Ideally, gaming starts off as a pastime venture but with time, individuals often end up spending more time than usual, eventually leading to the neglect of responsibilities, health, and finances. It then becomes very important for gamers to regulate their gaming. Failing to do so, often leads to gaming addiction and finally, significant distress and impairment in daily functioning. Many gamers use self-exclusion services such as GamStop or SpelPaus but then cancel GamStop exclusion easily and start playing again. Thus, the following segment covers three proven ways to stop gaming behavior:
Quit Gaming Immediately
The first step to stop gaming behavior is by recognizing its dominant role in your life where it has become an overindulgence. Once you recognize it, accept it as a part of your life that can be changed. Now it might sound ludicrous but this method works the best as it ensures a dopamine detox. Dopamine detox is an exercise that individuals can engage in to stop gaming behavior, wherein they need to put away all the gadgets that would give them access to gaming.
Make sure that these gadgets are completely out of reach and cannot be used again for a period of two to three weeks. Once this is done, individuals are encouraged to take up new hobbies or activities like learning a sport or an instrument or engaging in physical activity or art. As individuals replace gaming with other ways of inducing dopamine, the dopamine levels are restored to normal, and voila! You won’t be addicted anymore. In fact, you can game for optimal levels while enjoying other activities as well.
Plan your Day
The next method is to make sure that you have enough things (that are engrossing and would require your time and energy) to do for the day. This would prevent you from getting bored and further inhibit you from experiencing a relapse to your original state. Fill your day with lots of activities and tasks with plenty of rest time as well, ensuring a compact day with no space for going back to gaming. In case, none of this works for you wherein you are unable to stop gaming immediately and plan your day.
The best option is to plan your day in such a way wherein you reduce the total number of hours that you play. In progression, gradually reduce the number of hours that you contribute to gaming, and eventually, you should be able to resume a healthy unaddicted lifestyle where gaming is just a pastime. Doing this over a span of six months and starting over during relapses brings discipline as well as a sense of confidence and accomplishment when success is attained.
Pick up New Hobbies or Find an Alternative
Another method that works well with gaming behavior is to find a hobby or activity of interest that can serve as an alternative to gaming. This could be any physical, mental, or social activity that sparks your interest. However, make sure that you don’t become dependent on it as well. In case that happens, make sure that you reassess the reason for the addiction.
Reasons could be that of using gaming as a coping mechanism or finding it as a resort to escape reality. In such cases, it becomes essential for individuals to reach out for help. Reach out to therapists and psychologists who can assist you to overcome your limitations and make your de-addiction process smooth. Furthermore, it is important for individuals to understand that they shouldn’t be hard on themselves for having relapses or label themselves as addicts who cannot do any better.
Final Takeaways
Remember that getting rid of a habit can be overwhelming, especially if it’s a part of your daily routine. Make sure you have enough social support to help you with such difficult times and therefore ensure care and protection.
While you can choose to quit gaming or reduce it gradually, make sure you have other competitive activities or hobbies to keep you going. Thus, the last method serves as the best option to stop gaming behavior and should be highly practiced for greater success.
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