Hobby to replace gaming addiction

[YOLOisonlyprinciple]

Ive been playing games way too much (5-6hrs pd) for atleast 5 years, i want to replace it with something which gives higher long term satisfaction.
Im thinking of using the extra free time to learn to code. But still it lacks the instant reward feeling. And as i dont exercise at all, ive decided to split my free time between coding and a sport. I have to choose 1 of three i like:

a. Swimming- I love swimming, i love the feeling of being under the water, i feel like i am a flying bird. However, there is no communication, no competition, no real excitement of win-lose. When swimming as a casual activity there is no win-lose, there is nothing at stake. I feel i would probably enjoy it, but i will still feel there is a hole in my psychological needs of playing multiplayer online 5v5 games. Also no scope for strategy making or anything much cerebral

b. Table tennis- Used to be my pasttime in school. Really fun. Communication, strategy, a win-lose feeling, instant rewards. Also can play for multiple hours. But that could also mean i might play it for 4-5 hours because my body isnt tired enough to stop, and use much more time in a sport than needed.

c. Tennis- fancier version of table tennis. I would feel like playing a "classy" game. Id get tired really fast. But i havent played it before so i dont know if i would like it that much. Also lesser number ofplayers playing than table tennis could mean fixing times to play with people of similar skill levels would be harder.

 

[Pyropyro]

swimming for fitness or table tennis for better social stuff. Tennis seems to be a bother with the investment and place needed to set-up the game compared to the other two.

 

[The Gopher]

Try fencing. When I couldn't play anymore it gave me the individual competition with every match/point being it's own win/loss. Heavy mind game sport, also will get you in shape.

 

[Cogitant]

Can entirely relate to gaming addiction.
I replaced mine with creative writing.

Used to be a World of Warcraft addict from 2006-2010. Utterly, shamefully addicted.

I was trapped in a situation with raiding where I was motivated to progress content every week and where people online relied on my signing up and turning up.
Played in a guild called 'Cartel' as both Druid and Paladin healer. Was a full time job.

It was a semi-hardcore guild that I was a member of.
They expected commitment, attendance and performance.
As a result of guild organization and group dedication, we claimed server #1 clear of Sunwell Plateau (most challenging content) and #1 timed clear in Zul'Aman during 'The Burning Crusade', then we had issues with attendance and recruitment in 'Wrath of the Lich King', fell to realm #3, then the guild disbanded after Lich King heroic mode kill (to go out in a blaze rather than fall to obscurity).
After that point, I quit the game.

The game was my entire life, but it was a fake life.
In my fake life I achieved great things.
I was a heroine.
I saved Azeroth many times from the brink of destruction from demons and the undead (with a bunch of other escapist nerds).

I'd wake up, log in, farm, level alts, PuG raids on my alts, make flasks for the other guild members, then subject myself to stressful 'progress' raid encounters on three or more evenings a week in which flawless performance mattered.
Then enjoyed the 'virtual' rock-star attention that came with wearing the newest top-tier epic gear while hanging around Orgrimmar, and enjoying the respect that other players gave for the 'Cartel' guild tag.

But it was all escapism.
None of it was real, and it was hard when I quit.

I found myself getting depressed and drowned beneath too much real life that I had neglected. I missed the raids, the other nerds banter on Teamspeak, even grinding reputation.

One day I decided to re-read Lord of the Rings. It was a fateful decision.
It spawned the idea, 'I wonder if I could actually write a book'.

So I started.

It was difficult to get into at first.
I'm a perfectionist and highly critical of everything that I ever do, and particularly what I write.
But I wrote regardless...

And 7 years later, the historical fantasy novel is finally 'finished' and edited. Perhaps ready to publish if I didn't have anxiety regarding approaching anybody that could help me in that department.

I started the second book in the series recently. I might challenge myself to write an entire novel over this summer in fact.

Writing is therapeutic and cathartic. So are any of the arts.
Also satisfying when you have created something lasting. Gives a sense of achievement.

My actual toon. Too embarrassing.
​

- Ex wow addict

​

 

[redbaron]

lift weights
read books
do gardening

 

[Happy]

lift weights
read books
do gardening

I second this. About 3-4 years ago, I spent a year doing exclusively these 3 things, and the positive flow on effect it's had in my life since has been remarkable.

 

[washti]

dont lift gardens! they are heavy and have potential to destroy planet. instead plant one tree a day. Soon you be meeting people like you!

1. buy vibrators (and if you are noob - books how to use them efficiently!)
2. go to voice emission lessons!
3. you can learn how to do makeup on dead people too. its even a job

 

[Jennywocky]

I wouldn't really call online stuff (even gaming) completely detrimental, it can be very useful as either an outlet, to build some expertise, to have fun and explore, etc.

However, yeah, at some point it can become too obsessive and/or demand far more time and emotional/creative energy than warranted. So at that point it's good to limit time. (The anecdote about raiding being a timesink... yup, that's why I never joined raid groups; while I never got that experience, I also never had to deal with that stress or had myself trapped in playing online games for hours each day. I like to have control over my schedule and just stop playing for a few weeks when I want.)

While our energy can be nourished and stimulated/rejuvenated, each day typically does provide a limited amount of energy. I did not notice this as much when younger, but became more aware of it in the last number of years, that my energy resources were declining. So I have to spend it more wisely.

There are a lot of activities that can be useful to feed imagination (like watching movies, games, etc) or turn on your brain, but at the same time they can also take away energy from other things including creative ventures, especially the more passive a role one is assuming. It's like "eating eating eating" brainfood without ever channeling that energy into something constructive in the sense of "creating/building" something.

So it's good to limit "consumption" activities and schedule time for "production" activities as well -- creative ventures, writing, composing, drawing, building, designing, whatever you are into. It's "work" but it feels productive and it's like exercising your mind as much as doing a physical workout to build your body.

Of course, there are other things too that can get you out of your head and expand you further, just regular activities (gardening, walking, building/fixing up your house, playing sports). I think it's good to mix things up so that all of you is getting used in some way and you are advancing on all fronts.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

OP, you have to detox yourself from the instant stimulus you get from games. You are a stimulus junkie – you gotta accept that. There is no quick fix for it, just like there is no easy feel-good way of quitting heroin. You have to start disciplining your brain like you would discipline an unruly dog.

 

[Jennywocky]

... woof.

 

[washti]

jennywocky post make me stop and reflect. Then I got illuminated!
Yeah.

Some fun stuff
some creative stuff
some guilty pleasure
some stuff to do witch company
some stuff with animals
some reading

Make a day using this like building blocks. Damn - I will have to draw a table and use more precise categories.
I will design my perfect day then execute it, iterate and tell you all about it. @.@

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

... woof.

Exactly

 

[redbaron]

I second this. About 3-4 years ago, I spent a year doing exclusively these 3 things, and the positive flow on effect it's had in my life since has been remarkable.

weightlifting, bookreading, gardening master race

 

[EyeSeeCold]

lift weights
read books
do gardening

instructions unclear, now addicted to the sims

 

[Happy]

instructions unclear, now addicted to the sims

Close enough

 

[PmjPmj]

Get married and have kids. I 100% guarantee that gaming will become a fond but distant memory.

 

[Jennywocky]

OP, you have to detox yourself from the instant stimulus you get from games.

I also meant to overtly agree with this. A lot of online game is based on quick-stim rewards -- whether it's killing things or leveling or finding things or whatever else. (A lot of that crappy FaceBook gaming is the same way.)

In general, I feel like my attention span has been shot by twenty years of Internet use in general. I love the ability to web around and find information, but at the same time it has fractured my ability to focus to some degree. If you [generic you] can't walk around without checking your cell phone for something every 60 seconds (and feel your fingers twitch when you don't), then maybe it would be good to spend time away or put limits on it.

Get married and have kids. I 100% guarantee that gaming will become a fond but distant memory.

damn, lol.

But yeah. There was a reason I didn't play RPGS for about 12 years, and even when I played computer games, I had guilt over it.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

If I play a game for even a couple of hours, I want to kill myself afterwards because it feels like I just deleted those hours from my life.

Even just sitting and staring into a wall is better – at least you are present in your body.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Consider volleyball, basketball, or street hockey, they all share small teams meaning everyone gets some action, plus there is great room for strategy.

Might also be a good idea to take measures against relapsing.

 

[Reluctantly]

Can entirely relate to gaming addiction.
I replaced mine with creative writing.

Used to be a World of Warcraft addict from 2006-2010. Utterly, shamefully addicted.

I was trapped in a situation with raiding where I was motivated to progress content every week and where people online relied on my signing up and turning up.
Played in a guild called 'Cartel' as both Druid and Paladin healer. Was a full time job.

It was a semi-hardcore guild that I was a member of.
They expected commitment, attendance and performance.
As a result of guild organization and group dedication, we claimed server #1 clear of Sunwell Plateau (most challenging content) and #1 timed clear in Zul'Aman during 'The Burning Crusade', then we had issues with attendance and recruitment in 'Wrath of the Lich King', fell to realm #3, then the guild disbanded after Lich King heroic mode kill (to go out in a blaze rather than fall to obscurity).
After that point, I quit the game.

The game was my entire life, but it was a fake life.
In my fake life I achieved great things.
I was a heroine.
I saved Azeroth many times from the brink of destruction from demons and the undead (with a bunch of other escapist nerds).

I'd wake up, log in, farm, level alts, PuG raids on my alts, make flasks for the other guild members, then subject myself to stressful 'progress' raid encounters on three or more evenings a week in which flawless performance mattered.
Then enjoyed the 'virtual' rock-star attention that came with wearing the newest top-tier epic gear while hanging around Orgrimmar, and enjoying the respect that other players gave for the 'Cartel' guild tag.

But it was all escapism.
None of it was real, and it was hard when I quit.

I found myself getting depressed and drowned beneath too much real life that I had neglected. I missed the raids, the other nerds banter on Teamspeak, even grinding reputation.

One day I decided to re-read Lord of the Rings. It was a fateful decision.
It spawned the idea, 'I wonder if I could actually write a book'.

So I started.

It was difficult to get into at first.
I'm a perfectionist and highly critical of everything that I ever do, and particularly what I write.
But I wrote regardless...

And 7 years later, the historical fantasy novel is finally 'finished' and edited. Perhaps ready to publish if I didn't have anxiety regarding approaching anybody that could help me in that department.

I started the second book in the series recently. I might challenge myself to write an entire novel over this summer in fact.

Writing is therapeutic and cathartic. So are any of the arts.
Also satisfying when you have created something lasting. Gives a sense of achievement.

My actual toon. Too embarrassing.
​

- Ex wow addict

​

Wow was a lot of fun when they first came out with battlegrounds. I grind leveled a paladin to 60 just to troll people with the immunity bubble. I remember defending flags by taking hits and then bubbling and healing up. Was great. Especially the alterac valley matches that would go on for days. I could go to work and come back and continue the match. I had a troll warlock too for fearing and dotting people, heh.

Don't be embarrassed. That used to be a really unique game.

 

[Hadoblado]

First off, replacing it with something else is exactly the right move. Never just try to quit something. It leaves a hole that needs filling, which compels you to either take up something else equally rubbish, or lures you back into using. This goes for everything. Diet, drugs, gaming, gambling. It all works the same. So good start.

You don't have to cold-turkey however. Any reduction in gaming (and increase in your replacement) is a win. A big mistake with this stuff is that people assume will-power is infinite. It's not. Some people can just quit smoking and never pick up the habit again, but most people don't work that way. If you reduce your gaming down to four hours a day, that's a huge win.

You should be thinking about reduction in the short, medium, and long term. Short term, you can set your self really weak goals, where you're almost not changing anything. For example, play as much as you normally would, then the next day, make sure you don't play more than you did the day before. If this doesn't work, make a deliberate intervention of playing 10 minutes less a day. The key with small gains is to maintain them. Cutting your intake by 10 minutes is only about a 3% improvement, and feels like it costs you basically nothing. But that's a whole extra hour per week. Do that 30 weeks in a row and you've kicked the habit entirely. That seems like coddling, but ingrained habits are really difficult to kick.

One thing that works for me is setting achievement-gates. I can't play a game until my homework is done or w/e. I can't play a second hour until my room is clean. The third hour requires a clean kitchen etc.

Another thing that influences how much I play is what games, and how many games I currently play. For example, if I let myself play an RPG I will play for extremely long periods of time. This is because the rewards are constant, the play is repetitive, and the effort required is low. Compare this to playing factorio which is absolutely fucking exhausting: I can play for around two hour before getting tired, which is enough time to achieve something.

ATM I'm not really controlling how much I game, it's more about how much I can make myself study/work. I basically give myself unlimited access to gaming so long as I've done my work. I've weened myself off gaming in the past though. Usually I come back because I have close friends I only socialise with through gaming. I'm yet to figure out a way around that eventuality...

 

[Happy]

I don't agree with the notion that to break a habit, it needs to be replaced with a new one. However, I do agree that it is the case for a majority of the time for the majority of people.

I would have agreed before I quit smoking. My quitting experience was atypical in that I just decided one day that I was done with it after smoking a minimum pack a day for 6 years.

I think that if you wanted to quit any addiction (outside of like opiates or something) you can do it if you make a solid decision. For me and smoking though, I didn't plan it, I just decided one day I had grown out of it. I think that's the only way to break an addiction without having to deal with all the cravings and whatnot

 

[Hadoblado]

Some people can just quit smoking and never pick up the habit again, but most people don't work that way.

Gotcha covered

 

[Happy]

Gotcha covered

Lol I seem to have missed that line. Good one, dipshit (me)

 

[Hadoblado]

Nah it's aight. Your experience and opinions are still welcome regardless of whether I preemptively dismiss them :P

*the condescendingest headpat*

Seriously nice work quitting though. You must have impressive will-power. I think if I were ever addicted, I would have considerable difficulty - going of my prior evidenced levels of self-control. It's the kind of accomplishment that can go under the radar, but it really is an enormous deal. Good job!

 

[Happy]

Ah thanks. Really. Haven't had a cigarette since March 2016.

There were other factors which may be notable for anyone else trying to quit something.

I was in the middle of a life transition. I had just transitioned into a minimalist lifestyle at the time. I had thrown out most of my possessions (before that, I had fully furnished my rented apartment) and cut back to a backpack, a skateboard, a bicycle and a couple of blankets. I was in the middle of moving cities. I had left Melbourne behind and was enjoying a little island stopover retreat in a place called Gili Air in Indonesia, before I flew into Sydney to start a new life. This little island I was staying on didn't have any cars - only bicycles, boats and horse-drawn carts. Everyone would be gently awoken by the abundant rooster population at the crack of dawn every day. I think having all the changes in lifestyle, plus the new sleep pattern I developed on that island triggered something in me because it was one morning after being there for a week that I picked up my pack of cigarettes for my breakfast cig, looked at it, and put it back down, choosing to go for a walk instead. I haven't smoked since, and it wasn't even deliberate.

I think the lesson here is that while you can break a habit by replacing it with another, you can also break a habit by putting yourself in a position where all your habits are thrown out the window, clearing the air and creating a blank slate in which to build new habits from the ground up.

 

[The Gopher]

I think the lesson here is that while you can break a habit by replacing it with another, you can also break a habit by putting yourself in a position where all your habits are thrown out the window, clearing the air and creating a blank slate in which to build new habits from the ground up.

You can also create habits this way.

 

[ZenRaiden]

Well stricktly speaking life is an interesting game too.

I stopped playing games few years ago.
My work out looks like this....
Warm up
Stretching
Yoga
Pilates
Karate
Tae Kwon Do
Free exercise
Tai Chi
Lifting
Ballet exercises
Aerobic
Tae Bo
Cardio exercise
Running

I try to fit all this into a week and cycle through
I do everything individually I like individual sports

As hobbies I watch trivia shows such as Jeopardy or others and like to brows wikipedia
for all kinds of odd topics
I also started learning languages for fun. I can understand bit of german now and bit of italian and bit of latin and bit of french. I intend to learn some more from all kinds of languages just for fun. Plus I get the same reward with this as with gaming.

Swimming is in my opinion the best sport, but hard to do if you dont live next to a pool or a body of water. So its the kind of sport you have to devote lot of time getting to the body of water and back home. I would love to live next to an ocean or sea. Id be swimming every day for few hours if that were the case. Plus diving is super cool and super fun.

I have few other hobbies, but I want to give you inspiration. I prefer to cycle through my hobbies and give time to each of them that way I get bit of everything.

IN depth hobbies are by far the best though, but I havent settle for anything in particular right now.
One great hobby that I always did was drawing. Just anything that popped into my mind would end up on the paper.

 

[Ex-User (8886)]

I give up gaming because studying physics is too absorbing. Just find something really difficult to master, don't bother with sport - it's only reacreational activity to stay healthy.

 

[ZenRaiden]

I give up gaming because studying physics is too absorbing. Just find something really difficult to master, don't bother with sport - it's only reacreational activity to stay healthy.

A part from the fact that there is a huge fitness industry and many sports that are actually fun, health benefits of sports are pretty great. ALthough fact is you can end up in a wheelchair if you dont take care to do them safely.

But why do physics? Do they make decent money?

 

[Reluctantly]

^ I agree. Find something interesting to do that isn't video games and sports is kind of meh, unless you are aiming to be competitive and make money because you'really that good. I had a friend that made money playing counter-strike at tournaments (but he had a sponsor and an actual team and all that). Yes, video games count as sports.

 

[ZenRaiden]

unless you are aiming to be competitive and make money because you'really that good.

But that was my point. You dont have to be competitive to make load of money doing sports. Creative yes, but not necessarily competitive. ALthough if you are competitive and have the patience to develope sports skills you can go far in making money too. Although it also depends what you consider sports as a subject. If you think the word sports is only meaning activites that are competitive in group settings then you are correct.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

I suggest BDSM.

 

[Ex-User (8886)]

A part from the fact that there is a huge fitness industry and many sports that are actually fun, health benefits of sports are pretty great. ALthough fact is you can end up in a wheelchair if you dont take care to do them safely.

But why do physics? Do they make decent money?

Why money? I dont care about them at all.
It's interesting and give me better understand of the world. I'am only unsure to do PhD, because advancing technology requires huge donstions and there is nothing in theoretical physics to solve. (there is, but if the most inteligent people in the padt 100 years wasnt able to solve it, I wont too). So I probably end up programming some sofware.

 

[onesteptwostep]

Books! I have 3 books that I've bought which I haven't been able to finish yet... I've been interested in philosophy lately, so I bought several books to binge on. I'm currently reading Bertrand's Russell's The History of Western Philosophy, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, and Fredrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom.

And... I think I know what game OP is talking about since he mentioned 5v5.. League of Legends isn't it? It's a curse of sorts in Korea, I totally agree that it can suck the life out of you. If you want to continue to play the computer I think SimCity could be a good transtition. It isn't an online game but it tests your ability optimize builds, and helps you understand how a city is run. It's free too if you're interested: http://www.simcity.com/en_US/product/simcity4

edit: Hmm there's a free link somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. I guess you can turn to torrents.

 

[Green]

Books! I have 3 books that I've bought which I haven't been able to finish yet... I've been interested in philosophy lately, so I bought several books to binge on. I'm currently reading Bertrand's Russell's The History of Western Philosophy, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, and Fredrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom.

how are these books? Marcus Aurelius is stoic philosophy right? Seems right up my alley, ive only heard of it through tim ferris quoting Seneca though, ive never personally studied.

I have a gaming habit now too. It used to be pretty out of control because I would play wow from when I got up to really late at night on my whacked up sleeping schedule. I still play video games but limit myself to ones with endings or competitive stuff like street fighter.

I think what I liked most about wow was that it was comfortable. I didnt have to push myself to do uncomfortable social stuff if I didnt want to but it was always there as an option. Theres something that feels really good on my brain when I talk to people on the internet as opposed to in person, possibly the anonymity.

I started to work out a few years ago. At first it was rigor and hard to even get myself to the gym, then it became exciting and now it feels sort of like a zen teaching. I just go or not go. The most fun I have with the gym though is trying out new workouts. Its sort of like picking up a new weapon in an RPG and seeing how its moveset feels.

Ive never been an athletic person. Couldnt throw a ball straight to save my life. But im learning that stuff slowly now and it feels really good to see slow improvements. Its sort of like proving your doubts wrong and for an INTP i think thats like shoryukening your worst enemy.

 

[HDINTP]

Yes table tennis is awesome Well what about trying to create your own games?

 

[Valentas]

If you have a non-PC gaming machine, just sell it. If you have a PC, try to get rid of all accounts you have.

Then, first step is to clean your room perfectly. Then also try to clean up your house or flat. When you removed chaos from your habitat, then focus on the outside. A good way to cultivate new habits is to suffer through mental or physical challenges. I recommend physical because results are faster. Go lift weights. Start with Starting Strength 5x5. Do stretching at the end of every workout. Learn to cook and eat good food, otherwise you will not get results in the gym. Make sure to adhere to a routine or schedule, planned around sleep and leisure. (If you got a job, sucks). Go to sleep and wake up at the same time, without exceptions.

Purge your mental world from addictions by engaging in new addictions. Try reading, or watching interesting lectures, or challenging online courses. Try variety of subjects. I will leave mental activities here because you know better what you like. It is not possible to do well in mental unless physical is well taken care of.

The most important advice is to clean your room, then your environment because it is simple. When you have that taken care of, you can attempt more complex tasks. Otherwise, you will fail to adhere to disciplined new habit formation.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

Another suggestion: start making ASMR videos.

 

[onesteptwostep]

how are these books? Marcus Aurelius is stoic philosophy right? Seems right up my alley, ive only heard of it through tim ferris quoting Seneca though, ive never personally studied.

Bertrand's History of Western Philosophy gave me new information on the philosophers I already knew about, so that was worth the read. And yes, Marcus Aurelius is the stoic emperor, one who's a big figure in stoicism. I don't particularly like the book however, it reads like a bunch of facebook posts made by an introvert haha.

Hayek's Road to Serfdom I bought because I wanted to know the political and economic thinking behind the aftermath of the World Wars and how these economic ideas led to the modern era. I wouldn't say it's interesting though, I'm having a hard time concentrating on it. Reading it little by little.

I would recommend Russell Bertrand's History of Western Philosophy if you're into history and philosophy.

 

[Humbug]

Rock Climbing. I enjoy doing things that can, in a way, take over my life, and rock climbing does that for me. Whether I'm climbing or not, I'm constantly thinking about it. I dream about different ways to solve a bouldering 'problem' that I couldn't quite get, and I walk around my living space looking for ledges that I could hang from and train on. See if there's a climbing gym near you and give it a try. First couple times are a bit rough for some people, but before you know it it will be a (productive) obsession.

 

[Shadowlands97]

Paintball for FPS lovers. Tulpa creation for those that love mental exercises or who may be lonely. Jim Harold's Paranormal and Campfire podcasts for those interested in true encounters with aliens, spirits, bigfoot etc.