Soft Addictions

[T110E3]

Hello everyone,I hope you are having a wonderful day.

My problem is that I'm having some rather large issues with soft addictions,specifically two,the internet and video games.It's really a big issue for me because it completely drains my energy and time that I could be spending in way better places.

I already found one solution for the problem and that is meditation,which I've heard helps to deal with addictions.

But the problem is I just started doing it again (I was doing it for about a week and fell of track,and I'm pretty sure this won't happen again) so if someone has overcome his soft addictions such as these ones,any sort of advice is very very welcome no matter how small.

Thank you for taking your time and reading this.

Kind regards.

[Enizeo]

Dealing with the same issues, horribly addicted to video games, trying to break free for the last 2 years basically. So any help is welcome.

[SaynotoKlaus]

I have the same issue.  I did make progress on this , and what i can tell you is that you won't be able to stop suddenly no matter how much you want and try. You will make small progress every day.

Try to be aware of how you feel when you are doing these things (dissatisfied). Also don't judge and blame yourself when you can't resist but to go back to your addictions , somehow this only makes you more likely to backslide , lol. Be cool about it.

Find yourself a hobby that makes you satisfied. Then you will notice how spending tons of time on the internet and in games just gives you this lame feeling , while practicing what you like makes you happy.

Meditations sure helps a lot as you said.

I went from playing video games 6 hours + every day and thinking about them all the time , to playing only every now and then. I'm probably going to quit them totally soon.

Now i only need to stop watching too much youtube and browsing hundreds of images on tumblr  

Edited February 9, 2016 by SaynotoKlaus

[Eye]

Two practical advices which I have tested on myself:

Switch your Internet off and hide your laptop or tell someone to hide it for you (unless you use a PC, might be harder to hide ) and promise to yourself that you will be the biggest loser in life if you can't live without it for 1 week. Or even 1 day in someone's case.

More radical advice is - delete ALL your games. Just unistall them. It is hard I know. All the cool stuff you have earned, all awesome items or unlocked tiers and amazing GTA5 saves - GONE. But after some time you will feel really cleansed and thankful that you did it. 

If you combine both you will have no choice but to do SOMETHING with your life other than that. Notice how your mind will quickly find some other activities to fill the gap during the day. 

[AlexB]

Hey in my personal experience I have learned that the best way for me to stop an addiction such as TV or Facebook was to completely shut them down, I looked on the beneficial side of it that gave me the willpower to quit them because I knew it was the best thing I could do for my self, after I got busy in other things.

For example: 

When I was feeling like I'd like to watch TV or Facebook I was meditating even more. Gym and a strong social circles also helped me distract from them. 

At the beginning is pretty hard because you're hooked like an addiction but after a while it becomes pretty easy. Don't get me wrong I still watch TV and use Facebook but on very rare occasions, plus when I stay too much on them I remind myself to stop, that happens without even applying conscious thought, when you build a habit the reminder comes automatically. 

Hope I helped you in some way. Peace ✌ 

 

Edited February 9, 2016 by AlexB

[dystopia]

@SaynotoKlaus basically same. I haven't played video games in about 2 years (it kind of helps that I can't really spend money on them..even though I was dying to play Fallout 4). 

I got into sewing and it's turning into not just a hobby but a possible career path. Anyways I still waste way too much time on tumblr and YT. 

My only motivation usually is remembering how awful I feel when I waste a day like that. Usually I try to cut myself off after 2 hours (I know that's still a long time but...I think it's best to take it slow). The thing is were surrounded (sometimes even bombarded) with things to waste our time on so it's definitely hard to resist temptation.

I think it's better to allow yourself a couple of hours a day rather than deprive yourself completely and feel like you're missing out. But remember that you're potentially missing out on something greater in reality if you don't keep this habit in check.

Some of us don't have great lives yet so if looking at some funny things on the Internet sometimes helps stave off depression, there's nothing wrong with that. 

Edited February 9, 2016 by shouldnt

[Electron]

Well, I have been addicted to many things in the past, and somehow I always managed to get rid of most of these addictions just over a decision. I never literally did them again. My case was a liitle different as I wasn't relying solely on my willpower to resist the temptations as I learned that it doesn't work. So i started doing an elaborate study of my addictions and I realized that It was not that I wanted that object, it was these compulsive thoughts about that thing that were responsible for my obsession with that thing. I noticed that these thoughts were running abnormally prior to other thoughts. So basically the problem at hand was to reduce the amount of these thoughts about that thing. I realized that my mind was conditioned with such thoughts over time. So i tried to condition it with different kind of thoughts. And somehow those things became less tempting. Since then I've been using it like a golden rule, and it has worked for me every time.

[SaynotoKlaus]

2 hours ago, Sigma said:

Well, I have been addicted to many things in the past, and somehow I always managed to get rid of most of these addictions just over a decision. I never literally did them again. My case was a liitle different as I wasn't relying solely on my willpower to resist the temptations as I learned that it doesn't work. So i started doing an elaborate study of my addictions and I realized that It was not that I wanted that object, it was these compulsive thoughts about that thing that were responsible for my obsession with that thing. I noticed that these thoughts were running abnormally prior to other thoughts. So basically the problem at hand was to reduce the amount of these thoughts about that thing. I realized that my mind was conditioned with such thoughts over time. So i tried to condition it with different kind of thoughts. And somehow those things became less tempting. Since then I've been using it like a golden rule, and it has worked for me every time.

How do you condition your mind to think of other things instead of addictions? Can you give examples , i want to try this myself.

 

[Electron]

@SaynotoKlaus Well, first of all you gotta understand that your mind works on conditioning, thoughts precede actions, more the number of thoughts about something more likely you are gonna act on it. Conditioning plays a major role in exciting those kind of thoughts in their respective capacity. Notice that there is no free will involved in here. You do that particular thing over and over again not because you are weak or anything, its just because thats what your mind got conditioned to, You might even feel like you want it yourself when you are on the verge of taking a decision whether to do it or not. But because your mind would still be processing those thoughts you would end up doing it eventually.

So the only problem is to get away from those thoughts and the only way to do it is indulge and process other kind of thoughts by keeping the mind constantly involved in these new kind of thoughts. I achieved this by reading biographies and autobiographies of scientists. I chose scientists because I already was deeply into science. And reading about scientists ensured a deliberate and conscious involvement, which would let the mind process and hold these new thoughts with higher efficacy. You can choose the things of your interest, but I would recommend reading books which involve mental delight, as you gotta condition your mind for hours, over a period of a week or two, to start seeing some results. Its not without effort but it rewires your thought processes and slowly your mind gets conditioned differently. 

 

I did it the same way as Sigma. Preferably read in a quiet, boring place on regular times. Then you will be too bored if you stop reading. And if you do it on regular times you help yourself to keep doing it. If you don't find something interesting to read, try a course or books that you know will get you some hard-to-get knowledge you would like to have. Even if it bores you can remind yourself how awesome you will become. Even if that's not the main reason you are reading atleast I managed to fool myself (to the point that I made it into my profession, which I realize now is hilarious).