Video games can be incredibly addicting. You can pretend to be another character, explore worlds that you could not explore in real-life, and achieve levels where you have no choice but to play if there is no pause button. It is important to be aware of how much time video games take up before you miss out on real-life events and people.

Playing with video games for an excessive amount of time can affect you mentally and physically. Physically, you can develop chronic fatigue and weight issues from sitting for hours getting no activity. Video games can cause you to have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality where you deal with your anger the same way you do in the games. You can also lose connections with your friends and family if you are behind the screen daily. This can also affect your finances where you are not making any income if you spend hours playing games and any income you do have can be used to buy video games or in-app features. You could be missing out on a lot of good things in your life if you depend on video games as your only source of happiness.

You can first start to ask yourself why you are absorbed in these games. Is it because you feel a sense of power that you do not get in the real world? Are you using it to escape the everyday struggles you go through in the real world? Do you feel like you make more friends within the game than in person? Whatever the real is, it is important to speak to a therapist about this as your therapist can diagnose you with anxiety or depression as the mental diagnosis for your addiction and come up with a plan for you.

You should also think about how much time you spend playing video games. If it takes up your entire day where you are not communicating with anyone in the real world or working, then you need to cut your time playing. You can set a timer to play for one hour every day. It also helps to take breaks in between playing so that you do not spend long hours sitting down. Finally, make a list on all of the things you have missed out on and the things you will miss if you do not get your addiction under control.

Located in Tacoma, Washington, Bayview Center’s mission is to offer clinically-driven programs and services to treat a number of substance abuse disorders along with anxiety and depression using cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, trauma therapy, yoga therapy, and more for a successful recovery. For more information, please call us 888 570 7154 at as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.