can i use videogames as a substitute for porn addiction?everytime i have urges i play videogames now. will getting a videogame addiction still bhe better than a porn addiction or should i stop both?
Only porn can be bad for a porn addicted. Maybe video games can increase dopamine release in brain but thats exacly what exercise and meditation does aswell. Video games is most likely not affecting your porn addiction.
While video games may not directly make porn addiction worse, I highly recommend giving them up at least temporarily while you reboot. I believe it can make you reboot faster. You need to get off of all digital screens as much as possible. Recovery requires an entire change of lifestyle. The more video games you play, the more you are training your brain to react to what you see on a screen. Granted, video games do not trigger a sexual reaction like porn does, but they still overlap. In my own experience, I grew up playing video games ALL THE TIME as a kid. I can't help but feel as though I was just preparing and conditioning my brain to respond so strongly and naturally to porn when I first discovered it online. Video games are not a good substitute for porn. Instead of playing video games when you're horny or bored, do more wholesome and helpful activities such as exercise, meditation, socializing with real people, etc.
I have found excessive use of video games to be a catalyst for relapses. On the other hand working out decreases my chances of relapsing. But that's only me, you might be different. Try it for yourself and if it works great, if it doesn't, stop playing them!
Good question. It depends.... f.e. if you do have good social contacts and really spent time with other real people then you could play also some time video games (VG) But if you are closed in your room all the time..... then its dangerous I think! 1. the step from VG to jump to some P web page is 1 click away only! 2. I experienced that you can get urges when you fail in the VG (if you are not successful in the game you get frustrated and urges can be the reaction) If you cant control this play VG only together with someone, or when someone is in the room or near to you.
I used video to help through no PMO for a month. Playing really fun games really helped. But after a month, the craving came back. At the 30 day mark, even playing Crysis 3 (my favorite game), I still got distracted during games thinking of porn. For me, It was a temporary fix. Video game can help with recovery (because it offers a distraction from porn), but it's definitely not the solution.
Me too, the more time I would spend playing them, the harder it would be to control myself. Currently I'm also trying to get through a food addiction, and when that dopamine starts going (even through non porn means) I find it really hard to stay in control.
I think video games can definitely help, in moderation. But if you start playing them all the time it could create a separate problem or get so "boring" it leads you to other stuff.
I'll offer a contrarian opinion. In the past, when I switched to video games, I'd realized that I just wasted a couple hours on my nerd box without doing anything immoral, and that felt kind of refreshing and good. Even so, it is a waste of time, just not as bad.
I believe that playing videogames fires the same addictive pathways as porn. It goes through the same reward circuitry in your brain. If your goal is to rewire your brain from an addicted state to a more balanced one, it's best to avoid all things that give easy dopamine.
