How Do I Get Rid Of Gaming Addiction?
Video games have been part of entertainment for a long time. Thousands of people play video games regularly as a healthy fun hobby. But sometimes this hobby may end up being addiction and cause a serious disorder called
“Gaming disorder”. However, even though billions of people engage in this fun activity only 3 to 4% of people have a gaming addiction.
Furthermore, whenever someone talks about gaming addiction, the first question that a game addict asks is how do I get rid of gaming addiction? Hence, whether your kid or you are addicted to games, you must take control and get rid of it for both mental and physical health. Today in this blog we will help you to get rid of your gaming addiction with quick strategies and tips.
Causes Of Gaming Addiction
There are billions of video game players around the globe. And every gamer has their own preference and taste in games. Henceforth, to fulfill that the game developers design the games from the perspective of gamer’s psychology to keep them hooked and engaged with the games.
Video games have the power to bring down your imaginary world in front of you, with you as a lead. And when you typically find a game that entirely fits your virtual fantasy you get addicted to them and start enjoying that virtual world.
In addition to this, gaming addiction is highly noticed among the youth in recent years. As most people go to video games to lower their stress, and anxiety, and forget their real-life Challenges. But soon the mild step to escape from reality becomes a massive challenge in itself in the form of gaming addiction. Besides all this, there are many more scientific reasons for what makes video games so addictive.
Effects Of Video Game Addiction
We very well know that gaming gives so much relaxation and enjoyment. But have you ever thought about how this addiction would affect your body and mind? When we talk about the effects of video gaming addiction the maximum thoughts we get are, it would harm our professional life or eyes. But Video gaming is more than that.
Gaming addiction is an irresistible mental health disorder that can affect your life from many perspectives. When we mention game addiction the straightforward meaning is that a gamer spends a large part of their day in gaming. As a result of this playing games in the daytime can damage your professional performance in studies, work, household responsibilities, etc. And if you spend time gaming at night you may get severe eye problems or suffer from sleep deprivation.
So, are the effects of gaming addiction limited to this? Well no, gaming addiction brings various negative effects on the human body. When we get addicted to something, we lose our concentration from other essential habits including food. The same is in the case of gaming addiction. It is found that people who are addicted to games have poor diets and most of them are dehydrated and malnourished. In addition to this, the poor diet of game addicts mostly consists of caffeine and sugar and this affects the body even more.
In severe game addiction cases, many gaming addicts face mental challenges like agoraphobia – an anxiety disorder that makes the sufferer afraid of leaving the house. The addiction to games affects one’s social life too and most of the time the addicts tend to be moody, and depressed, and try to escape from their daily routine. As a result of this, they end up neglecting life’s essential decisions and face many challenges in every field of their life including relationships, education, and employment.
How To Treat Video Game Addiction
You would have got more anxious about how to treat video game addiction after understanding its causes and effects. But you can still take a breath of relief as you ain’t the only one who is suffering from this difficulty. As this addiction is now officially recognized as a gaming disorder you can get help about it through various therapists. However, if you still to get rid of your gaming addiction by yourself you can try these strategies:-
- Uninstall all games instantly
This is basic advice if you are addicted to gaming just uninstall all your games, keep your gaming device away from you, and change the room. And start doing something serious that can keep you busy until you forget about games.
When one person gets addicted to gaming they start getting distracted from other work easily. Hence, we know this strategy can be quite difficult to perform but if you are yet at the initial stage of addiction you can use it.
- Slowly reduce the time-frequency of gaming
In case of severe game addiction, it becomes hard for one to leave gaming in one go. And it isn’t your fault in any manner. According to science addiction is caused due to creation of dopamine in our minds. And avoiding any addictive activity for two weeks can help you to bring back the dopamine to normal levels and get rid of the addiction.
Reducing the time-frequency of gaming is way easier than cutting the gaming habit altogether. However, you should be patient enough in this case and try to get involved in various other activities like doing exercises, spending time with family and friends, enjoying nature, etc.
- Find new hobby
Leaving gaming addiction isn’t an easy task. You get a strong urge to play games again, and your mind easily gets diverted toward it. Henceforth, you can always try replacing the gaming habit with other activities like playing a new instrument, learning a new language, etc. But always make sure you add new activities that keep you physically and mentally involved in it. The more creative hobby you choose the faster you can get rid of your gaming addiction.
Therapies For Video Game Addiction
Besides these above-mentioned ways, you can also try consulting a psychologist or psychiatrist. The main treatment for gaming disorder is talk therapy or psychotherapy. And through these therapies, the psychologist provides education and guidance to the sufferer and their family. Gaming disorder is yet new to science. Hence, there ain’t many options yet for the treatment but luckily there are a few clinically proven therapies you can try. And Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of those.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT):-
CBT is talk therapy in which the therapist or the psychologist helps you to deeply get familiar with your emotions, behavior, and thoughts. And with these talk sessions, you can understand how your thoughts affect your daily activities.
This therapy is considered for the treatment of gaming disorder as it helps you to take control over your negative and obsessive thought which as a result helps you to adopt a healthier mindset and behavior.
- Group therapy
This is also a type of talk therapy in which a group of people get together and discuss their problems under the supervision of a therapist or psychiatrist. Group therapy can help gaming addicts significantly especially if they have lost connection with their family and friends due to this disorder. Group therapy gives motivation and moral support to the sufferers as they don’t feel alone and seek to improve faster with others.
- Family or marriage counseling:-
This therapy is part of CBT therapy in which the therapist or psychiatrist not only guides you for improvement but also educates your family and loved ones about the gaming disorder and maintains a healthy environment in your home accordingly.
FAQs
- Is there any cure for video gaming addiction
Answer:- Yes, Video gaming addiction is now officially recognized as a gaming disorder by WHO. Hence, you can find various ways to cure video gaming addiction.
- What are the warning signs of gaming addiction?
Answer:- The key warning signs of Gaming addiction includes, not able to control playing games, losing interest in other hobbies, spending a large part of the day in gaming, and neglecting important daily tasks in life for gaming.
Conclusion
Getting rid of gaming addiction isn’t easy but what makes it more relieving is that you don’t need to leave games forever to over the addiction. But reducing the time you spend on video games can make a great impact on your life in various aspects. You can ultimately use the gaming time in your professional and social life which will in the end improve your life and mental health. And you will never regret it when you turn back after years.
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