6 Months Without Games - A New Beginning
Summary: Quitting games has been the single most important decision I've ever made. My life has been utterly transformed for the better. The below is a bit long-winded (that's just my style) but hopefully it can help those in throes of addiction.
Background:
Since I was 11 years old, I had been addicted to RuneScape and then when I was 17, I got addicted to League of Legends. I have probably spent more than 800 days of in-game time (almost 20,000 hours) on these games. My parents never let me play during the week, but come the weekend I would play all day and night. Once I reached university, I basically played these games non-stop and that continued when I began full-time work. In 2022, I played more than 1,000 games of League of Legends in less than six months, all while working full-time. I would AFK RuneScape on my work from home days. I was in the top 1% of both games and I was addicted to the progression.
During all that time, I struggled immensely with my mental health and this bled to all aspects of my life: socialising, dating, health and work. Fortunately, I always kept up a decent standard of effort and I didn't let video games completely derail me from my studies and my job. But nonetheless, I lived most of my days in a state of high stress, massive overthinking and anxiety for life. Playing games was what my life revolved around and from the minute I woke up each day, video games were what I would look forward to.
The Decision:
On 31 December 2025, I was on holiday. I had been looking forward to those holidays because that was the time I got to basically play games all day with no responsibility. But something felt different this time. In a few months, I would be turning 30. I felt immensely behind in life: I didn't have a girlfriend, my career wasn't where I wanted it to be and I had only a couple of friends who I didn't see often enough.
In that moment, something clicked and I knew that the biggest reason for my problems was my addiction to video games. In the past, I had quit for a few months here and there but always came back to it. This time felt different. I wasn't a young teenager or twenty-something anymore. I was now a full-on adult and I knew if I kept playing the games, then in 10 years time I'd be in the exact same position. It was shocking that I had to have blown basically all of my youth to realise this.
The first 3 months of quitting were absolute torture. Not a day went by when video games weren't front of mind. I was constantly wrestling with urges and rationalisations to play. For some reason, I never caved in. I began to realise that these games were like poison to me. I really can't emphasise enough how difficult it is in those early months when you're quitting. When video games have been the centre of your life for almost 2 decades, that addiction doesn't go down without a fight.
The Benefits:
Since quitting, I have experienced the following:
- Massive reduction in overthinking.
- Massive improvement in my confidence levels.
- I now crave progression in real life - I work harder and more productively at work and take the gym more seriously.
- EVERYTHING else feels easier when you quit games - working, doing life admin, etc.
- I'm also teaching myself to code to pursue certain side hustles (related to the field I work in).
- I've started playing tennis and have made new friends for the first time in many years.
- I spend lots of time socialising with my friends and family now. I've seen some of my friends more in the last few months than the past 5 years combined.
- I've read more than 10 books this year, including a 1200 page book on the history of the world.
- I now relax with less stimulating entertainment like movies, anime and interesting fiction books.
- I've been going on more dates and feeling much better about my dating prospects.
- I take care of my health a lot more now - I cook for myself and go to sleep on time (it's also a lot easier to sleep without the stimulation of games).
- I even bought an apartment for myself recently and will be moving out of home soon.
- There's probably even more benefits I'm forgetting, but you get the gist.
Lessons:
My theory is that even the most 'problematic' video games aren't problematic for everyone. Some people can play extremely addictive games and still see them as just an 'activity' they can pick up and put down at will. But some of us (and perhaps most people who browse here) have brains which are highly sensitive to the stimulus of these games. When games can combine socialising, competition, status, novelty, exploration, progression, achievement and instant gratification into one package, that can simply be too much for some people. It can overload the brain with so much dopamine and pleasure, it becomes like a poison.
Unlike alcohol or substances, though, this kind of interaction isn't nearly as well documented and again, it doesn't affect everyone to that extent. I know plenty of people who could play the games I played without major issues. But I know for me, there's no 'moderation' because if I played even an hour per day, my life would end up revolving around that hour and I would constantly feel the urge to play more.
I know, deep down in my heart, that these games are simply too much for me and no matter what I do or how hard I try, there's no way for me to play them without them taking over my life. It's simply a case of how my brain reacts to them. Countless experiments to moderate my play time and limit myself (which I can do successfully) doesn't change the fact that when I play these games, they become the only thing I look forward to.
Bottom Line:
If you've ever had a problem with video games, then quit and don't look back. Every day, week and month that goes by without you playing will lead to you moving forward in life in a way you probably never have before. Stack that kind of progression over a year, or multiple years, and you'll end up in a spot you may never have thought possible for yourself. The pleasure of games is absolutely nothing compared to the pleasure of living a genuinely full life in alignment with your goals and values.