Have you ever sitting in front of the PC moving just your fingers for hours, immersing your whole existence into the virtual reality without realizing how time flies and then feeling regretted for succumbing gaming addiction?

Gaming is an incredible invention of human history, a virtual world so real that it makes a perfect getaway from the reality with just a single click in the comfort of home. Immersing myself in gaming world, I felt alive and confident again. The sense of achievement and productivity of gaming was so fulfilling that gaming was all I needed after classes. If I ever screwed something up in the gaming world, there is always a restart button, and people do not condemn failure there as no one is watching (I did not play multiplayer games at that time). The whole process from switching on the laptop to going through the games is effortless as if I was born to do gaming. It came naturally, and I felt contented doing it. However, up to a certain point, the feeling happiness would slowly diminish, being replaced with the feeling of distress. In spite of the increasing discomfort I felt, I would push the feeling away, compulsively and persistently 'pursuing' achievement in gaming world as if gaming was the only thing I did best.

How I Got Out from This Mess Of Gaming Addiction

Gaming is a great escape for my anxiety and depression issues. Having running away from facing this gaming addiction problem for quite some time, I finally decided that this issue needed to be solve after receiving Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from a certified counselor in KL for my mental health problems. The methods below work for me, but it can only serve as a reference. If you are being troubled by gaming addiction, it is advisable to seek professional help.

First Step: Ask Yourself Question

'Do I really want to continue playing?' 'Does it make me feel good?'
Acknowledging that continue allowing gaming world to engulf myself does not do any good is an effective first step to break the addiction. Talking back to the urge with the will of feeling better might be difficult at first, but as we repeat this practice over and over again, eventually we will gain control of our mind and slowly move away from uncontrollable gaming. It takes time, so don't beat yourself up if it does not work at first.

Second Step: Do Something Else Which Benefits Yourself

After making the decision in stop playing video games, we need to replace that activity with some other real life activities such as tidying up the desk, or walking the dog in the neighborhood. Getting a good hobby such as birdwatching, hiking or cooking helps because we feel that we are gaining control over our life, that we can do something we love without harming our mental wellness. It gives us the same sense of fulfillment as gaming, the only difference is that it is not virtual.

Third Step: Allow Yourself To Go Back To Gaming

This might sounds weird, but going cold turkey can give us withdrawal, just like the addiction towards drugs or tobacco. We can limit ourselves to play video games for one hour or two, then go back to the first step, asking yourself whether gaming makes you feel good. Cutting down the time gradually over days or weeks does not stress us out as much as we do not get rid of this big part of our daily life suddenly. Unlike substance abuse, moderate gaming is not harmful. So it still can be part of our life if we gain control over this behavior, rather than being controlled the other way round.

Is Gaming Addiction A Real Thing?

Well, I am in no place to answer this question, but I found a few information on the internet. According to the American Psychiatric Association, 'Internet Gaming Disorder' is identified as a condition warranting more clinical research and experience before it might be considered for inclusion in the main book as a formal disorder in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Besides, in the beta draft for 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) which will be published this year by the World Health Organization, 'Gaming Disorder' is included under 'Disorder due to Addictive Behaviors' with the following characteristics as taken directly from the beta draft:

• impaired control over gaming (e.g., onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context)
• increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities
• continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences

Personally I believe that gaming addiction can be related to other mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression. However, it does not mean gaming is an illness, the problem is the addiction (fellow gamers please calm down). Even though I managed to break free from the vicious cycle of gaming addiction, it comes back from time to time when things in real life do not go the way I want them to. I would let myself indulge in gaming for some time, then go to the first step of asking myself question.

Have you battled gaming addiction before? What is your coping mechanism? Tell me!

This article was originally published on The Uncertified Journalist.