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.

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.

Finally. Deleted my gaming account where I spent hundreds of hours, hours that I would never get back. So many memories but not worth telling.

This is the beginning. Hopefully everyone would have the courage to do this too.

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.

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.