1. You're going to have tough days (and that's okay)
   1. It's important to use my routine as a crutch so that I always have a schedule even on tough days; having tough days without having any schedule has often been a reason that I relapse back into gaming
   2. It's good that I've uninstalled all the games and removed gaming channels from my youtube/discord, but I do worry about needing browser extensions / phone apps that block me from doing things on especially bad days
2. It will be like a wave - some days will be easy, some days will be hard; as much as it came in, it will go out
   1. I want to be especially mindful of the "some days will be easy" part because I don't want to get overconfident and think "oh it's so easy to not play games, I bet I could even go and play one right now"
3. It might take more time (this was in reference to the 90 days detox, but I'm intending this to be much longer than that anyway)
   1. As I learned with going vegan, as more time goes on I need to remind myself of why I'm doing this otherwise there might be fatigue/burnout. I need to make sure I don't let others peer pressure me into saying that I've made it this long and therefore it'd be okay if I gave myself a reward.
   2. I think going vegan was much easier though - I didn't have any special addiction to meat (that couldn't be solved with meat substitutes) and I could always lean on the ethics of animal factory farming + the environmental benefits whenever I lost faith in the "I do this because it is better for myself". I wish I could do that with gaming ... I suppose I could make the argument that playing video games detracts from the time I could be spending on combating climate change, which helps make this endeavor "bigger than myself"
4. Urges and cravings are normal, and will likely be proportional to how intense you gamed
   1. I've learned from previous relapses that urges and cravings typically aren't a problem as long as I keep myself on a schedule, or get myself to default to a different activity (e.g. reading, hiking, music, etc) so I just need to reinforce those new default activities.
5. Your gamer friends may not understand, and may not support you (but you'll make new ones!)
   1. Luckily, the only gamer friends I have aren't especially close as is anyway, and we have other connections besides gaming (previous coworkers, best friend+roommate from high school/college). I do worry a bit that my brother and I don't have much to talk about / do together without gaming so I really want to work on fixing that. He rock climbs, and I plan to take that up too so maybe that'll be something.
6. You will probably be bored sometimes during this process
   1. See above points - this is especially what I'm worried about, especially if I become both bored AND stressed.
7. You may relapse, but it's important to bounce back and learn from it
   1. I got really lucky that my brother called me when he saw I was playing Everquest, and I've explained to him that I'm quitting games entirely now, but I can't expect him to be the only safety net I have. I think I need to spend more time thinking/learning on how to catch myself in/just before a relapse to make sure it doesn't become really harmful.

3 steps to take each day:

1. Focus on one day at a time - have a morning routine that gets you onto good momentum, and finish strong / on a high note - be proud of yourself when you go to bed
   1. I really want to get better at the "be proud of yourself" part of this. I often don't give myself enough credit and sometimes have overly cruel thoughts towards myself. My therapist from a few years ago suggested trying to learn to view myself the same way a parent would view their children, to be more forgiving in my mistakes and more excited about my achievements. I need to practice that daily.
2. Be intentional in choosing new activities
   1. Thinking back to the original GameQuitters article I read about the 4 areas that gaming fill that I need to replace (a temporary escape, constant measurable growth, a challenge, social), I feel mostly good about the new activities I chose - tennis, rock climbing, robotics, singing, bodyweight fitness routine, and climate change activism. I also am already really big into reading, which helps fill the temporary escape that the others aren't as easily accessible for providing that. The social component is probably going to be the most difficult for me because I still need to push myself to feel more confident in even just introducing myself to new people.
3. Keep a daily journal - reflect, process emotions and thoughts, get support from others on the forum
   1. Hello GameQuitters & r/StopGaming 🙂