Other (NEED HELP) DEALING WITH ONLINE ADDICTION HELP APPRECIATED

[Falling Into The Abyss]

Hello everyone, I am a fellow RPNation RPer, I made this account anonymously as I am embarrassed to use my real account, I am dealing with a video game/online addiction, I find RPing online to be a great coping mechanism and way to relax and enjoy myself, however I understand that I am spending far too much time as me and my family have acknowledged, I don't want to completely stop cold turkey as I don't think that will truly help me, but I want to find a good balance for RPing and doing things in RL.

I understand that this isn't a website that can help exactly 100%, and that you guys aren't professional therapists and whatnot, but I thought that this may bring a RP perspective on the issue instead of asking elsewhere. The main problem is that because I tend to be somewhat more detailed than most people I spend more time responding in RP's and many aspects of this hobby take up a lot of time. Can anyone help with figuring out how I can regulate this without discarding this great hobby completely?

Thank you so much for reading this and for giving your advice to help me out here.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I would say you're far better off talking to your sponsor/therapist/person in charge of your addiction recovery.

No one here is going to be able to help you deal with an addiction. As to the best of my knowledge we're all viewing this as a hobby. So that's our framework. It's a fun way to pass the time. If it's not fun we don't do it.

Addiction is a whole other animal.

So I would say your best bet is to come up with a treatment plan with whatever professional your talking to about your addiction.

Also maybe talk to your partners directly. Let them know what is going on and work with them so they understand what your going through and what to expect.

 

[Falling Into The Abyss]

I would say you're far better off talking to your sponsor/therapist/person in charge of your addiction recovery.

No one here is going to be able to help you deal with an addiction. As to the best of my knowledge we're all viewing this as a hobby. So that's our framework. It's a fun way to pass the time. If it's not fun we don't do it.

Addiction is a whole other animal.

So I would say your best bet is to come up with a treatment plan with whatever professional your talking to about your addiction.

Also maybe talk to your partners directly. Let them know what is going on and work with them so they understand what your going through and what to expect.

I see that this can be a hobby as well, and I see the positive benefits of it and how it's drastically improved my writing compared to what it used to be... Problem is I spend too much time on it and it is negatively impacting my life right now my time on the computer and other things INCLUDING this IS NOT A HOBBY AS OF NOW it's currently an addiction. Me and my family are working on figuring this out, I'm partly looking for a way to try to balance this hobby and to overcome the compulsiveness to do it for so long each and everyday.

This applies to the other things I do online that is not college or research related.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I see that this can be a hobby as well, and I see the positive benefits of it and how it's drastically improved my writing compared to what it used to be... Problem is I spend too much time on it and it is negatively impacting my life right now my time on the computer and other things INCLUDING this IS NOT A HOBBY AS OF NOW it's currently an addiction. Me and my family are working on figuring this out, I'm partly looking for a way to try to balance this hobby and to overcome the compulsiveness to do it for so long each and everyday.

This applies to the other things I do online that is not college or research related.

EDITED - Users are not professionals According to this sticky threads like this aren't allowed in this section.

As mentioned in the sticky. We are not professionals. We cannot give you advice on addiction. You're going to have to talk to your therapist/sponsor/whatever professional is involved in your addiction recovery.

 

[Darkmaster006]

You could try writing stuff in paper and then just transcribing it onto your PC. That way you'll not wander the internet for long and will be more focused on just getting the writing done; plus you'll probably do it faster, and it's a nice change of environment. Also that, change the environment in which you work. Go to a library with your notebook if you can.

 

[Falling Into The Abyss]

You could try writing stuff in paper and then just transcribing it onto your PC. That way you'll not wander the internet for long and will be more focused on just getting the writing done; plus you'll probably do it faster, and it's a nice change of environment. Also that, change the environment in which you work. Go to a library with your notebook if you can.

That's definitely a creative solution, thank you for the idea! I truly appreciate it!

 

[Darkmaster006]

That's definitely a creative solution, thank you for the idea! I truly appreciate it!

Glad to be of help! If you want to limit your time on a computer, you can also set up a 'shutdown' system. That is, make a .bat (in Windows) or a .sh (I think, in Linux), that tells the computer to shut down in, let's say, two hours. You can execute it when you wish, or you can make it go off when the PC starts. In Windows, it does warn you when it's going to be turned off, so you'll know. This would be a more harsher way if you feel you're going to be browsing social media feeds or whatever for too much time. This way, you'll have to power up the PC again to continue your work, and with multiple times it'll become a hassle and kind of tell you you gotta stop. Or you could set a timer that rings about every 30 minutes so that it reminds you.

Also, addiction work with 'cues'; so maybe when you feel bored, instead of going to your comfortable habit, immediately go take a walk, or shower, or just go hang out, or draw something. This way the brain should kind of re-wire itself to stop thinking of the online world whenever you feel like you have nothing to do. This is why writing in paper also helps, and it's fun! Oh, if you also feel you use the celphone too much, I've found leaving it in other places rather than my room, where I can't see it when I wake up, where I don't feel the urge to check it when I see it (or even more radically, turn it off at night, so that you have to turn it on to start using it, which may deter you from doing so early). Also, if you start your day by looking at screens, at your phone or at your PC, it kind of makes you enter into this loop of wanting to be there; if you start it productively, like writing or taking a walk or whatever, you'll be more excited to keep on doing that instead of shifting onto the online routine.

Ah, that was a lot! Some of these might be of help to you, some others may not work, but do try! Maybe get your family to help you in accomplishing them. If you have any other queries I'll be happy to try and help. Trying to get rid of this kind-of addiction myself too.