Anyone can’t stop playing computer games? | ADHD Information
Hi,
Obsessions are sometimes part of ADHD called OCD .
I'm 60 and was diagnosed over the years with bipolar and many more but was diagnosed for ADHD 4 months ago.
I realize that over the years I've obsessed on photography, golf, benzo tapering, music, weight lifting, wood working and computers.I will not go into details but as one example In computing I'd check my computer 4-5 times a day to make sure that it was free of spyware, temp files, defragmented. I'd have the latest programs.
This summer I'M playing golf" Instead of relaxing.. I can go in my backyard practicing my swing many times per day. Go on the range and when I play I'm so stressed that I hit all over the places and get so frustrated and even depressed.
Sure would like your feedback...
All I have to add is to never, ever, try World of Warcraft. It is made for those of us who can't stop playing video games. It never ends and there is always new things to do. I easily wasted weeks of time where I should have been working. Bad, bad distraction. I had to cancel my subscription and uninstall the game from my laptop. <wimper>word of advice... stay away from mmorpg's..... they have a multiplier effect witfh add i think, because they are already addictive in the first place.We don't have children, so this might not apply to you ... but the fiancee give me 2 hours a day when I get home from work to work on "my stuff" ... video games, web design, domains, whatever. Mostly things I would do alone. Then we spend the rest of the time together doing whatever. Lately it's been walking, but she has a stalker ex-boyfriend who we just had to have the police over to handle yesterday, ugh!
hi 6214571
welcome to the boards
wow sorry to hear about your gf and hear ex hope your both safe
Before I got my diagnose I could play Shot-em-up games 12-14 hours a day....forgetting to eat, call back at friends, not getting tired...and so on. 'After taking EFEXOR it stopped instantly. I didnt play a half year after...
Today I Play, but controlled ;)
Mikkel
ADD_At_53
hi and welcome
i too have this problem usualy spider solitaire lol and my ps2 i get obsessed with games and and other things i like doing. i cant drag myself away from them
my mum says if i spent as much time doing housework as i did doing things i enjoy my huose would be spotless lol
but since ive been coming here to the boards i have played spider solitaire maybe 2-3 time only i much more obessed with spending time here instead 
Are you taking stimulants? If so, you might try reducing the dose. Thanks so much for your responses! ADD has been a somewhat lonely experience for me so far and I really appreciate your advice. I have moved my computer to the basement, and that has helped some. I have greatly reduced the game playing, but I have discovered Stumble Upon and other internet distractions. I am going to add the egg timer set for 30 minutes, on the other side of the room, as you suggested.
My diagnosis is ADHD with Anxiety type Depression. I take 36 mg Concerta and 20 mg Celexa day each but I am new to medication so I will talk to my psych about whether it may be too much or too little. I think that depression might be part of it.
Thanks agaian.
Gee, I couldn't tell you were addicted to this site - 152 posts in 5 days....
Seriously though, I am the same way. I haven't posted too much but I am here reading stuff all the dang time. It is nice (in some sick way) to see other people who get as carried away by things as I do! My husband does not hyperfocus as much as I do and my parents used to tear me away from whatever I was engrossed in after a period of time and send me outside (which was intensely irritating).
And I LOVE a good RPG and can blow a whole weekend playing it start to finish. Ditto for anything that grabs my attention like a really good book. Later, I suddenly realize the whole day is gone and I didn't do anything else, including eating. I can get completely obsessed.
My husband can also spend an entire day playing Neverwinter Nights.....Straterra hasn't seemed to make that go away at all yet.....not that I care much since it is easy enough for me to find something to occupy my attention (LIKE THIS WEBSITE!).
[QUOTE=katastrophee]
Gee, I couldn't tell you were addicted to this site - 152 posts in 5 days....
Seriously though, I am the same way. I haven't posted too much but I am here reading stuff all the dang time. It is nice (in some sick way) to see other people who get as carried away by things as I do! My husband does not hyperfocus as much as I do and my parents used to tear me away from whatever I was engrossed in after a period of time and send me outside (which was intensely irritating).
And I LOVE a good RPG and can blow a whole weekend playing it start to finish. Ditto for anything that grabs my attention like a really good book. Later, I suddenly realize the whole day is gone and I didn't do anything else, including eating. I can get completely obsessed.
My husband can also spend an entire day playing Neverwinter Nights.....Straterra hasn't seemed to make that go away at all yet.....not that I care much since it is easy enough for me to find something to occupy my attention (LIKE THIS WEBSITE!).
[/QUOTE]I LOVE NWN! Played it through a coupla times
There's a NWN II but my machine isn't big enuff to play it
Morrowind was the best of them all and once a year, I still play Torment.
I watched both seasons of Rome through 5x! That's just nutz
Don't have the attention span right now to readbooks which really bites.
I read a lot of posts here--the saddest ones are about the poor moms and kids struggling through the school system. I was so THERE when I was a kid and hadda fight like a scrapping rottweiler for a coupla foster kids when I was younger.
I've been on here and a movie site and email simultaneously. I wait for the loading and chat here then watch some and answer the odd letter.
It has to be a REALLY good book for me to read start to finish......right now I have about 5 books that I am reading off and on.
My husband says he heard that NWN II is really "buggy" yet and he wants to wait to get it. I also love NWN. I always play as a sorceror because I can unleash mass destruction at will. Hubby plays as a wizard because he likes to strategize and plan his battles. I say forget that......let's just blow stuff up!!!!!!! KABOOM!!!!!!
We bought Guild Wars and I am a little afraid to load it on my computer. If my hubby and I start campaigning together I might NEVER get any work done!!
It has to be a REALLY good book for me to read start to finish......right now I have about 5 books that I am reading off and on.
My husband says he heard that NWN II is really "buggy" yet and he wants to wait to get it. I also love NWN. I always play as a sorceror because I can unleash mass destruction at will. Hubby plays as a wizard because he likes to strategize and plan his battles. I say forget that......let's just blow stuff up!!!!!!! KABOOM!!!!!!
We bought Guild Wars and I am a little afraid to load it on my computer. If my hubby and I start campaigning together I might NEVER get any work done!!
A gamer buddy of mine gave me his GW and I never even tried it.
I am a rogue in most games [too frustrating to be a wizard]. It takes a lot of strategy/thinking because you can't bank on strength.
I've played warrior types when I just wanna bash 'em
I wind up wealthy [now there's a fantasy for ya!] a sort of swashbuckler type. Nothing like sneaking up and taking out a the bad guys with arrows before they even know you're there! But it's not great in NWN except for Hordes of the Underdark because Tomi is the best sidekick in the game.
In Toment ya gotta be the mage 'cause ya get the BEST story when you have high wisdom. It's like a brillant fantasy book, over a million words with game attached It's a cult thing. If a game ever needed remaking--that's the one!
Morrowind was truly the rpg'ers dream. I was disappointed in Oblivion. The horse was coolers but it didn't have the political/cultural scope of Morrowind. Just better graphics.
MetisRebel39216.924849537
Yeah, it never ceases to amaze me that I am married to an ADHD man who can't manage to help me unpack or work on his company website, but he can sit for hours in front of NWN planning his spells and summons in the utmost detail. He does that with football games too. Plays in "coach" mode and intricately develops the ultimate team. And he does it over and over which I can NOT do. I play something once through start to finish and I am done. With VERY few exceptions, I am never interested in going back and playing anything again using a different character class because I already know the plot. I just lose interest. My husband definitely got the most of the money he spent for NFL 2K3!! I can not sit and "fiddle" with my character or do level "grinding" because it is just terribly tedious! My husband spent three weeks in that snow globe (in the original NWN) killing dryads (or whatever they were - typical me paying attention!) in order to level up to level 40! That would make me crazy!!
I agree that Tomi rocks - I used Linu as my sidekick in the original campaign and I loved her too. I usually either play a magic user or some sort of archer because I like attacking from a distance.
Will have to look into Torment....
[QUOTE=katastrophee]Yeah, it never ceases to amaze me that I am married to an ADHD man who can't manage to help me unpack or work on his company website, but he can sit for hours in front of NWN planning his spells and summons in the utmost detail. He does that with football games too. Plays in "coach" mode and intricately develops the ultimate team. And he does it over and over which I can NOT do. I play something once through start to finish and I am done. With VERY few exceptions, I am never interested in going back and playing anything again using a different character class because I already know the plot. I just lose interest. My husband definitely got the most of the money he spent for NFL 2K3!! I can not sit and "fiddle" with my character or do level "grinding" because it is just terribly tedious! My husband spent three weeks in that snow globe (in the original NWN) killing dryads (or whatever they were - typical me paying attention!) in order to level up to level 40! That would make me crazy!!
I agree that Tomi rocks - I used Linu as my sidekick in the original campaign and I loved her too. I usually either play a magic user or some sort of archer because I like attacking from a distance.
Will have to look into Torment....
[/QUOTE]I don't level grind--where's the challenge in THAT? Blech. I just grab yer standard Rogue and GO!
Torment is for you if you're a story buff. The graphics etc are old and shaggy but the story is gobsmacking. The written and spoken dialogue is the best in ANY game EVER. Morte is brilliant writing as is Annah of the Shadows. The gameplay will bug ya until you get used to it.
I like them for the story too--that's part of the reason Oblivion was overrated--I could have written that tripe in my sleep! Morrwind has the best storyline and all those political machinations and different houses/guilds/etc. Heck I pretty much played it bass-ackwards.
I use a rogue who can use arrows and backstab. Traps don't interest me I used Linu somewhere for a bit one time and she was kinda funny too.
Have you played Morrowind?
I agree that there has to be a good story. I have NOT yet played Morrowind although it has been on my "short list" for a while now. Like with most things I want to do more than I ever seem to end up doing. I also have to be careful because I can get so easily addicted to these things that I don't do anything else. It might be OK if I still had a job that I reported to everyday, but I work out of home now and sometimes the temptation to stay and dork around is too great....
I don't like traps either. Again, that takes planning and strategy....I just want to obliterate everything on the screen and move on.
Linu was great because she could do melee, cast offensive spells and also heal and cast defensive spells. At higher levels she is extremely hearty. She is also pretty funny since she is sort of a space cadet and extremely clumsy. My hubby uses Daelan because he is a tank and allows him to unleash his carefully planned spells from afar.
[QUOTE=katastrophee]I agree that there has to be a good story. I have NOT yet played Morrowind although it has been on my "short list" for a while now. Like with most things I want to do more than I ever seem to end up doing. I also have to be careful because I can get so easily addicted to these things that I don't do anything else. It might be OK if I still had a job that I reported to everyday, but I work out of home now and sometimes the temptation to stay and dork around is too great....
I don't like traps either. Again, that takes planning and strategy....I just want to obliterate everything on the screen and move on.
Linu was great because she could do melee, cast offensive spells and also heal and cast defensive spells. At higher levels she is extremely hearty. She is also pretty funny since she is sort of a space cadet and extremely clumsy. My hubby uses Daelan because he is a tank and allows him to unleash his carefully planned spells from afar.
[/QUOTE]Yeah but Daelen is booooooooooooooring. I kept wanting to bump him off myself. Tomi's hysterical and Linu is at least kinda fun.
If you think NWN was good Morrowind is gonna blow your socks off so save it for a "down time"
Hi,
This is my first post. I've been reading posts on computer games.
There is a neural feedback software called "Play Attention". The software and hardware (bicycle helmet with EEG sensors measures ability to focus through via beta/theta waves. For example a caricature of an airplane may be flying low across the horizon. Intense concentration on the object results in moving the airplane up to the upper right hand corner of the screen. Has anyone had any experience with "Play Attention" or "Braintrain" or similar software to focus attention?
Regarding extensive use of computer--for me its computer shopping but rarely buying.
I am SO there.
When I get a good RPG I gotta play that sucker right to the end. Totally obssessed. Then nada, nothing, zip.
But then, if I got a good painting going, or a good story I'm writing--it works the same way. Nothing else exists. Unless of course, I'm distracted and then I can't do ANYTHING for more than 5 minutes--even things I like *sigh*
Right now, I'm addicted to this site
Other addictive games I don't care about so at least I have those in-between times.
My doc is just getting me strattera so I'll let ya all know if it gets better on that or not.
Add_at 53
I have had the same problem, tyr this.
Decide how much time you are going to play for the night, before you ever get started playing. Then try placing a digital egg timer near you when on the computer. Set it for about 20-30 minutes at a time so you don't loose track of the time.
If that doesn't work try mixing things up, like every time the timer goes off you will go do something around the house you should be doing.
Or if you find yourself just resetting the timer then move just far enough away that you have to stop playing a few seconds to turn it of.
Wordwoman may be right. In my case though I was undermedicated with stimulants. Also make sure your playing games for the right reasons. The right reason being to enjoy yourself, take a break from ADHD thinking or a short break from lifes stresses.
The wrong reason being to avoid facing problems in your life. If this is true consider that it might be a symptom of depression. (It happened to me)
My mom and I (she's 65 and I'm 35) both ADD and both terribly addicted to video games. For some it might be an OK way to deal with their need to stim, but for me its literally been like a drug addiciton. (I'm not on meds. Tried them and decided to go without) When I'm playing every day, its all I think about, and I don't take care of the basic things I need to. I also get really irritable and snappy with my wife, and find myself sneaking to the computer to play.
Kind of pathetic, I know, but this is the brain I've been given.
So I made an agreement with my wife. Now I only play an hour and a half per week at an agreed upon time. Without that ready made stimulation, I've been focusing more on other, more productive things. I figure my brain will, one way or another, seek the stimulation it needs. Now whether its reading a book about root canals, playing with my kids, or playing a videogame will make a huge difference in my long term success and happiness.
I could have been a heroin addict (easily) but video games are my drug of choice, so I just have to admit it and go from here. Maybe you're different and maybe you can handle it..... I would suggest asking yourself these questions: Can you play for a set amount of time (an hour or less) and walk away from it? Are you thinking about games when you are not playing? Do you crave playing? Does your irritability or relationship with spouse/significant other change when you are or aren't playing?
Based on your post, it sounds like you're like me and do have a fairly serious problem. My suggestions for what they're worth: 1) Go cold turkey for a month. Delete all the games on your computer and put all your disks where you won't have access to them: a friends house, a storage are...whatever. See how your feelings and your life changes. 2) After a month without the games, ask yourself whether its worth going back to play a few games. In other words, have your feelings and life improved enough that maybe its worth it to give up games the rest of your life (I know thats a hard pill to swallow, believe me....) For me, after a month without, part of me was ready to give them up altoget. 3)If you have a supportive spouse who can hold you accountible, maybe play on a VERY limited basis....otherwise I'd say.....give them up.
Just my 2 pesos
Hi Addentist,
I think that you are right. As a matter of fact, I know that you are right. I don't think I would even want to add up all the time I have spent playing these games over the last 5 or 6 years. I am going to quit as of now. It is spring in Minnesota and that is the best time to make a change. I am divorced, but I have two teen-age sons and if I tell them I quit and not to let me play, I think they will help. I will post back next week-end and let you know how I did.
Thanks for your advice. I'm going outside now to enjoy the beautifull day!
This may seem like a radical solution...but...get rid of your computer. As a result of my ADD I found that hours and hours of my life would be sucked away by TV and the Civ2 computer game. My solution was to throw away all my computer games and to get rid of my TV. Now....if I could only get rid of my internet..............sigh.