Burned out of gaming, any help?

[Serenity]

So i love gaming, i have thousand hours invested into beautiful games.

Lately i open Steam and i just look at it.

I feel like playing but i also feel like not playing.

Mentally there is an obstacle i can't surpass.

I was wondering if anyone else faced this and if there are any tips on what i should do to get ''cured'' lol.

Thanks.

[TheSaint]

Do something different. Read a book. Go outside and get some fresh air and exercise. Talk to your friends. You should be doing this stuff anyways. There's way more to life than video games.

[Serenity]

Not for me, my life is video games, good advice for others though.

[linuxgurugamer]

38 minutes ago, Boyster said:

Not for me, my life is video games, good advice for others though.

 Going out and doing something else will help you reset your mind so you can enjoy the games again. 

[Serenity]

12 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

 Going out and doing something else will help you reset your mind so you can enjoy the games again. 

My problems started two years ago when i got a new PC.

My  previous computer was struggling and my choices for gaming were very limited.

After i got the new pc i lost myself in all the games i missed and all the things i couldn't do previously.

But right now my mind is locked to a place it just doesn't want any more gaming.

Going out is not a bad idea but in my case its kinda unrewarding since i do not have many things to do outside but it seems like

one of the must do to actually return back to enjoying gaming.

[Spacescifi]

2 hours ago, Boyster said:

So i love gaming, i have thousand hours invested into beautiful games.

Lately i open Steam and i just look at it.

I feel like playing but i also feel like not playing.

Mentally there is an obstacle i can't surpass.

I was wondering if anyone else faced this and if there are any tips on what i should do to get ''cured'' lol.

Thanks.

Won but lost.

When you win at a game are you really winning?

One game I am considering quitting altogether I just realized via calculations that it would take days even weeks of the free time I have to win... and that is with a few cheats enabled!

 

When you decide to lose or give up your gaming to pursue what is more important, then it is like this....

 

Lost (the game) but won (your life).

Edited October 14, 2020 by Spacescifi

[Lewie]

@Boyster, gaming really is a great thing but it really shouldn’t be the center of your life. 

But anyways...

Look, if you’re having the problem where you want to, but you just can’t....really, take a break. Read some books, visit some friends. Go out and enjoy yourself. (Well, as much as you can really...provided the whole pandemic) Come back in a week or two, and maybe you’ll enjoy it again. 

Given enough time, you’ll get burnt out on anything. I read non-stop as soon as I could walk, I got burnt out on that by the time I was in 8th grade. I did want to read, but didn’t at the same time. I stopped for a few months, and when I came back, it was truly wonderful. Just give yourself some time off the games, and you’ll enjoy it more when you come back. Maybe learn a new hobby! Lift some weights! Go running! Read a book series. Look at constellations. Do a puzzle. Read Wikipedia.  There is so much to life outside of games...I’m certain you can find something you enjoy.

Cheers-

Lewie.

[Serenity]

41 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

Won but lost.

When you win at a game are you really winning?

One game I am considering quitting altogether I just realized via calculations that it would take days even weeks of the free time I have to win... and that is with a few cheats enabled!

When you decide to lose or give up your gaming to pursue what is more important, then it is like this....

Lost (the game) but won (your life).

I completely and utterly disagree.

If you want to completely win you should accept and even embrace the possibility of completely loosing.

37 minutes ago, Lewie said:

@Boyster, gaming really is a great thing but it really shouldn’t be the center of your life. 

But anyways...

Look, if you’re having the problem where you want to, but you just can’t....really, take a break. Read some books, visit some friends. Go out and enjoy yourself. (Well, as much as you can really...provided the whole pandemic) Come back in a week or two, and maybe you’ll enjoy it again. 

Given enough time, you’ll get burnt out on anything. I read non-stop as soon as I could walk, I got burnt out on that by the time I was in 8th grade. I did want to read, but didn’t at the same time. I stopped for a few months, and when I came back, it was truly wonderful. Just give yourself some time off the games, and you’ll enjoy it more when you come back. Maybe learn a new hobby! Lift some weights! Go running! Read a book series. Look at constellations. Do a puzzle. Read Wikipedia.  There is so much to life outside of games...I’m certain you can find something you enjoy.

Cheers-

Lewie.

It seems like the only solution, to just step away from it for a while.

It is a solution with a heavy price though since i do not hold in the same value things like going out etc.

I do lift and read and learn new things everyday but thats the walls of my house.

The foundations are gaming which i understand is absurd but its what i do, i get lost in them, distract myself and at the end i am not trying to convince other people that is a wise choice.

So i have to step away for a while from the main thing that is keeping me kinda happy, I would rather explore other possibilities, i am always annoyed by the limitations of how much we can influence our mental state.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Boyster

[munlander1]

Personally, as others have said sometimes you need a break from a game or games in general. That's normal.

If I were you, I would limit the amount of time I'd play a day to something reasonable to something like two hours a day. 

While I am personally struggling with this right now, going to bed at the same time every day can help a lot with mental health. Make sure you are also exercising and getting outside everyday. The latter will be harder in the winter  however even a little is fine. 

[Dirkidirk]

2 hours ago, Boyster said:

Not for me, my life is video games, good advice for others though.

watch youtube then, and/or inhale some nutrients and liquids. movies are also nice.

 

[Serenity]

50 minutes ago, munlander1 said:

Personally, as others have said sometimes you need a break from a game or games in general. That's normal.

If I were you, I would limit the amount of time I'd play a day to something reasonable to something like two hours a day. 

While I am personally struggling with this right now, going to bed at the same time every day can help a lot with mental health. Make sure you are also exercising and getting outside everyday. The latter will be harder in the winter  however even a little is fine. 

One guy said i should focus to just ONE game and not open myself on many different games at once.

Maybe it will make it easier to focus and really enjoy it rather than just window shopping.

43 minutes ago, Dirkidirk said:

watch youtube then, and/or inhale some nutrients and liquids. movies are also nice.

That sounds like a perfect Friday Night, need to do that soon.

[Spacescifi]

2 hours ago, Boyster said:

I completely and utterly disagree.

If you want to completely win you should accept and even embrace the possibility of completely loosing.

 

I agree.

However... in life the question only you can truly answer is what are you willing to lose to win?

Sometimes the price tag is just not worth it. Like would you take back hundreds of hours of gametime if you knew someone you cared about would die suddenly? Taking back your gametime to spend it with them?

That is just one rather striking example, but to suffice to say, gaming is often but not always about winning.

We can get the same feeling of winning actually doing things that are profitable for us and others.

I am not saying gaming must be quit altogether. It only needs balance.

Life>gaming. Not gaming>life.

Relationships matter more than games.

One game I played that I play more for the ending variation and character development is this one.

https://qirien.itch.io/our-personal-space

The moral of the story to me is that heroes don't have to wear capes. They are heroes simply by helping out and giving of themselves. Being unselfish makes a big difference in the game, or you can also be totally selfish and watch the fireworks. Either way you will probably learn something new.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Spacescifi

[Serenity]

7 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

However... in life the question only you can truly answer is what are you willing to lose to win?

Sometimes the price tag is just not worth it. Like would you take back hundreds of hours of gametime if you knew someone you cared about would die suddenly? Taking back your gametime to spend it with them?

If the price tag is not worth it then you have yet to find the answer you looking for.

You cant be true to yourself and believe that you know what you are after if you do not consider it worthy enough to die for.

9 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

The moral of the story to me is that heroes don't have to wear capes. They are heroes simply by helping out and giving of themselves. Being unselfish makes a big difference in the game, or you can also be totally selfish and watch the fireworks. Either way you will probably learn something new.

I love games like that, they are touching so many different states of mind and life.

They tear through many barriers and make you feel in ways that we were supposed to feel every day in our life instead of becoming so numb.

[Spacescifi]

3 hours ago, Boyster said:

If the price tag is not worth it then you have yet to find the answer you looking for.

You cant be true to yourself and believe that you know what you are after if you do not consider it worthy enough to die for.

I love games like that, they are touching so many different states of mind and life.

They tear through many barriers and make you feel in ways that we were supposed to feel every day in our life instead of becoming so numb.

 

It is an enjoyable game, and can be heartwarming, heartbreaking, or even life affirming.... how you play matters.

It is also not the game I feel I need to quit, as it does not take loads of time to achieve or reach endings.

The space game I am considering quitting required over 6,000 spaceships killed to unlock new levels assuming no cheats enabled.

Just to kill one ship takes at least a minute, or several if it's uber. Usually ships attack in packs 6v1 (six versus you) anyway, leading to battles that can easily last ten min each, not counting travel time.

It's not worth the time.

 

Regarding life, death, and what is worthwhile, I think the priority chosen should be both worth living for and worth dying for.

There should be no discrepancy, neither should we readily admit we would regret it badly if tomorrow was our last day or someone else's we cared about.

Edited October 15, 2020 by Spacescifi

[SOXBLOX]

@Boyster, do you have any hobbies? If not, maybe you'd like to go visit your local woodcarving club. Probably not something you'd enjoy, but there's always the chance. Something I'd enjoy would be to grab a book, especially one of the classics, and go sit in the coffee shop and read. Or, visit the library, and sit there.

(If you are going to pick up a classic, I'd offer some advice from a long-time book-lover. If you are, like me, a man, you probably won't enjoy something like Pride and Prejudice. Don't pick it up. Grab either one of the dystopic books, like Fahrenheit 451 or 1984, or some of Dostoyevsky's or Twain's works, or else get yourself a copy of Benjamin Wiker's 10 Books That Screwed Up the World (and 5 Others That Didn't Help). It is pretty short, and well worth reading.)

Also try grabbing some friends and playing a longer board game, like Catan or something. The interaction can help; I've been where you are before.

Ultimately, what helps me with this is the realization that I have too much free time. If you don't have a job, get one. It is guaranteed to make you so tired that you will be overjoyed to crash in the office chair and play video games. It gives you a sense of satisfaction and responsibility, both things which we need.

 

Edited October 15, 2020 by SOXBLOX

[Moach]

Sounds like you're suffering from "Too Many Options" syndrome.

As you said, this started when you got a better PC, and now with so many new possibilities available you become frustrated with the sheer impossibility of playing them all at the same time. Any time you pick one game, you can't help but long for all those other's you're now "missing out" on.

It's kinda similar in a way to "Programmer's Block" - A situation in which the choice of what method requires the least effort to implement ends up taking more effort than any of the alternatives.

 

The thing that seems to work the best for that, is to just pick one or two.  Don't try to play each and every game in turn, even if you own them all. Instead, just focus on a maximum of two titles at any one time so that you can really get into them. Eventually you'll phase them off with new ones to replace them as they grow old for you, though you might end up cycling back to them in a few months (if they're replay-worthy enough)

 

Any Non-Casual gamer should feel most dissatisfied should he/she attempt to play games in quantity over quality. One can never truly enjoy anything served in casual-sized chunks.

The best games are those that you can make into a hobby, rather than merely go over as simple disposable pass-times. 

 

And remember that winning is really just one of the possible outcomes that result from having fun in games. Most often, it is not strictly a source of fun by itself.

 

 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Moach

[Serenity]

1 hour ago, Spacescifi said:

Regarding life, death, and what is worthwhile, I think the priority chosen should be both worth living for and worth dying for.

That really hit me, you are so right on this, i get now what you meant before.I love that statement

1 hour ago, SOXBLOX said:

@Boyster, do you have any hobbies?

You are correct on the job thing and the free time, when i was working full time, coming back home and playing it was almost ceremonial, was really fun.

I have no physical hobbies but i love dystopian books/movies/games, i have no ''real life'' friends and i honestly have zero interest in activities, they just don't ring a bell, like since forever.

21 minutes ago, Moach said:

The thing that seems to work the best for that, is to just pick one or two.  Don't try to play each and every game in turn, even if you own them all. Instead, just focus on a maximum of two titles at any one time so that you can really get into them. Eventually you'll phase them off with new ones to replace them as they grow old for you, though you might end up cycling back to them in a few months (if they're replay-worthy enough). 

True true, its like when you suffer from dehydration you need to drink slowly, i think thats the main mistake i did when i got a new pc

21 minutes ago, Moach said:

And remember that winning is really just one of the possible outcomes of the fun in games. Most often, it is not strictly a source of fun by itself.

Yeah, i agree , and even more sometimes when i play games that have a strict win to have fun factor when i win it actually makes me unhappy.

Edited October 15, 2020 by Boyster

[Okhin]

I've spent most of my career recovering from burn out and going back into them. It sucks, and it is painful. The sense of dread and the loss of taste for anything usually takes root from a lack of recognition. What you do does not matter it seems.

From that, I've been to the point where I wanted to kill myself, because living was too much of a burden. For me and my friends, at least that's how I perceived things. And friends telling me otherwise was just, from my twisted perception, a lie they told to hide the fact that it was not, and something that made me feel more as a burden than anything else.

I really think being burned out and being depressed are the same thing now that I think of it. The worst part of it is the apathy which removes you from any agency (as a character in a badly designed game). What worked for me was therapy. But there might be some step you can do to help fight this apathy. This is what worked for me, I cannot guarantee it will work for you. Also, I'm not a trained psychologist so a little bit a criticism in what I might suggest is warranted.

Get some sleep. You'll need energy to fight the circular thought from your brain, and sleep is the way to get it. At least seven hours, non interrupted, per twenty four hours. Sleeping can be hard if you only have brain stimulating activities (such as video games), because your mind wants to go to rest, but your body is still jumpy on energy. If you're sleeping a lot (more than twelve hours a day, everyday), then you're probably not having a sleep of good quality.

Reduce caffeine intake. It is can set you in an anxious state quite fast. I cannot count the times where I was hit by panic attack induced by caffeine. Also you're trying to have some good quality sleep.

About sleep, you need to do only two things in your bed : sex and sleep. That will train your brain that when you're into your bed, you're going to sleep, not watch movies or what not. And it will makes your sleep easier.

Go outside. Not for the sake of breathing, but for a specific intent: drain your body of its energy. Whether it is by running, riding your bike, boxing, or whatever, you need some physical activity, and you need to do it until it hurts. Then you need to push through it. You need that for the endorphin release which needs to calm your brain. Also it will makes it easier to sleep.

Real friends will try to help you at some point, and they won't know how to do it, which can be awkward and makes it hard for both of you to manage. So seeking for them might not be the best idea. However, telling them about the  fact that you're going through some bad times and that you do not know what they could do to help you is something you should tell them. Not necessarily in person, text messaging systems are good for that.

Shutdown notifications everywhere. They're bad for your mind who's starving for a sense of recognition, the notifications of your apps feed on that (you can get on whatever website you want. Just shutdown those pesky notifications which keeps your brain in short term loops).

Build something. Anything. For me, it was 3d printing things and writing small novels. It can be drawing, pottery, knitting, a bird's house, anything really. Something you can make with your hands and which will exists after the process of creation.

Seek professional help. I'm serious about it. It is a sometime painful project, because you will need to try several psychiatrists before finding one that suits you, and there's a lot of different one out there, but you might need professional help that your friends can't give you.

What I know does not work :

Meditate. It's even counter indicated in the cases of depression and burn out.

Alcohol. Even if being drunk does help, the hangover is a severe depressant which makes matter worse. Believe me, I tried self medicating with alcohol. Did not really work. Other drugs might help though, I'm not a THC expert however but there's a lot of literature about drugs and depression out there. So if you think it's your way of managing things, fine, try it.

Doing what others people told you to do. Including everything above those lines. It's what helped me, it can or cannot work for you.

But in any way, you're currently in a bad place and you might not be able to see it yet, but there's some possibility of getting out of it. I'm not there yet (and it's been a fight for the last ten years), but it gets better. And I think it's worth the fight and the pain.

[Serenity]

18 minutes ago, Okhin said:

Get some sleep. You'll need energy to fight the circular thought from your brain, and sleep is the way to get it. At least seven hours, non interrupted, per twenty four hours. Sleeping can be hard if you only have brain stimulating activities (such as video games), because your mind wants to go to rest, but your body is still jumpy on energy. If you're sleeping a lot (more than twelve hours a day, everyday), then you're probably not having a sleep of good quality.

I can sleep 3-4 hours max without waking up due to health issues(due to my own stupidity when i was weight lifting, too many nasty stuff shallowed)

18 minutes ago, Okhin said:

Build something. Anything. For me, it was 3d printing things and writing small novels. It can be drawing, pottery, knitting, a bird's house, anything really. Something you can make with your hands and which will exists after the process of creation.

Do you think i can achieve some satisfaction by building stuff in games? I am not sure about that, i been wondering how real or if its just an illusion from building stuff in games compared to real life

18 minutes ago, Okhin said:

Seek professional help. I'm serious about it. It is a sometime painful project, because you will need to try several psychiatrists before finding one that suits you, and there's a lot of different one out there, but you might need professional help that your friends can't give you.

One of my main goals is to overcome my mental problems by myself. I feel the struggle and journey to achieve that is pure and more rewarding than to surrender to a different persons perspective and mutilate my own reasoning and my perspective about life

18 minutes ago, Okhin said:

But in any way, you're currently in a bad place and you might not be able to see it yet, but there's some possibility of getting out of it. I'm not there yet (and it's been a fight for the last ten years), but it gets better. And I think it's worth the fight and the pain.

I hope you get through it.

Imagine we are soldiers that we fight next to each other but in parallel dimensions.

We will never know each others pain and struggle, that's unfair and impossible, but we can acknowledge that as many, MANY people around the world are fighting this never ending battle,

maybe that gives some comfort maybe not.

Edited October 15, 2020 by Boyster

[KSK]

Depending what kind of computer games you’re into, you could maybe try board games or pen-and-paper roleplaying games? There are online platforms for both if pandemic restrictions mean that getting folks round a table to play them in person isn’t practical.

I’m in a D&D campaign at the moment played via Roll20 for the gaming and Zoom for the social contact. It works pretty well and just being able to hang out with friends once in a while is such a relief. The gaming is pretty darn good too.  

Alternatively, you could take up writing about your favourite games. Could be a strategy guide or maybe a piece of fanfic. Something that has you creating something with the game but separate from it. If what you’re writing is illustrated, that might be a way back into the game too - playing it to get that perfect screenshot to go with the next chapter of your story,

Edited October 15, 2020 by KSK

[Nuke]

currently watching a series on youtube thats trying to make a point that for the cost of a high end racing sim setup, you could build an actual racecar. 

[Entropian]

Learn to play chess.  It will serve you well later in life.

[Serenity]

21 minutes ago, Entropian said:

Learn to play chess.  It will serve you well later in life.

I dislike chess because my ability to foresee that i lost is way better than actually planning how to win.

[Okhin]

11 hours ago, Boyster said:

Do you think i can achieve some satisfaction by building stuff in games? I am not sure about that, i been wondering how real or if its just an illusion from building stuff in games compared to real life

No, I don't think so. First, using your hand and your body to build tangible things does not use the same areas of your brains than solving an engineering puzzle (ie build stuff in games). Also, you can't easily just look at it, or put it on your desk and be able to see that you actually did something and gets satisfaction from it. You can't give it to friends either, which can give another kind of satisfaction.

Quote

One of my main goals is to overcome my mental problems by myself. I feel the struggle and journey to achieve that is pure and more rewarding than to surrender to a different persons perspective and mutilate my own reasoning and my perspective about life

You can't fight depression alone. There's a mechanical part about it that makes you unable to solve the issue by yourself. And a professional will not mutilate your own reasoning. If you feel their doing that, you should change of therapist, they're not supposed to do that. Mostly they help you reflect on your issues, and they (mentally) hold your hand when your facing bad stuff in a controlled environment. Which is better than facing them by yourself in an uncontrolled environment.

I'm serious about that, you can't get through it alone. And it's not because you do not have the strength or anything like it. It's the nature of depression.

Quote

I hope you get through it.

I'll probably never be. Depression is a chronic disease. But I'm learning to live with it, not just surviving.
 

Quote

 

Imagine we are soldiers that we fight next to each other but in parallel dimensions.

We will never know each others pain and struggle, that's unfair and impossible, but we can acknowledge that as many, MANY people around the world are fighting this never ending battle,

maybe that gives some comfort maybe not.

 

I do not like framing things as a war, but I understand it comes fro a good place and intention so thanks. And yes, there's a lot of people struggling with depression and other mental illnesses.

It always helps to know it's not just you, it's the disease. And that it happens to thers too.

[Serenity]

4 minutes ago, Okhin said:

No, I don't think so. First, using your hand and your body to build tangible things does not use the same areas of your brains than solving an engineering puzzle (ie build stuff in games). Also, you can't easily just look at it, or put it on your desk and be able to see that you actually did something and gets satisfaction from it. You can't give it to friends either, which can give another kind of satisfaction.

Yeah, i always know in my heart thats the truth but i was always wondering in what level you can overplay your own brain and make it believe and use different areas than its supposed to

4 minutes ago, Okhin said:

I'll probably never be. Depression is a chronic disease. But I'm learning to live with it, not just surviving.

What if depression is not a chronic disease but a major part of who we are?

Learning to live with it or learning who you really are?

We have many bad things inside our body that they are essential to our being

4 minutes ago, Okhin said:

I do not like framing things as a war, but I understand it comes fro a good place and intention so thanks. And yes, there's a lot of people struggling with depression and other mental illnesses.

It always helps to know it's not just you, it's the disease. And that it happens to thers too.

Yeah sry about the war reference, currently i am debating some things around it and i am kinda in that area of things.

Edited October 15, 2020 by Boyster