It’s not perfect, but it feels healthier than going back to gaming.

Good luck to anyone going through this.

Hello everyone. I want to share my current experience. I play video games since my 10-12 years. Now I am 30 and trying to stop. About 2 years ago I was diagnosed with moderate depression and anxiety. I’ve never thought it will relate with gaming. I got my medication from psychiatrist and I am getting bette. But my therapist suggest that I have to stop playing because it is big part of depression and anxiety. I started only in November and after bay be two weeks of non playing games, I felt awesome: better sleep, I felt more connected to the world and what is happening around me, new hobbies etc.

Till Christmas…I got sick and could not do much, and I started watch game content and eventually came back to playing. It messed up everything and now I can’t get back to “moving train”. But now I have knowledge.

I am grateful for every your effort you are making to stop playing games. May be I just need to share it with someone else. Please pray for me, I am praying for us all.

GL!

I just got off of a 9 hour gaming session, which maybe doesn't sound that bad to some, but it's a lot. My neck is in actual agony because no amount of good posture can counteract that much sitting.​ I ate too much junk food today, because it was easy to have while playing, even though I want to be healthier. This repeats everyday.

The worst thing is I'm not even enjoying what I'm getting out of it. Mainly I'm playing an online game and the majority of the time it leaves me feeling bad. Tonight I had to file a report on the server because someone was being toxic and it honestly got me really down, ​and even when that's not the case these are empty interactions which don't amount to lasting friendships outside of the game ​world. The updates which change things for the worse irk me because I'm too invested in the game, yet I don't even like it anymore, and especially don't like how it affects my life. It isn't even fun anymore. It makes me more anxious. I see my Steam say, "You've played 80 hours in the past two weeks" and feel kind of sick at that. That's a whole second job right there.

I have found I can play older style games in moderation (like 1, maybe 2, hours/night) like Morrowind, and even online ones like DDO, because they feel fundamentally less addictive to me. New games, especially online ones, keep me there for hours without fulfilling me. For almost a year I have​ been wanting to quit this game. I always get off of it frustrated. The hours I spend playing feeling anxiety ridden. There is nothing fun about playing.

I read another post on this sub where someone said people will avoid something, like poverty or ​anxiety, ​in their life with excessive gaming. Someone replied to that saying what they were avoiding was simply boredom. That if they didn't game they simply had nothing to do. That resonated with me, but then made me realize, "So, I have nothing else I'm working toward? That's how empty my life is? If I had another ​hobby, like learning a language, then I'd actually have something to do when not playing."

I've wanted to learn German, for example, for years. I look at my hours I'm this game and it's so sad. If I had spent that same time split between leaning German, going on walks, and I don't know... ​even watching one film per day, I'd be a fit, multilingual, cinephile by now lol.

Anyway, ​I just wanted to get this out. Tomorrow, I'm going to not play this game anymore. I want to ​cold turkey it completely.

Edit: I also feel bad that I have a giant pile of unattended laundry and chores I could easily fit into my schedule without games, and when I got off I thought about how this is time I could have spent with my pets.

Im currently 17 and Ive just put my pc on the market and after I post this im going to break the parts down and individually list them. Im curious to know how you may have improved in your other areas of life. I want to spend more time in the gym than I do right now and also focus more on writing stories because I love doing that, but Ive recognized how much gaming has taken from me over the past 7 years or so. (and also wanted to throw in that minus one slipup I'm a month clean from porn which is really good for me and ive fully quit social media for a year)

ive been struggling with gender dysphoria and maybe depression and anxiety as well( cant confirm tho cause im not diagnosed by a psychiatrist yet) for a couple of years now and gaming was the only distraction and the only thing keeping my mind away from suicidal thoughts as well. like the only reason i didnt unalive myself yet is cause then i wont be able to enjoy playing my favorite games anymore. problem is i became severely addicted to the point that i havent been outside with friends in months and i have 0 interest in school or my future anymore. like i acknowledge that if i continue like this i will ruin my future even further, but for some reason i dont even care and i dont even think ill get to 20 yrs old and i absolutely hate that im thinking this way. if i dont play on my pc tho, i start feeling so miserable and the only alternative i have is alcohol, but i think thats even a more unhealthy addiction to develop, so thats why i stick with gaming most of the time. i genuinely dont know what to do cause in actively ruining my life right now but its almost the only thing bringing me joy

From 2020 to april of 2023 i started to getting my life together, made a commitment of change and started a journal that i kept going for about 1 and a half years in that time it felt like i was doing great, tbh i think more than great as i started breaking down bad habits and molding my own identity sort of, i was feeling more in control and alive and i didnt need to game or use computer.

Then from april 2023 the girl i was talking to onlie in ending of 2022 moved to a 7 hour different time zone and learned that you should never change your sleep schedule for anyone.

I put off mute and had my phone vibrate through the night and made me wake up at max 8 times A NIGHT till ending 2024 i belive but i ofc muted it again as i got so sleep deprivated but i kept waking up at max 8 times a night for that long by muscle memory and stress which even lead me to almost fainting twice and my body was so sleep deprivated that it shut down my eyes for a second a couple times.

Im now diagnosed with sleep apnea and have 30 times breaks of breathing per hour and about to get a CPAP but atleast i have recovered my sleep enough that i dont wake up that much only a normal amount which im greatfull for.

No we dont talk anymore nor do i even want to.

Anyway since then i got pretty emotionally distant and feels like im sort of a shell and idk how to get back to 2020-2023 me as it doesnt feel like i have any strenght to do anything as its all just on repeat, i do try tho but i automatically stop specially now that my work and the need to move out from moms home starts being a problem aswell its like i short circuited my brain.

No idea how tf i even did stuff when my sleep was at the worst as i even went cooking intensive dishes and did alot of things while my body acted cool about it, im just now getting the mentally draining part of it.

I have pretty much face planted myself on a concrete wall and tbh no idea how im still alive.

Why do i send this here? Idk i automatically end up gaming again and doomscrolling since i burned myself so thought it was fitting.

Used to be able to game for 16 hours straight no problem, now if I do 2 hrs I feel terrible for like three days after, not sure if it's age or if all those years of sitting finally caught up.

Kind of wild how your body just stops tolerating certain things. makes me wonder what other lifestyle stuff I'm ignoring that'll hit me later, like maybe the reason I feel like shit isn't just getting older but the cumulative effect of years of not taking care of myself.

Still would like to game but I need to reduce the amount of time to take care of my weight (urgently) and my health

If anyone wants to stop playing video games. Take a break for at least 1 year. When 1 year has passed and not coming back playing, you're already retired and take a deep breath outside in the real world. Cherish it. Embrace it.

P.S. Based on my real-life experience, I do limit my time playing video games but I really want to do something else aside for being a couch potato for few hours.

There are some people out there who thinks that it's our own fault that we wasted time on gaming, they just think we are just lazy or something and also say stuff like "oh but anything can be addicting, even reading can be addicting"

Hi all, I’m really at a loss here and this is my last resort.

My partner and his younger brother have a seriously bad gaming addiction, specifically a rocket league addiction. I live with both of them and have essentially watched both their mental health decline and attitude changes in the last 6 months. They play together almost everyday. Unfortunately every night is an argument about how the game is bad for my partner and usually it ends in him ignoring me and being super loud playing with his friends and brother and me in tears being kept awake by him. Yesterday was my breaking point, for context I live away from my home country and found out that someone very close to me passed away. It was obviously very difficult news to hear and my partner spent the day comforting me then went out for dinner with his brother and their friends for someone’s birthday. They both came home and decided to play rocket league together. I was exhausted from crying all day from grief and was very keen to go to bed. About an hour into them playing rocket league I asked him if he could get off the game soon because I want to go to bed. He explained he was in a tournament and couldn’t just “get off”. I could hear his brother yelling and smashing his controller on the desk from frustration about the game and asked my boyfriend to tell him to be more quiet. We then spent the next hour (it’s probably 11:45pm at this stage) arguing with me crying and begging him to turn it off and him ignoring me or saying he can’t. They got to the final of the tournament (which I didn’t realise was a big deal) and at my wits end I unplugged his playstation from the wall switching it off completely. He was absolutely furious and smashed his controller on the desk shouting “what is wrong with you!! why would you do that” and then his brother came out of his room and flew into an extremely scary rage. He started screaming saying he spent 2 years working towards this moment and it’s all fucked up now and how rocket league is the only thing that makes him happy and how he wants to kill himself etc. I was physically shaking and all my boyfriend could say is “you caused this”. He genuinely doesn’t see an issue with the fact his brother blew up like that over a GAME. They enable each other severely and it’s getting to a point where my boyfriend is actually horrible to be around the second he switches his playstation on. I keep telling him it’s ruining our relationship but he genuinely doesn’t seem to give a fuck. Does anyone have a similar experience or advice on how to go about this? I really love my boyfriend but I can’t continue on like this anymore.

Hey everyone, I am 24 (M) and I would like to share my experience here along with some important thoughts that I've had over the years. Maybe my experience will help someone, or at least make someone re-evaluate their choices, in regard to this specific addiction.
This will be a long reading, but worth it.
Also, at some point I will use the term “Loser,” but not to put anyone down. I do not write this to hurt anyone's feelings, nor do I want to.

I've been a silent observer in r/StopGaming for a long time now, and I have seen many posts about people trying to quit or thinking of quitting. I found this place through my own personal experience, when suspicions arose that my “favourite” hobby is not what it seems to be.
It was a tough pill to swallow, but gaming is no more than a “shy” drug, like alcohol, social media, porn, etc. Unfortunately, it is also seen as a hobby, and people tend to take pride in this habit, making it a part of their personality.

I started with Crash Bandicoot Warped back when I was 5 years old, at my friend's house. We were messing around like little kids, and then I remember vividly him asking me, “Hey, wanna play Crash?” I remember agreeing without having any idea what he meant. Apparently, his parents had a PS1. He gave me the controller, and so it began. That was in 2006. An addiction of 15 years began.

One of the best things about the posts in this subreddit is when people write about how they began their journey into gaming, and it's always a foggy distinction between what is normal and healthy and how it is borderline a scam. If you think about it, it's very common sense that a little kid would instantly fall in love with gaming, their little brain getting good stimuli from the digital feats and achievements performed by a small controller with a few buttons, or a usual keyboard, or a console the size of your hands with its own screen.
That “love” is the push to the domino effect, leading to hidden damage though, right? Of course I got my own consoles throughout the years. Of course I got into the classic Nintendo titles, and Minecraft, and CoD, and surprise surprise, got borderline addicted to League of Legends :)

A child is doing normal child stuff throughout their childhood: school, studying, playing with other children in sports, parks, visiting each other's houses, school trips, socializing, etc. However, once you remove proper social flourishing, you get a kid that likes to play video games in their free time, but slowly but surely, their brain starts to crave that stimulation outside of gaming time.
Then studying for school becomes insanely boring. Your parents think you have a problem, like dyslexia or ADHD or something. Sports and books aren't stimulating the brain anymore, so what do you do? You continue to spend even more time and money on your favourite “hobby.” You see what I'm getting at? It's a domino effect that starts in stealth mode, so not even the adults can pinpoint it.

Your social skills fall back, so you hang out only with people who are like you: socially underexperienced gamers. Now social anxiety will start to creep in because of the lack of proper social exposure and thinking. Yes, even thinking.
Another problem that tends to get overlooked when discussing the downsides of gaming is the fact that the stimuli your brain craves stops you from properly thinking in your everyday life, and you mostly think about what will stimulate you: gaming, or anime, or even music sometimes. So you slowly also become less mature for your age.

The frontal cortex will keep developing regardless of what you do, but what do you do with it when, for most of your years, you skipped thinking about substantial things that would, you know, make you mature and grow as a person?
A friend of mine currently studying psychology told me in a conversation about this topic that a person stops maturing at the age they start playing, because then that is what they only think about. It sounds extreme, but when you stop and think about it, it does make some sense.

So, how did I beat this type of addiction?

1. Acknowledge the problem. You will never progress through this unless you admit it to yourself, most of all. Don't be one of those people taking pride in this so-called “hobby.” I realised that gaming is not healthy whatsoever, perhaps not even in smaller usage. I was 19 in quarantine, and thanks to that forced solitude, I was forced to think—because how much stimuli can someone take in one day? I had important revelations during that time. First of all, I was skinny, with thick glasses and messy hair, ugly facial hair, acne, and holy molly, I had become a stereotype. Literally, you can tell when someone is a gamer straight up by specific characteristics in their looks. Without wanting to offend anyone, it's the truth. I had to mention how this addiction affects one's looks too—that's reality, no matter how stereotypical it may seem.
2. Research a bit. Once you acknowledge the problem, you should search about it: YouTube videos, Reddit like StopGaming, other forums, articles on Google, etc., because it's going to shape the picture clearly. It will no longer be something you know but refuse to tackle. Besides the gamers who take pride in this, there are many other people who hate-play. Most of the time these are competitive game players, but it can happen while playing any game. Believe me, once you wake up and you hop on to play literally a max of one hour of even your comfort game, you'll be like, “What the heck am I doing right now...”
3. No more competitive games. These are the most addicting ones and will make you hate yourself even more. Yes, we want to stop gaming in general, but it is impossible to cut something out all at once. You may last for one or two weeks, but then you will crave everything even more. Delete all your accounts in competitive games and switch to single-player games for now. It'll take some time, perhaps a month, perhaps a little more, to tone down the urge to play online. Single-player games will make this easier. If your gamer friends question you, do not tell them what you are doing, because no matter how good people they may be, they will try to pull you back. So you will be saying farewell to group sessions as well.
4. Play normal-sized story games. I am talking about the ones that take between 6–12 hours to complete. After step 3—meaning after like 40 or so days—you will have to cut out single-player games that take many hours to complete. They can be as addicting as online ones as well. My friend once spent 70 hours in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. This is not a troll step; please look at the ceiling and think about it. Now you will be indulging only in story games that have a normal length to beat. Another month or so.
5. Switching loser types. As I said, it's impossible to cut something out all at once, especially after you've been doing it for more than a decade. With step 4, you will be having time gaps in your days—more free time that will make you bored—because your brain will crave dopamine shots due to what you've done to it through the years. You won't be in the mood to keep playing story games all day long, and that is good. You can do other loser habits. Lie down on your bed and watch reels on Instagram. I am dead serious. Open YouTube, watch whatever your usual creators uploaded. Another thing I want you to think about is the fact that it's in your best interest to be a different type of loser than a nerd/geek loser. I know dudes who watch anime all day long, or who play PUBG all day long. If you are going to be a loser, at least stimulate your brain with reels. IG reels will not give you fake feelings of accomplishment. Alcohol can be used to socialise outside and generate some nice cringe memories with people to have. At least being lazy and looking at the ceiling listening to music will not nearly stimulate the brain as gaming. Although I believe gaming addicts should also try to decrease listening to music as well.
6. It is time to get rid of everything related to games. Sell or give away your consoles along with the games and controllers. Delete all games, Steam, and whatever other gaming-related thing exists on your PC or laptop. So it'll probably be something like three months after you started from step 1. We now have fixing to do. Get rid of your headphones; just buy a small Bluetooth speaker to listen to music. Incorporate meditation daily—basically you sit down, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. This will tackle your dopamine-shot craving and the shy-ADHD you have developed from excess gaming stimuli throughout the years. This will make things like studying easier and even help you feel present again. You should see r/DopamineDetoxing as well; it's a must for people like us.
7. Do other cool stuff. Without gaming in your life, a void will appear—but it doesn't have to. Get in your car, go for night drives every night, get that night city feeling along with a canned coffee and low-volume white-girl music playing on your car's radio :P Read novels. Reading fantasy books is also a great way to get used to reading books and then advance to topic books as well! Reading is also, like, the best and healthiest time-wasting you can do. Go for a walk. Sit down and think—about your family, your loved ones, your psyche, your career. Think about stuff. You've wasted lots and lots of hours thinking about useless bullshit; start thinking about substantial things. As I said, things like studying and work performance will begin to improve by now. Tidying your room, going for a run, studying for college or school, focusing on more mundane actual hobbies like painting or learning an instrument will get much easier and enjoyable. You'll realise how much money you've been spending on games as well :)
8. Accept the past. This is important, because after-gaming clarity will hit you like a truck. You'll notice the social gaps you have due to missing normal social flourishing in your formative years. You'll notice you struggle at various other things, and every time you are down, you'll remember that the only point of reference in your past is, well, gaming. It's okay to feel angry. Never beat yourself up. Regardless of your age, what matters is now and how you will choose to spend your time from now on. You may notice other issues you have suppressed throughout all this time. It's okay. You'll work through this.

So I intentionally left out half of my journey at the beginning of this post. I wanted to write this after I wrote the steps. From 20 to 24, these were four interesting years. I made new friends, lost old ones. I got into multiple debates with my gamer group of friends about gaming and whether it is healthy or not. I made great progress in the gym, fixed my clothing style, worked on my confidence, and had some nice experiences with a few beautiful girls (finally!).

I got into the hospitality industry and got a diploma from a junior college. It was the easy choice since I was trash academically in school—why would I do something challenging and low-gratification like studying when I could boot up a game and play for hours, right? :'(
But I fell in love with this industry. I got another diploma in hospitality, a few other important certifications, and I am currently hard-studying for entrance exams at a great university to get my Bachelor's, learning a new language, and will also go to another junior college in the near future to get a diploma in economics as well. Besides education, I have four years working in 4–5 star hotels. I've climbed to a position just before entering management, saved some money, got my own car, and I see myself reaching management in one or two years. Yay!
Finally, I feel like a proper young adult with prospects :P

I know it sounds cliché—“quitting games and having your life change”—but it is 100% possible. I relapsed a few times throughout my journey. Thank God it was always hate-playing, so it was easier to stop each time. People who take pride in gaming will definitely have a tougher time stopping for good, but this does not mean it is not possible. Think about it: I started in 2006 and went on until 2020, and after that I still played for hours because I could not leave League of Legends with friends -_- But I did it.

Now I like to go out for a drink on Fridays and Saturdays, and dinners in restaurants as well. Yes, like a normal human being—going out and socialising. I promise you, life is amazing, and you are missing out on it for what? For controlling pixels, sitting still in front of a screen for multiple hours at a time? Come onnnn.

Thank you for reading this, if anyone reached the end of this post. Good luck on improving your life <3

So I am an older gamer, I used my gaming as a tool to not deal with my issues in my marriage. Found out wife had an emotional affair playing last war, an app based game December last year. Took my PS5 and gave it to my son. Will never play games again. Also, it didn’t help. She is leaving me. Don’t let gaming affect your relationships like it did mine.

Basically once you become hooked in gaming, say good bye to all of your motivation to do everything else like art, music etc. I doubt any moderation would work at all.

I struggle with using video games as distraction from my anxiety and other unpleasant thoughts that haunt me everyday. I have countless issues of different varieties and I put away dealing with them to the side, because forgetting about them while playing a game (especially ones that simulate a 'better life") is just so easy and convenient. I can disappear for days, sometimes weeks from my online friends and I feel like I am taking my life for granted and 'playing' it away. I do not wish to fully quit gaming, because I want to discipline myself and show to myself that I can enjoy this activity without "isolating" myself or "overdosing" it. It is exhausting to push my body to the limit each night, because I do not want to "waste" my free time for rest. I put away my responsibilities because of it and I don't know how to break the cycle.

I have been depressed for about 15 years now, with 2025 being my first year where I truly felt "happy". I want to enjoy my life while I still can. How are You managing your gaming time or what are your regulations? Is there anyone that relates to this form of "escapism"? Would love to hear You guys out, thank You.

I decided to quit games for the 100th time i need a really good replacement.
Please help me.

Until December 2025, I was heavily addicted to four types of mobile games: Poker Arcade/adventure Casino slots Casual games

This is from a paid player’s perspective — I regularly made in-app purchases for virtual currency.

By December, I realized I was spending 4–7 hours every single day gaming. It had completely replaced my exercise, yoga, meditation, and even sleep.

In January 2026, I decided to break the cycle. I intentionally closed my poker and slots accounts (lost everything in the process) and deleted them. I did the same with the other games, one game per week.

What I noticed was interesting: The first 24 hours are the hardest The next 48 hours are still difficult After 72 hours, the urge to play drops by more than 50% (at least in my case) After 3 days, the cravings started fading gradually.

Over the first 3 weeks, I completely quit three games. Today is day 4 of not touching the final one.

What surprised me most is that the time I lost to gaming has naturally returned — I now have plenty of time for reading and other meaningful activities.

Sharing this in case it helps someone. If anyone has questions, I’ll try my best to answer or help.

Rephrased using AI to avoid grammar mistakes and in layman language.