Woah. This thread was quite the wakeup call for me.
I'm a 12 year video game addict who to this day can't put down his controller on his own free will. I play video games on my computer and PS3 10 hours on an average day, and if it weren't for the restrictions set in place by my parents, I would be playing video games until I dropped from exhaustion.
As I sit here in front of my gaming system and computer screen, I think back on what drove me to do this. It was my lack of a life and hope for my future. Boredom started it, sadness furthered it, and addiction carried me to where I am today. I'm not a big fan of my life, or what I am, so I keep playing to nullify my spirit, mind, and emotions. It's a great depressant, and seems to have morphed my mind into what it is now... I don't feel many genuine emotions anymore. Apathy has overcome me.
I don't know if I'll be able to drop video games, though... I've invested so much of my life into my consoles... Surely a little bit of gaming here and there can't be damaging. But for me, it would wet my appetite for something more, which I wouldn't be able to resist. What to do...
I'm glad that God somehow preserved at least a little bit of my sanity so I could see this within myself instead of remaining ignorant to it.
Once again, thanks for the thread, and thanks to those who posted in it...
Any tips for how I could heal from 12+ years of constant gaming?
P.S: I'm being completely honest in this post. Yeah, I know. I'm a pretty sad excuse of a person. But I'm no liar.