i’m sat here missing another morning because of screen use. it was a good morning where i woke up well rested and had an early breakfast- yet i picked up a phonescreen, with good intentions, before preparing for the day- shower, clothes, y’know. now i am sat here three hours later and the hill to get those things done is steeper than ever. i missed the morning schedule by not walking out the door- and i don’t feel like rushing myself yet again is gonna leave me anything but with more difficulty tomorrow.
addictions are symptoms of problems. i have tried middle paths, cold turkey quits and just indulging withoit restraint. nothing helps my wellbeing long-term- considering i am always here again.
going back to my cold-turkey attempts and reitterating: what am i lacking when i go off the screen? i am eternally drawn to videogames, specifically 3D fighting games like Tekken SoulCalibur BloodyRoar DeadOrAlive Tobal … list could to on… i figure i could get that fulfilled by actual fighting sports, i know it’s an unwritten meme and i also don’t like what i’ve tried of actual fighting sports… but i figure defining the fighting game genre’s skill checks and psychological effects (not pushing buttons, emotional self-awareness in adverse situations, mechanical execution-reaction honed to fit intuition and to not be indoctrinated to mindless responses… all these are excercises within any given fighting game cough that is good cough and result in aforementioned effects that i just really really appreciate for my wellbeing.
for fighting games i’m thinking of actual fencing with gear and racket sports (like tennis badminton pingpong) and archery (for some reason idk.)
*’m’ups - including beat’m’ups like the original Final Fight and shoot’em’ups like the original Gradius - i wanna lump together with ciruit-racer games like Enthusia, Richard Burns Rally (PS2 exclusives) and others from consoles earlier and later. simply because it’s all holding the line in an ever repeating pattern: it’s less so reacting and more so internally preparing & pacing yourself to space according to the obstacle course ahead of you. the course is constant, some obstacles will be there but it’s predetermined stuff. if you haven’t thought it out beforehand… so i am also including Mirror’s Edge to this and that leaves a simple entryway for me to consider offscreen activities.
for mup’s, racing games, speedrunning games… i’m thinking freerunning, parkour, vehicular sports (like biking (maybe driving an actual car but economy & ecology & crashes though…), wallclimbing or bouldering you call it in english, longskiing (my beloved), rollerblades, aerobatics (aerial silks, corde de lisse, aereal hoops, …)
UnbrokenTaco@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Video games are good at feeling rewarding very quickly, with minimal effort required to get that feeling. I think that makes it easy for them to become habitual.
Maybe I’m reading to much into it but consider asking a doctor or calling a helpline to see if they think you could have something like depression, ADHD, etc. Even if you don’t want to medicate, having a template of common patterns and tendencies for “your brain” can help you come up with strategies.
You could also consider other approaches.
I have a technique for doing things I don’t want to do that I find works well for me. I make a rule that says I have to start doing the thing I don’t want to do, and I have to do it for 60 seconds (adjust appropriately). If I want to stop after, then fine. It helps my brain switch to the new context and form new habits. Usually I end up doing more then the minimum but only if I want to.
I’ve also had days I woke up and wanted to game even though I actually knew I should go for a walk or get some outdoor stuff done. On those days I tell myself I can game, but I have to be ready for the day first. Similar to the above.
Also, to answer your question about game-like activities, some ideas:
Laser tag, paint bal etcl (shooters), escape rooms (puzzle games), board games/role play games, (turn based 😅), karaoke, dance classes, (music games), indoor rock climbing, hiking, (open world games)
A lot of other activities (pick almost any hobby) involve skill building which can be pretty rewarding in itself.
I may be way off base here so apologies if this post is preachy.