Millions of people worldwide suffer from a legitimate mental health disorder called video game addiction. Despite the fact that billions of people worldwide play video games, just 3-4% of them are thought to have a gaming addiction, according to the World Health Organization. The negative effects the pastime is having on your life make a difference between a healthy, enjoyable gaming interest and an addiction.
How to Treat Video Game Addiction
Whatever challenges you’re facing, it’s crucial to remember that you’re not doing it alone. As a result of gaming disorder becoming recognized as a condition, more and more individuals can now get the assistance they require.
Quit Cold Turkey
You can completely stop playing games. Even though this is the least successful method of getting over a video game addiction, some people find success with it. Due to the way that gaming alters our brains, this has a poor success rate.
Try a dopamine detox instead of completely quitting gaming. A dopamine detox involves denying yourself of over stimulating and enjoyable activities. Remove all social media apps from your phone, remove all games from your computer, disconnect it from the internet, and store it someplace that is not visible to the public.
Try to find something else to do before beginning the dopamine fast. Consider learning a craft that involves making something tangible. Consider picking up a new instrument. Take up a new sport or begin a new workout regimen. Go for a run or a hike to try to invest additional time outside. You could even attempt to begin meditating and developing your inner awareness. It will be simpler to find solutions to stop gaming if you can accept the reasons you play video games. You may have used gaming as a coping method, and if you haven’t discovered a means to deal with the root of your cravings, it’s likely that you’ll relapse.
Slowly cutting down on your gaming time
If you believe you cannot stop gaming all at once, no one will hold it against you. Many people use gaming as just a coping strategy for unpleasant feelings, a means to connect with others, and a way to unwind.
Hands holding a controller in grayscale
It is simpler to cut back on gaming time than to try to stop completely. Here is a sample strategy that you can use. You can change this, though, to fit your pace and requirements.
Assume you play video games for 10 hours every day. Start by cleaning your room as thoroughly as you can for 15 minutes. Just as much as you can get done in fifteen minutes in terms of cleaning. Don’t stress about managing your time effectively. It is sufficient if you just grab one shirt off the floor and put it in the hamper with the other dirty clothes.
Try extending this time to thirty min and cleaning your room much more after 3–4 days of doing this. You can gradually extend the time spent on non-gaming activities and add new things to do. These may include taking a quick stroll, studying a new instrument, finding a new pastime, or practising meditation.
Find an Alternative Interest
It is not enough to just cease to use the substance in question, according to addiction psychiatry. The chances of relapsing are too great, and the impulses will be too intense. Helping someone create a competing interest is one of the best strategies to urge them to stop using drugs or alcohol.
A competing interest is a pursuit that lessens your dependence on your vice. The desire to participate in a physical program or accomplish the objective is so great that it outweighs the need to give in to the addiction. Although this idea came from the addiction to drugs and alcohol, it also applies to video game addiction.
Gamers experience life stagnation because they feel helpless and lost. They believe they are powerless over their lives. They aspire to achieve success, but instead they find themselves drawn back to video games and lack the drive to advance in life. Furthermore, they are even unsure of which way to move. That might paralyse you.
Be more productive and stop wasting time.
You play to avoid doing something and put it off. To stop gaming is to decide that you will start pursuing your dreams and goals. It’s a pledge to fulfil your potential. To do that, you must learn effective time management techniques.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Treatment
As the best medicine for video game addiction, cognitive behavioural therapy is advised by many experts. Through treatment, the addict is able to change their way of thinking and replace unhealthy thought patterns with more constructive ones. Cognitive behavioural therapy, as its name suggests, enables a person to improve their thoughts, feelings, and ultimately behaviour.
Addiction is viewed by therapists as a mindset or line of thinking that results in irrational, frequently unhealthy behaviour. They help the addict start the transition from there by identifying and concentrating on the ideas that set off the chain of addiction.
The approaches used in cognitive behavioral therapy involve defining objectives and then studying to change the thoughts that lead to compulsive gaming.
Set a rigorous time limit for your everyday playtime
Health professionals advise adults to restrict their sedentary time, and adolescents and school-aged children should limit their screen time to no more than two hours a day. If you struggle with playing video games for too long each day, try establishing strict time restrictions for yourself.
