How to Stop a Gaming Addiction

Gaming has been ingrained into our culture. It’s normal for people to enjoy video games and share experiences with their friends online. It’s a massive industry with billions of consumers. However, some of these gamers have lost their enjoyment of playing and only do it because they feel they need to.

In 2018 the term “gaming disorder” was legitimized by the World Health Organization (WHO) when they included it in the International Classification of Diseases.

Excessive gaming isn’t necessarily an addiction. When video games become a psychological need, that would be classified as a behavioral addiction. It takes courage and commitment to admit an addiction to a behavior so ingrained in our society.

What Does a Video Game Addiction Look Like?

Roughly 8.5% of America’s youth show addictive behaviors toward video games. In some cases, these children also showed six signs of gambling addiction. A 2020 study showed that over 3% of all gamers have a gaming disorder.

Although the DSM-5 doesn’t include gaming disorder, it gives professionals criteria for how to classify addictions. This outlines nine symptoms, five of which must be present for one year to be diagnosed. Those symptoms include:

  • Thinking about video games all or most of the time
  • Feeling bad when you can’t play
  • Having to increase time playing to feel good
  • Inability to quit or even play less
  • Not wanting to do things you used to enjoy
  • Increased problems at home, work, or school due to gaming
  • Not being honest with people close to you about how much you game
  • Easing negative moods and emotions with gaming
  • Continuing playing despite these problems

Other Warning Signs

Beyond the formal diagnosis, there are other warning signs of video game addiction. These signs might be observable by close friends and family:

  • Neglect of personal health—Taking care of yourself shouldn’t be tossed aside for any reason. If gaming is making you neglect your health, you could have a gaming problem.
  • Withdrawal symptoms—These symptoms include irritability when gaming is taken away or unavailable.
  • Reckless Spending—A symptom of addiction is continued use despite problems. Spending more money than you’re able on video games is a warning sign that something isn’t right.

Benefits of Quitting Video Games

Regardless of what the behavior is, addictions are bad for you. They often cause people to do things they don’t want and decrease enjoyment of other parts of life. You may feel you haven’t crossed the line into addiction, but cutting back on video games can be a good way to assess your relationship with them. 

In moderation, video games can be a great hobby with a positive community. However, when abused, video games can become a need not a want. At that point, people may find they don’t enjoy video games anymore. Instead of playing for enjoyment, they play because they feel like they need to.

Consider taking some time away from video games and seeing what happens. You may find that having more open time will help you finish productive tasks, rebuild relationships, get more sleep, and increase your work performance. 

Quitting Video Games

If your video game usage has developed into a full-blown addiction, there are options for you. Some people have found success with non-professional at-home strategies. However, when coupled with professional help, you’re much more likely to find success. 

Like most addictions, video game addiction might be linked to a mental health disorder. Treating one can treat the other.  Here are some options for how to stop playing video games.

Therapy

Therapy is a treatment almost anyone can benefit from. When struggling with a behavioral addiction, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a helpful treatment for video game addiction. 

CBT helps people identify negative beliefs and restructure them. It’s believed that when we create positive relationships between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, we’re able to evaluate and change negative behaviors.

Develop New Hobbies

When breaking old habits, it’s important to build new habits. If you don’t replace your gaming time with something else, you’ll be wasting it. Distract yourself from video game cravings by creating new ways to feel joy.

Here are just a few things that you can do to re-develop passions outside of gaming:

  • Hiking
  • Journaling
  • Music
  • Reading
  • Building model kits
  • Working out
  • Gardening or nurturing house plants
  • Board games (the physical ones)

There are a lot more hobbies with specific niches. Find one that matches your interests and gamify it.

Create Limits

Limiting your time spent playing is easier said than done. It’s more of a strategy to stop excessive use before it crosses into addiction.

A good place to start is to set tangible, measurable goals. Keep track of the time you spend gaming and cut back a little at a time. The amount of time you cut back depends on you, but be realistic and challenge yourself.

Doing this alone is much easier than with help. Find an accountability buddy and be honest with them about the time you spend playing. Ideally, this person will be able to call you out when you’re playing too much. Someone who lives with you would be ideal, but they can also be internet friends.

Going cold turkey is another option, but don’t feel bad if you’re not able to. Cutting a lifestyle hobby out of your life completely all at once is a difficult thing.

Behavioral Addiction Treatment at Sequoia

Behavioral addiction treatment at Sequoia Behavioral Health includes a multifaceted approach tailored to your needs and personal experience. We offer a variety of psychotherapies, as well as recreational therapy, which has been proven effective in addiction treatment. Our holistic approach to mental health aims to alleviate the symptoms of addiction by treating the root cause.

Inpatient treatment may be a cold turkey approach, but sometimes that may be necessary. Take an extended break from gaming to take care of yourself. Contact us to learn how you could get from underneath your addiction.