Video Games

[ZenMonkey]

On 10.2.2016 at 6:37 AM, jjer94 said:

I used to be a video game addict for a long long time. This past summer I contemplated very deeply why I was so addicted, and the addiction magically fixed itself through my understanding of it. Entertainment's not evil until you need it to be happy. On occasion I'll boot up Minecraft because I love the building and exploring aspects of the game. Play because it's fun, not because you need it. Again, no need to set any rules for yourself. Cheers!

I am in the same position. Can you tell me more about how you contemplated deeply?

[jjer94]

7 minutes ago, ZenMonkey said:

I am in the same position. Can you tell me more about how you contemplated deeply?

Ask yourself why you feel so inclined to play in the first place, and go deeper and deeper with it. Set a timer at certain increments while you're playing. When it goes off, stop and observe yourself. I'll use my situation as an example, but don't try to relate it with your experience. You have to contemplate on your own because you have your own personal reasons for doing what you do. Be as honest as you possibly can.

Why do I play? -> Because it's fun -> Because it's fun to progress in levels and get new loot -> Is it really? What's the point of getting new loot? -> So I can be the best in the game -> So actually you're playing for an ideal in the future and not for the actual game. -> Yes. Video gaming has actually start to become a chore, now that I think about it. -> Childhood: addicted to video games. Why? -> My parents didn't let me play on weekdays, making me have a strong desire to play as much as I could on weekends -> Why did I want to play so much? -> I had feelings of unworthiness in childhood due to other kids calling me names -> Video games allowed me to be someone else and become more powerful than I ever could be in real life -> Parents forced me to make friends and call them up -> socializing became an obligation rather than a natural want -> Stronger desire to play video games -> Family shunned me for playing so much -> I felt even more unworthy -> Stronger desire to feel worth by playing more video games...

And so on. By understanding the origins of your addiction and why you value video games so much, you will naturally begin to become less neurotic about them.

[ZenMonkey]

39 minutes ago, jjer94 said:

Ask yourself why you feel so inclined to play in the first place, and go deeper and deeper with it. Set a timer at certain increments while you're playing. When it goes off, stop and observe yourself. I'll use my situation as an example, but don't try to relate it with your experience. You have to contemplate on your own because you have your own personal reasons for doing what you do. Be as honest as you possibly can.

Why do I play? -> Because it's fun -> Because it's fun to progress in levels and get new loot -> Is it really? What's the point of getting new loot? -> So I can be the best in the game -> So actually you're playing for an ideal in the future and not for the actual game. -> Yes. Video gaming has actually start to become a chore, now that I think about it. -> Childhood: addicted to video games. Why? -> My parents didn't let me play on weekdays, making me have a strong desire to play as much as I could on weekends -> Why did I want to play so much? -> I had feelings of unworthiness in childhood due to other kids calling me names -> Video games allowed me to be someone else and become more powerful than I ever could be in real life -> Parents forced me to make friends and call them up -> socializing became an obligation rather than a natural want -> Stronger desire to play video games -> Family shunned me for playing so much -> I felt even more unworthy -> Stronger desire to feel worth by playing more video games...

And so on. By understanding the origins of your addiction and why you value video games so much, you will naturally begin to become less neurotic about them.

Thank you for your long answer! I will inquire this more deeply once I get an urge again.

So far I observed over the last weeks that there is an impulse to forget myself and a void to fill. One year ago I threw my computer out of the window, cause I found myself unable to quit. So I  couldn't play anymore but started watching videos about it. Always after some weeks I bing watch a whole lot of videos and feel totally dizzy afterwards. It feels like there is a void I want to fill and that I want to forget myself if that makes any sense.

I also observed: first a thought (about a game for example) arises in my mind which then causes a feeling. But if I look very clearly I can see that the feeling doesn't tell me anything. It doesn't tell me to move. It might be uncomfortable to feel but I don' have to take action and can just sit with it until it disappears after a while.
 

[jjer94]

59 minutes ago, ZenMonkey said:

Thank you for your long answer! I will inquire this more deeply once I get an urge again.

So far I observed over the last weeks that there is an impulse to forget myself and a void to fill. One year ago I threw my computer out of the window, cause I found myself unable to quit. So I  couldn't play anymore but started watching videos about it. Always after some weeks I bing watch a whole lot of videos and feel totally dizzy afterwards. It feels like there is a void I want to fill and that I want to forget myself if that makes any sense.

I also observed: first a thought (about a game for example) arises in my mind which then causes a feeling. But if I look very clearly I can see that the feeling doesn't tell me anything. It doesn't tell me to move. It might be uncomfortable to feel but I don' have to take action and can just sit with it until it disappears after a while.
 

Here's something for you to contemplate on your own: 

"Anytime you’re practicing renunciation, you’re deluded. How about that! You’re deluded. What are you renouncing? Anytime you renounce something, you are tied forever to the thing you renounce... The only way to get out of this is to see through it. Don’t renounce it, see through it. Understand its true value and you won’t need to renounce it; it will just drop from your hands."

-Tony de Mello

Cheers!

[Greys0n]

if you like it then i see nothing bad in 30 min of fun

[kyle barnett]

There waay better than TV and social media i can tell you that. Of course if you have ambitious life goals you need to focus your attention on that rather than other things, it's not that videogames are bad, but if you have shit to do stop worrying about how good your k/d is on cod