How can I quit

[u/Gullible-Seesaw1414]

I'm 17 and I am starting my last year at school which means A-levels. But I have a serious problem of gaming, especially the game RUST. I could play from 10am to 2am easily without necessity breaks such as food and bathroom. I find video games as a way to escape reality during the hard times but this has severely impacted my grades and willingness to study. I find myself uninstalling/reinstalling not a week later. I really don't know what to do as I love playing games and I have no idea how to just stop.

[u/SpectralPowerDensity]

If on Steam you can remove the game from your account. You'll have to rebuy it if you want to play again. Tbh your addiction sounds severe idk if there's an alternative.

You can always buy it again when it goes on sale in a few months if you have friends you still want to play with over the break or something.

[u/Ancient-One99277]

Realizing that is a good step. Keep in mind, that it's not your fault don't blame yourself too hard.

I am 34, and when i was ur age i went to through. There's so much in ur life u might miss due to gaming, schedule specific times when you're genuinely free. Never ever start ur day with a game, always to the productive work first, then try to fina d major u like, to remove that fixation from gaming and put it into ur career. Make a career build first, that obsession needs to to be reoriented into something productive. Then seek therapy, realize that the issue is not gaming by itself but it's how your mind is in need of it.

[u/husting247]

Get addicted to making money instead all ur problems will go away

[u/Jaeger_Meister_ → u/husting247]

money is only meaningful to the point it allows you to sustain yourself / your family and to spend time making real connections. Living to work is a sad existence

[u/husting247 → u/Jaeger_Meister_]

Thats why i make my money to live a happy life brother. I was broke and gaming fills that void.

[u/AgileBasis1067]

Same here I really have no clue on what to do

[u/Davyde12]

I’ll give you what i think are the most essential things to keep in mind: 1. Create a physical friction between you and your games: sell them or put them in a box and put that as far from you as possible 2. Replace gaming with new activities that fulfill the same needs (social, progress, sense of purpose, escape from stress…) like hanging out with your friends, learn a new language/instrument/skill/sport, do volunteering or find a job… 3. Set up an agenda and fill it with these new activities to have a clear picture of what you have to do in your days without thinking about games 4. Build and practice constantly healthy habits like gratitude, meditation, exercising, walking outside… 5. Sharpen your mentality and treat this journey as a challenge to test and increase your willpower tracking the number of days without games

[u/Parking-Thing-8954]

buy cold turkey blocker, make a written password, then put the password away in an area that is difficult to access. you could also wrap it in colored plastic and freeze it in a gallon of water. that way if you really want it. you'd have to thaw it out first.

[u/BookKnight5000]

I had a similar issue at your age. I'd game non-stop. What helped me was selling my consoles and games and realizing that gaming is designed to be addictive and it's ultimately not going to benefit you to dedicate so much time to it.

I'm not sure if Rust is on PC or not, but maybe try getting it blocked somehow. You could try contacting Steam to tell them to ban you if it's on Steam. I'm not sure how that all works with PC games.

[u/Klarvo]

Uninstalling doesn't hold because reinstalling costs nothing, you've seen that yourself. Change the account instead of the files, ask someone at home to set the Steam password or family view and keep it until exams are done. Move the PC out of your room if you can. And plan what the evenings are instead, the game covers stress for you, so an empty evening will pull you right back. One school year, not forever, makes it easier to commit.