What To Do If You Relapse And Start Gaming Again

Summary

In this insightful video, Cam from Ubud, Bali discusses the common challenge of relapsing into video gaming after quitting. He shares his personal experience of a significant relapse and identifies four main reasons for such setbacks: boredom, stress or anxiety, feeling good, and using gaming as a reward. Cam suggests learning from relapses and offers a 'game' framework to beat personal high scores in abstaining and quickly getting back on track if a relapse occurs. He encourages viewers to see relapses as learning opportunities rather than failures and provides resources for those ready to quit gaming.

Takeaways

• 🌾 The speaker, Cam, is sharing his experience and advice on dealing with relapses in quitting video games, which he discusses from the rice fields in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
• 🔄 Cam believes that relapses aren't necessarily bad and can be a learning experience to quit video games for good.
• 📅 Cam's personal experience includes going cold turkey for 11 months and then relapsing for five months when he moved to a new city, feeling overwhelmed and lonely.
• 🤔 He suggests that understanding the reasons behind a relapse can be crucial in preventing future occurrences.
• 🎮 The four main reasons for relapse, as identified by Cam, are boredom, stress or anxiety, feeling good and forgetting the negative impact of gaming, and using gaming as a reward.
• 📉 Cam recommends tracking the number of days without gaming to create a 'high score' that motivates one to avoid relapsing.
• 🏁 If a relapse occurs, the goal should be to get back on track as quickly as possible, aiming for a 'low score' in the time taken to resume not gaming.
• 💡 Relapses are not signs of failure but opportunities to learn and improve strategies for quitting gaming.
• 📚 Cam offers a document called '60-plus hobby ideas' to help people find new activities to replace gaming.
• 📖 He also mentions a guide called 'Respawn' which contains his best advice and strategies for quitting video games.
• 📅 An upcoming 'Game Quitters Challenge' is teased as a 30-day challenge to transform one's life, akin to an ultimate video game.
• 📍 Cam invites viewers to share their location and to follow him on Twitter for updates.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is discussing the issue of relapse in the context of quitting video games and how to deal with it.

What was Cam's initial experience when he quit playing games?

Cam managed to quit playing games cold turkey for 11 months, during which he was intentional about not being at home and worked on improving his social skills.

Why did Cam relapse into playing video games?

Cam relapsed because he moved to a new city and felt overwhelmed due to the lack of social connections, which led him to play video games again as a coping mechanism.

How long did Cam play video games after his relapse?

After relapsing, Cam played video games for 16 hours a day for five months straight.

What did Cam learn from his relapse experience?

Cam learned about the reasons behind his relapse and used this knowledge to write an article on how to quit playing games, which he now shares with his audience.

What are the four main reasons Cam believes people tend to relapse into gaming?

The four main reasons are boredom, stress or anxiety, feeling really good and forgetting the negative impact of gaming, and using gaming as a reward.

What is the framework Cam suggests for dealing with a relapse?

Cam suggests turning the process into a game where the goal is to beat your high score, which involves tracking the number of days without gaming and getting back on track quickly after a relapse.

What is the purpose of the 'high score' in Cam's framework?

The 'high score' serves as a motivational tool to encourage individuals to abstain from gaming for as long as possible and to recover quickly if they do relapse.

What resource does Cam offer to help people find activities to replace gaming?

Cam offers a document called '60-plus hobby ideas' which provides over 60 suggestions for activities that can replace gaming.

What is the name of the guide Cam recommends for quitting video games?

The guide is called 'Respawn' and it contains Cam's best advice and strategies for quitting video games.

What challenge is Cam planning to release in the near future?

Cam is planning to release the 'Game Quitters Challenge', which is a 30-day challenge designed to transform one's life into the ultimate video game.