How to Curb Gaming Addiction?
Hey there. I'm 22F and have had issues with my gaming addiction for years. At its worst I can play upwards of 10 hours a day but other than that I usually average around 6. Everyone in my life seems to think 6 is too much. While I don't necessarily take issue with how long I'm playing, the things that really bother me about my addiction are how I feel when not playing and the lack of enjoyment for other activities. If I go several hours without playing any kind of game I get uncomfortable. Mild squirming and lack of focus. If I go days, there are some times that I have even started shaking a bit. I get both mental and physical reactions. That's the part I'm not okay with.
I don't really want to give up gaming, which unfortunately seems to be the advice of most addiction threads, I want to gain the ability to play responsibly without it having an impact on me if I don't. I do have other things I like, like painting, reading, and taking walks, but it's just never enough. I'd also like to know how to enjoy activities like that on a similar level.
If anyone has any advice on how to increase enjoyment of activities or to curb gaming addiction to more of a normalized state that doesn't require straight up quitting, I'm all ears. Thank you for any help you may be able to provide.
And once again, do NOT straight up tell me to quit. That's not a step I'm ready for and all suggestions of stopping ENTIRELY will be ignored.