Any PC or Console Gamers out there?
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Texas
Posts: 183
Any PC or Console Gamers out there?
I used to be able to game online ( World of Warcraft, MMO's etc) and still do. I love gaming but I used to have to always play buzzed or drunk to feel like I was having fun. I'm 29 now and I still love to play games to escape reality and just have fun. Being sober now for around 6 days ... People here have said that its good to drop situations around what made you want to drink. I wonder if I can ever go back to the days where I was like 18 and could game without substance. I don't want to give up gaming, I love it and it keeps me happy. Plus I have a lot of friends I've met online.
Its Friday and usually Im drunk as hell logging online and gaming it up , drinking til I pass out. Tonight I ended up cooking a great meal and was experimenting in the kitchen instead of running out to get beer as usual. I was really craving and battling the fact I might never be able to drink again and have fun playing the games I love. I am feeling a hella of a lot better and real proud of myself for making it almost 6 days. I don't want to start over and I want to prove to myself I can do it. Any other fellow gamers out there experience the same thing, sober or social drinker gamers.
TGIF , no drinking this weekend will be a true test for me because it will be the first weekend I haven't drank in years!
Dru -
Its Friday and usually Im drunk as hell logging online and gaming it up , drinking til I pass out. Tonight I ended up cooking a great meal and was experimenting in the kitchen instead of running out to get beer as usual. I was really craving and battling the fact I might never be able to drink again and have fun playing the games I love. I am feeling a hella of a lot better and real proud of myself for making it almost 6 days. I don't want to start over and I want to prove to myself I can do it. Any other fellow gamers out there experience the same thing, sober or social drinker gamers.
TGIF , no drinking this weekend will be a true test for me because it will be the first weekend I haven't drank in years!
Dru -
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,183
I used to play PC games drunk late at night on weekend nights, lots of hazy memories of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Doom 3... It can be triggering, but it can be kinda empowering too to take them back as a sober person. I did that with some music too, stuff that I used to listen to drunk but made a deliberate effort to listen to while sober so it wouldn't hover around as a trigger-in-wait. Up to you, but you might give it a break for a few weeks until you're stronger. 
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Join Date: May 2014
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Oh man Doom 3 was epic...that's one of the classics.
I used to get stoned playing Everquest back before pot made me freak out (about twelve years ago) and a couple of years ago a good Friday night was getting a case of beer and logging into final fantasy xiv for the night. You know, I can't say I really recall much of what I did in that game. You don't have to drink to play...imagine how much better you will play if you don't drink
I used to get stoned playing Everquest back before pot made me freak out (about twelve years ago) and a couple of years ago a good Friday night was getting a case of beer and logging into final fantasy xiv for the night. You know, I can't say I really recall much of what I did in that game. You don't have to drink to play...imagine how much better you will play if you don't drink
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Texas
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Doom 3 was sick, I played everquest too along time ago 
Great game they don't make em the same anymore. Your so right... lol I always tricked myself , well the alcohol always tricked me when I was drunk playing that I was good. I prob sucked it up.. cant wait to be sober 30 days from now and pick a game back up to see the diff
Great game they don't make em the same anymore. Your so right... lol I always tricked myself , well the alcohol always tricked me when I was drunk playing that I was good. I prob sucked it up.. cant wait to be sober 30 days from now and pick a game back up to see the diff Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 114
Hello Dru, this thread prompted me to finally sign up as a SR member after 4 or so months of lurking.
I'm only a couple years older than you and, after reading some of your posts, feel like my situation wasn't much different than yours. In retrospect, 29 was when my drinking problem really started to take a hold of me. So I can definitely relate to what you're saying in regards to booze + gaming.
I wouldn't even consider turning the game on unless I had a couple drinks to loosen up first. It got to the point for me where nothing was fun unless I was drinking. Examples:
Then after a few hours of drinking on the verge of blacking out I'd finally get off my butt and most often would try to cram in as much of those things before I would pass out. But even then I wasn't satisfied and would find myself playing Xbox for 10 minutes with the radio cranked, then switch to guitar while the Xbox and radio are still blasting, then think I'm a rock star and started singing along with the radio, then going to my computer and watching youtube, then outside for a cigarette, then back inside pounding on my neighbors door seeing if he wants to watch a movie at 1 am even though he has to get up for work in a couple of hours, then walking to the local bar and almost getting into fist fights and kicked out of the bar all to go back to my apartment and grab the controller and finally thinking I'm ready to have fun and play some video games and pass out on the couch with the radio, computer, tv, lights, guitar amp all on with my front door unlocked thinking my "friends" would drop on by. On rare occasions even my oven would be left on with that frozen pizza inside
After being sober now for a few months I'm relearning that hobbies can be fun without booze. I've finally started playing Diablo 3 and it's an awesome game! Even if I don't feel like playing, I'll still put it on to keep me distracted from my AV and suddenly 1-2 hours have passed by and I realize I'm having a blast
I'm only a couple years older than you and, after reading some of your posts, feel like my situation wasn't much different than yours. In retrospect, 29 was when my drinking problem really started to take a hold of me. So I can definitely relate to what you're saying in regards to booze + gaming.
I wouldn't even consider turning the game on unless I had a couple drinks to loosen up first. It got to the point for me where nothing was fun unless I was drinking. Examples:
Should I finally get around to playing Diablo 3 after spending $60 on it 2 months ago and never played it once? Better have some drinks first.
I feel like playing my guitar a little. Better have some drinks first to make sure.
I feel like listening to music. You know what, that sounds boring. Better have some drinks first.
Assemble that new furniture from Ikea? It'd be a lot more fun if I have some drinks first.
Re-caulk my shower? I'm gonna need some drinks for that.
Watch the new Avengers movie? That movie has a lot of action and explosions - I think some drinks will make it more enjoyable and so on and so on...
Then after a few hours of drinking on the verge of blacking out I'd finally get off my butt and most often would try to cram in as much of those things before I would pass out. But even then I wasn't satisfied and would find myself playing Xbox for 10 minutes with the radio cranked, then switch to guitar while the Xbox and radio are still blasting, then think I'm a rock star and started singing along with the radio, then going to my computer and watching youtube, then outside for a cigarette, then back inside pounding on my neighbors door seeing if he wants to watch a movie at 1 am even though he has to get up for work in a couple of hours, then walking to the local bar and almost getting into fist fights and kicked out of the bar all to go back to my apartment and grab the controller and finally thinking I'm ready to have fun and play some video games and pass out on the couch with the radio, computer, tv, lights, guitar amp all on with my front door unlocked thinking my "friends" would drop on by. On rare occasions even my oven would be left on with that frozen pizza inside
After being sober now for a few months I'm relearning that hobbies can be fun without booze. I've finally started playing Diablo 3 and it's an awesome game! Even if I don't feel like playing, I'll still put it on to keep me distracted from my AV and suddenly 1-2 hours have passed by and I realize I'm having a blast
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Texas
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Jup.. I found this site the very same way... haha you and I are a lot alike. I play Diablo III too... just recently I was able to start playing again without a crave... its still tough but I don't sweat and get all anxious like I did after drinking and gaming... Thanks for your story... it feels good do the things u used to enjoy drunk, sober.. cheers and happy sunday mate!
Dru -
Dru -
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Location: Poconos PA
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I can relate, I played several online games plastered for years one of my favorites being Diablo 2. Many nights for a several month span I would play an old scripted action game called Nox, I got so good at it I could play through the entire story in two nights without losing life and getting rip roaring drunk while I was at it.
Fast forward several years later I had moved on to more complex RPGs. The Elder scrolls had become my muse and for a long time I could drink myself to sleep and still concentrate on the difficult problem solving you had to do. I actually believe it was these complex games though that really made my inevitable slide down mentally noticeable to me. After several beers I just couldn't concentrate on them anymore. My brain was getting soft but I ignored it and went back to easier games like Nox and Diablo 2. I knew it was a bad sign when my cognitive ability started to drop but like all good addicts I just shrugged it off. I was merely getting older and tired from my job more easily I would tell myself but in the back of my mind I knew it was the alcohol slowly eating away at my brain. When I quit drinking I was able to go back to these games and focus on them again. I still would occasionally join teams on Diablo 3 and run through a few boards but as I moved away from alcohol I found myself playing less and less.
It does get easier though and I am sure you will find that playing sober is so much better because you no longer are hampering your abilities with a mind numbing drug.
Fast forward several years later I had moved on to more complex RPGs. The Elder scrolls had become my muse and for a long time I could drink myself to sleep and still concentrate on the difficult problem solving you had to do. I actually believe it was these complex games though that really made my inevitable slide down mentally noticeable to me. After several beers I just couldn't concentrate on them anymore. My brain was getting soft but I ignored it and went back to easier games like Nox and Diablo 2. I knew it was a bad sign when my cognitive ability started to drop but like all good addicts I just shrugged it off. I was merely getting older and tired from my job more easily I would tell myself but in the back of my mind I knew it was the alcohol slowly eating away at my brain. When I quit drinking I was able to go back to these games and focus on them again. I still would occasionally join teams on Diablo 3 and run through a few boards but as I moved away from alcohol I found myself playing less and less.
It does get easier though and I am sure you will find that playing sober is so much better because you no longer are hampering your abilities with a mind numbing drug.
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 626
Okay, okay, I have to admit that I'm a gamer but only 1 game. I own all of the Assassins Creed games and even just recently purchased an XBOX 1 so I could keep playing the series!
I love exploring and I've actually learned alot about history. Buzzed or sober, I've always liked it.
I love exploring and I've actually learned alot about history. Buzzed or sober, I've always liked it.
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Somewhere in California
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Lately I've been into NES games I used to play in the 80's as a middle schooler. I've been nostalgically revisiting games I haven't seen in more than 25 years online. It's amazing how much comes back to you. The music, the sounds, the characters, the moves. It's amazing what's stored in the brain.
The one I'm big into now is a platformer called "Wizards and Warriors." Great game- one of my all time favorites. I'm finding that gaming is a great way to relax instead of drinking.
The one I'm big into now is a platformer called "Wizards and Warriors." Great game- one of my all time favorites. I'm finding that gaming is a great way to relax instead of drinking.
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 102
I too face this problem; both PC gaming and Console. I am back on my PC strategy games now, I eased in and now I am fine with sitting down sober to play. Console.. I haven't done yet because I have wanted the TV on for company.
To me it's like anything else you associate strongly with drinking, or smoking, or any addiction you are trying to break... : it's going to bug the crap out of you the first time you do it. Then a little less the next time, until before you know it, you have broken the psychological association.
Just don't try it if you feel there's any chance whatsoever it will cause a relapse. It will wait for you to dive in when the time is right, on your terms, and then the association will break, and it will be something you enjoy again.
To me it's like anything else you associate strongly with drinking, or smoking, or any addiction you are trying to break... : it's going to bug the crap out of you the first time you do it. Then a little less the next time, until before you know it, you have broken the psychological association.
Just don't try it if you feel there's any chance whatsoever it will cause a relapse. It will wait for you to dive in when the time is right, on your terms, and then the association will break, and it will be something you enjoy again.
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