Contents
- What is the trap?
- From what arises
- Aftermath
- Stages of development
- Recommendations
- 1. Awareness of the problem
- 2. Reduce screen time
- 3. Spend as much time as possible outside the home.
- 4. Go in for sports
- 5. Raise your self-esteem
- 6. Remember, interests and hobbies, completely abandoned due to gaming?
- 7. List of desires and goals that you want to achieve
- 8. Enter new traditions in the family
- 9. Write down how many hours a day you spend on the virtual world
- 10. Ask your family to help you
- 11. As soon as the desire to play began to weaken — get rid of the games
- 12. Rely on your imagination
- Conclusion
Good day to all! From the moment people started playing computer games not for the purpose of entertainment, but to satisfy some of their needs that need to be realized in other ways, such a diagnosis as cyber addiction has appeared. Therefore, today we will talk about what it is and how to recover from gambling addiction.
What is the trap?
The trap of gambling addiction is that a person does not initially understand the threat, since there is a lot of pleasure and interest. And when the gambler realizes that he is “addicted”, he already experiences suffering instead of pleasure, it turns out that it is not so easy to cope with this type of addiction. Life is replaced by an illusion, and sometimes a person does not notice the differences and transitions.
From what arises
- When in reality it does not work out to achieve success, or it takes too much effort, then in the case of a cyber game, even a beginner is able to easily pass the necessary levels.
- Because of the feeling of acceptance, the feeling of kinship with other players. If in real life for some reason it is not possible to get recognition from others, then in the game you can feel like a hero, a savior and the best team player.
- When it is not possible to cope with stress, tension, then a person finds a way out for his accumulated energy outside, thus not moving forward in life and not solving the tasks set. For example, when a family is on the verge of collapse, a man simply “runs away” to a game about tanks, which has been very popular lately, simply relieving himself of responsibility for the future of his family.
- A very interesting point that is absent in real life and attracts gamers is the ability to start over in case of a loss. After all, you can save a good result, and move on, and in the event of the death of the hero, start from the saved moment. But life is not so simple, here you have to admit your mistakes, assimilate and appropriate experience, get injured and at the same time keep going in order to realize your plans …
- In adults, in view of immaturity for various reasons, there remains a fixation on children’s ways of obtaining satisfaction or responding to stress. It seems that he is already a man by age, but his psyche is immature, he does not know how to bear responsibility, make decisions, act. Therefore, in case of pressure, when adult actions are expected from him, he runs away to games.
Aftermath
- Given the fact that a large chunk of time is spent in front of the monitor screen, then the gamer also pulls food there. From an unbalanced diet, diarrhea, gastritis, constipation, and sometimes obesity can occur.
- Chronic fatigue syndrome appears, when lethargy is present throughout the day, during sleep the body does not restore its resources and is depleted more and more.
- There is a syndrome of «dry eye» due to prolonged contact with the monitor, leading to deterioration of vision over time.
- Back problems can occur due to constant tension in the lower back.
- A constant companion is a feeling of irritation, which is not easy to get rid of, because victories in the game no longer bring as much pleasure as at the beginning of the hobby.
- Due to low self-esteem in real life, in the case of virtual victories, an imaginary superiority over others may arise.
- There is insomnia or frequent waking up in the middle of the night due to nightmares.
- Loss of interest in other people and in life. And accordingly, this threatens with dismissal, divorce and loss of friends.
- For modern games, there is a need to constantly invest finances, which eventually leads a person to lack of money and debts, because earning in the value system goes almost to the last plan.
Stages of development
- Light passion. Other values are not shifting, but interest in virtuality is growing every day.
- Enthusiasm. During this period, a new need is formed — gambling. A person is already deliberately at the computer in order to play.
- Addiction. There is irritability and aggressiveness. From this stage, it is difficult to return to interaction with the outside world, since connections are already being established between online players, which creates the illusion of being included in society. It is very dangerous for children in that such a mental disorder as autism may well begin to develop, in the event of which it will no longer be possible to return health to normal.
- Attachment. This is a stage of fading interest, which may well last a lifetime, never ending. For example, some game is completed, then again it is boring to overcome familiar levels, but suddenly a new version comes out and the person becomes active, jumping back to the third stage, until he loses interest again.
Symptoms, in principle, are the same as with other types of addictions: such people neglect relationships with loved ones, devote all their free time to the computer, and cannot say exactly how long they will be freed. They can eat and sometimes even sleep in front of the monitor. In the process of distraction from the game, doing other things in the head of the gamer, all thoughts, for example, about the upcoming battle. If they interfere, turn off the computer, it can show destructive aggression, that is, destructive and uncontrollable.
Recommendations
1. Awareness of the problem
You will not be able to help a loved one until he himself admits that the problem exists. This is the very first step from which the treatment of absolutely all types of addictions begins. If you find that the described signs are present in your life, then think about it, are you ready to sacrifice your life to virtuality? Lose a lot of time for nothing? After all, the hours fly by like minutes.
2. Reduce screen time
For example, once a week, the time should be reduced by one hour. It won’t work out abruptly, but gradually getting used to devoting more time to real life, then interest may switch over time.
3. Spend as much time as possible outside the home.
Walk around the city, meet friends, get out into nature. This is both useful and will help restore lost contacts.
4. Go in for sports
Physical activity will distract, help restore strength and health, and also contribute to quality sleep. If you study every day, then at first you simply won’t have the resources to sit down at the computer in the evening. And over time already and desires.
5. Raise your self-esteem
You should not fall into arrogance or completely into the pole of insignificance in the real world. Restore your relationship with yourself, explore who you are, what positive qualities you have, how you can be useful to others.
6. Remember, interests and hobbies, completely abandoned due to gaming?
Maybe you dreamed of learning how to drive a car or crochet? Remember, then act.
7. List of desires and goals that you want to achieve
Plan, determine the ways in which you will move towards the goal. After clear planning, you will feel sorry for wasting time, every minute will have its own task.
You can read about how to correctly complete this item in the article: “How to turn a dream into a real task using the SMART goal setting technique”
8. Enter new traditions in the family
For example, to gather all together at the dinner table. Eating in a hurry, not getting involved in the process is a bad habit that threatens to worsen health. Yes, and depriving yourself of all sources of pleasure, leaving only the game, of course, there will be obsession with it. In the evenings, talking at dinner, you can get a little bit involved in family processes that you previously ignored. Weekends spend in the cinema, at a party, playing board games together.
9. Write down how many hours a day you spend on the virtual world
Then calculate how long it takes per week, month, and then year. The resulting numbers can be shocking if you value your life.
10. Ask your family to help you
If you have someone to rely on in difficult times, there will be no need to escape to the virtual world.
11. As soon as the desire to play began to weaken — get rid of the games
Otherwise, you run the risk of giving up at some point and previous efforts will be in vain.
12. Rely on your imagination
For example, if you have been «pumping» your virtual hero all the time, then it will be much more interesting if you start «pumping» yourself. Mark transitions to the next level if, for example, instead of 5 times, you learned to do 30 push-ups. Have you read some educational interesting books? Put a plus on your intellectual development. A new task has appeared — to earn a certain amount of money, after which there will be a bonus and a transition to a more difficult level. And so, over time, you will begin to achieve success, only not imaginary, but quite real.
Conclusion
That’s all, dear reader! I am sure that you will be able to get rid of computer addiction, because the world is so interesting and diverse! I wish you inspiration, strength and success.