CASE STUDY

I started gaming in my early childhood and grew up playing video games as much as I could. A “harmless” recreation slowly grew to a full fledged addiction while I was still in grade school, and my passion for gaming eventually became an obsession for the internet and all technological things. In middle school, due to the ease of access and lack of monitoring, I began using pornography and continued to do so right up to my time at ReStart. Online gaming, the internet, and porn held me as their slaves nearly all of my childhood and absolutely all of my adolescence.

I withdrew both emotionally and physically from those I loved.

I lied to whoever I needed to in order to get my fix, including myself. My life got completely absorbed by it.
Depression slowly began dominating my life and I began to hate myself. I didn’t want to be alive. How could I? Life wasn’t what it was supposed to be. I thought of life as a miserable endurance. I felt as though I had nothing to offer the world anyway. I was a suck on my parents’ resources and didn’t take responsibility for my actions. When I imagined my future all I could see was black; I never thought I would amount to anything. I went to gaming, the internet, and porn as my only solace from all of my thoughts, my perceived expectations of those around me, and my failure at being a functioning part of society. (https://www.netaddictionrecovery.com/5-years-post-treatment-for-gaming/)

• Question 1: What do you think are the signs of addiction?
• Question 2: Where can you ask for help if you see some addiction symptoms in yourself?