Before a decade ago most gamers were teens or kids and now the gaming industry normalizes and glorifies grown men with a wife, kids and responsibilities to play video games

Here’s the issue. Gaming now forces you to put on a headset and literally isolate and not speak to whos next to you while you are playing. And you screaming at a tv imagine how the child would feel do you think he or she would be proud of their father?

We need to normalize real hobbies that benefits ones lives and relationships. So many wives complain about their husbands playing and yet people think its not an issue

League of Legends (LoL) is notorious for triggering intense physical stress, and under certain circumstances, that stress can contribute to short-term strain or long-term cardiovascular risks.

For a healthy person, a frustrating ranked match won't cause immediate heart damage, but the specific dynamics of League create a unique profile of acute and chronic cardiac strain.

1. Extreme Adrenaline and Cortisol Spikes

• The "Ranked Anxiety" Effect: LoL relies on continuous high-stakes decisions, performance pressure, and fast reactions. During intense team fights or late-game objective plays, your brain perceives high threat levels, releasing massive surges of adrenaline and cortisol.

• Vascular Resistance: Adrenaline constricts blood vessels and spikes your heart rate. Studies show competitive gaming can elevate heart rates to levels comparable to light-to-moderate physical exercise, but without the vascular benefits of physical muscle movement to help dissipate blood pressure.

2. Rage, Tilt, and Sudden Blood Pressure Spikes

• High frustration (e.g., losing a match to toxic teammates or an enemy hyper-carry) triggers acute emotional stress. Rapid jumps in blood pressure put direct mechanical stress on the endothelium (the inner lining of your blood vessels).

• Over time, recurring endothelial damage from frequent rage or "tilt" promotes plaque buildup and arterial stiffness.

3. Unmasking Underlying Electrical Conditions

• Medical literature (including a landmark study published in Heart Rhythm) has documented cases where intense electronic gaming triggered dangerous cardiac arrhythmias (like ventricular tachycardia) or fainting in players.

• This typically happens in people with undiagnosed genetic heart conditions (such as long QT syndrome or CPVT), where a sudden surge of adrenaline disrupts the heart's electrical signals.

4. The "LoL Ecosystem" Multipliers

• Prolonged Immobility: Sitting still for hours while your heart rate is elevated slows blood flow in the legs, raising the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) blood clots.

• Stimulant Overuse: Pairing competitive stress with energy drinks or excessive coffee multiplies vascular resistance, forcing the heart to pump much harder against narrowed arteries.

• Sleep Disruption: Gaming late into the night suppresses melatonin and elevates baseline cortisol, preventing the heart from entering its essential nocturnal rest state.

How to Mitigate the Risk

• Take strict breaks: Step away for 5–10 minutes between matches to let your sympathetic nervous system reset.

• Hydrate with water: Limit energy drinks or coffee during long gaming sessions.

• Mute toxicity early: Toxic chat fuels unnecessary emotional stress; muting toxic players reduces the psychological burden of a match.

• Listen to your body: If you ever experience sudden chest tightness, lightheadedness, or racing heartbeats that linger long after a game ends, consult a doctor.

Five years ago, I wrote this post:

“I’d been playing someone else’s game for almost 40 years. When I uninstalled Steam, I finally started playing my own.”

That was me.

I was 60 years old. 40+ years of gaming behind me. Pong, Zork, Ultima, Dota 2 — thousands of hours logged, thousands more lost.

Back then, quitting was about survival. My company, my marriage, my kids, my sanity, all on the line.
And quitting gaming gave me back everything I didn’t realize I’d been losing: time, curiosity, energy, connection.

Fast-forward five years.

I’m retired now. My wife’s still amazing. The kids are grown and thriving.

Every once in a while I’ll play a quick round of online chess or wander through Fallout 76 for nostalgia’s sake. But that compulsion to grind? Gone.

Because somewhere along the way, I found something that replaced it. Something that lit up the same part of my brain that gaming once did: AI.

AI has become that Guru on the Mountain (like in the old B.C. cartoon) that we all dreamed of finding back in the ’70s and ’80s.

One AI isn’t enough, but put three or four together and it feels like having a world-class research team at your fingertips. The kind any scientist of 30 years ago would’ve traded a limb for.

Am I still passionate?

Yes. Just not about virtual gaming anymore.

Now it’s about my own game — the one I play alongside AI.

Solving real puzzles. Discovering new ideas. Going down rabbit holes. Correcting bad information. Creating things that actually matter.

Gaming taught me how to think.
AI reminds me why I love to.

I was made for discovering.
Only now, my playground is reality. Not someone else’s virtual world.

For anyone thinking about quitting: it’s not about giving something up.
It’s about finally starting the life that’s been waiting for you all along.

When I read about musicians, artists, actors, entrepreneurs and so on... they don't play videogames. You have finite time on this earth to spend time on things that build you as a person. Life is a number game, more numbers in videogames = mediocrity or straight up failure in real life

"Yeah but ELON MUSK makes jokes about *insert game here*!" It's so easy to pretend to be into videogames. These things are designed to be easily consumed. In a weeks time I can easily shove whatever triple A game there is into my personality.

when I joined video game addicts anonymous, there was a rule that you can’t mention specific games or platforms by name as it could trigger a relapse for those in the community.

as I read through the posts here and read the various names and game systems I played before, I see that tiny itch of nostalgia and longing building.

what do you think of adding a rule to not mention the games by name?

I legitmately think its the people who make gaming their entire life video games. if you go outside more and engage with other people there is no reason why you cant settle down and play some video games sometimes for a couple of hours.

I will never stop gaming i been gaming since degades and will continue till im dead to solidifie it further. This is a one of most things in my life aspect that i enjoy to foremost and it will never change. I once left my girlfriend because she put me in the situation to choose between wow or her, that basically met that i couldn't play it anymore and i have to say goodbyes to all those good times and friends i been having during degades and years. No slut, that aint happen. I will do what i enjoy most of in my life, and basically told her to pack her backages and stuffs and get the fuck out in my house. Now you may call me a selfish prick but i take no commands from control freak woman who think i been having best times in my life when i watch shit shows with her on couch or go with her to the dinner calls me childish because i enjoy more gaming than spending my time sitting on couch and watching soup operas. Fuck no its the fact we all enjoy different things and shouldn't no never be forced to do something just to justify on someones delusional merits because in the end they are all in denial.

It's simple: in my life, the major rule is "the less charges and responsabilities I have, the better I'll live".

You may know the expression "these are rich people problems". It's because they have many things to take care of due to their wealth. Same applies for everyone let me explain.

If you don't have a wife/husband you'll never divorce and will live with a smaller wage than if you had one, let alone with children (the more the most expansive). If you don't have responsibilities in your job you're less likely to get fired, or to get more work. Because it's actually a spiral : the more you have, the more you must do.

So why playing everyday while having a rudimentary job, living single in a tiny house with minimum charges not the best way of living ?

I love this subreddit. I do have a question though, how is binge watching a couple of Marvel films for example, any different to a couple of hours of gaming?

In the game, I may solve puzzles, have to think strategically, react quickly, in addition to following a storyline, similar to a film.

With the film, it takes 2-3 hours of my life, I don't acquire any skills, and the time is gone.

So is gaming really so bad?

There is nothing wrong with having video games as your main hobby. You don't have to quit it. Change takes time. I believe that cold turkeying something you enjoy is not a practical long term solution. Break down what you don't like about your life, and work on it specifically. Life is complicated and has a lot of nuances. Blaming video games for your problems is essentially removing accountability for your actions. It's "all or nothing" thinking. "Video game are addicting" so are a lot of things that are not drugs or alcohol. Actually learn how to moderate and stop blaming your problem of moderation on games. If you get addicted to eating junk food and spend all your money, are you going to blame junk food for that? Life is not about self improvement all the time, relax a bit. You mess up and overplayed? Try again.

edit: typo

I quit cold turkey sme time ago because I was getting 0 fun out of it. It became a chore and a loss of time Over the months I picked up new hobbies (such as fingerboarding) and focused more on skateboarding and reading. Turns out I started feeling way better than I did when I was a gamer.

Lately my girlfriend has been using her old 3DS to play some games of the past years. I ended up getting a model for myself, and turned out I'm having a lot of fun out of it. I don't game nearly as much as I did before, though. Months ago I would game for 6h a day or more when I had free time. Now I only play videogames when I can't concentrate enough to read or to play with my GF.

My point is that if you have some sort of qol gaming is harmless and can make you a bit happier. Yes, you don't get money off gaming, you don't get a life, you don't accomplish "goals" in your life, all that shit that you tell yourself to keep yourself from gaming, but who cares? it's your life and if it makes you have fun at times then go for it, just learn to take it easy and regulate your playtime.

Playing a game is a thing and it is okay ( well yes but actually no)

but watching someone ELSE PLAY a game and on top of that making money is NOT !

like how low-life can you be to do such actuat stupid thing ? get real, u re wasting ur precious time on someone else for nothing , u think they re ur friends ? i got some bad news for u , they ARE NOT , U ARE nothing but A BAG TO MONEY TRASHCAN to them

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Hey everyone, I’m Titouan.

For years, I was stuck. I’d lose entire days to League of Legends and MMOs, neglecting my real life, relationships, and goals. I know exactly what it feels like to promise yourself "this is the last time," only to be back at it the next day because the boredom or anxiety got too strong.

Recovery was lonely. I couldn't find tools that worked for me, especially in my native language (French). So, I built the tool I wish I had.

It’s called Lume. It’s a dedicated recovery app.

The Promise:

100% Free: No ads, no locked features.

Global: Translated into 27 languages.

Privacy First: No data selling.

I would be really happy if some of you decided to try it out and tell me the truth. Does it help? Is it missing something crucial? Does it feel "right"?

You can find it on the stores (just search "Lume Quit Gaming") or grab it here:

👉🏼 Android
👉🏼 iOS

For more info: Website

If it helps even one person get their time back, it was worth the work.

Thanks for reading, and good luck to everyone.

- Titouan

For the past few years, every time I tried developing new habit (like going to the gym, boxing classes, reading books, cooking meals, etc) I just failed. Because it is much easier to live my life in a game than in reality. And so I game all day every day.

Today, I had a revelation! I suddenly admitted to myself that I was addicted. That my whole life revolves around PC. That I do nothing with my life except work and gaming. And the most important of all: That I am incapable of restraining myself.

And so I simply took my PC and threw it as hard as I could off the balcony.

I want to believe that this marks a new page in my life.

Quick follow-up to my post about 20,000 hours in games. Since then I started building my first real project — and immediately ran into a wall I didn't expect.

The moment I started, my brain went: "There are already better apps. Made by teams. With years of head start. Who needs yours?" And I almost believed it. It felt like a rational, fair assessment.

Then it hit me how absurd that logic would sound in any game I've played.

When I installed CS, there were thousands of players better than me. Global Elites, pros, streamers. Did that stop me from queuing? Of course not — because I wasn't playing against s1mple. I was playing my own matches, in my own elo, climbing one rank at a time. Nobody sits in the menu thinking "pros exist, so there's no point in playing."

But in real life, that's exactly what we do. We look at the best in the field, feel like we're supposed to compete with them on day one, and never even queue up.

The competition existing isn't proof you're too late. It's proof there's demand. And your first project isn't playing against the market leaders — it's playing its placement matches.

So I'm keeping mine simple: finish it, ship it, see what elo it lands in.

Did anyone else catch themselves refusing to "queue" at something in real life because better people already exist? What was it?

Those guys are just weird. There was a new leak today and i saw the pics which had no effect on me. I admit the first time around i caved and reset, but after really doing stop gaming for weeks my restraint is much higher. I didnt even need it for the fappening 2.

Hats off to those guys with triple digit flares in this sub. The average fapper spends 10 minutes fapping to porn, but most of us are trying to find new ways to spend 10 hours per day. This challenge is no joke.

In my opinion having games on your desktop is better then deleting them. I believe having the games there and you forcing yourself to not play them gives you more willpower. The fact that it's there and you could play at anytime , but yet you force yourself not to is very good. It's way better then deleting the game and ending up re installing it, which lowers willpower. Having the option there , but yet never choosing to exercise it has made me feel more powerful mentally.

It gives you more willpower because you are the one in control of the actions you take instead of not having that action at all.

I used to like gaming, you know? I played it as a child. One of my favorite videos games to play was on Roblox back in 2012, I liked playing it. It's just when I got into facing opposing players. That's what ruined it. In online play, nobody cares about how you feel. All that matters to them is how good they are and how skilled they can be. People would make smurf accounts just to dominate other new players because they cared more about their skill than their surroundings. They love to be arrogant because everyone wants to be the best behind a computer screen.

One thing gamers will never be good at is. THEIR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Once you make them mad, they continue to be mad. Once you tell them to stop taking the game seriously, they'll tell you to back off, Gamers don't know how to respond when things become stressful because they're not experienced. Their experience is their fantasy world where they think anime is real life. I've experienced this before. Back in 2019 when I used to play a game called Rainbow Six Siege (I hate this game now) when I was in a casual match, these people invited me to a party on the Xbox one just to tell me how much shit I was in the game. The thing is, they judged me and assumed that I was a child playing behind the screen but when I turned on my mic. Everyone turned silent, and you know why? It's because they were fucking cowards that's why. I didn't use rage against them, instead talked with them and told them "Why did you invite me to a party?" only 1 gamer would negotiate, and the rest would remain silent. This didn't happen in all just 1 time. It happened to me a lot because people get so mad that they can't control their frustration with a teammate. So they have to invite you to a party to let it all out on you. And that brings me back to my point again, GAMERS SUCK AT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

I mean, I thought there was hope in the online world. It turns out... there really isn't. All gamers do is just judge you because everyone is anonymous in the online world. They bully new players when they used to be new. They blame other teammates for their stress. They give you terrible advice by telling you to "Get Good"

Gamers will make claims about they think they know everything behind their screen. Your reply doesn't matter and can't change what they'll think. I'll give you an example. I one time joined this party when I was in Overwatch and all I said was, "Dating on video games is stupid." turns out a lot of butthurt players were not happy with my opinion. So, they killed me and t-bagged me for getting angry over my point of view. After that, I did this at another party for the experiment. Turns out that who I was talking to was a person from the UK and he had a girlfriend in the Xbox One party. He would make these outlandish claims that I would laugh about, this is what he said. "I know you don't go outside, and don't shower." and this was my reply, "And how do you know this? You have implausible evidence to prove I don't do any of those." and he says "It's just because I know..."

That's how easy it is for gamers + social media to just think they know everything.

If a gamer ever says, "Opinions can be wrong." Just know that they are fucking stupid. Saying an opinion is wrong is saying. "I know what you have been through. I know what you have seen. I have taken your eyes and put them inside mine."

Turns out this is the sad part. When all of these afflictions happen to me. I didn't have any friends, nobody would support me when gamers invited me to those parties. When gamers would be upset over what I thought. I was just by myself behind that screen. Not at an Xbox party with a friend, not in a discord chat with a group of people. Just Alone...

sigh* well I am happy to hear what you think about this post.

Charlie Munger said: "They know I like books. So he'll give me so many books that I either skim or read through 20 books a week. So I get lots of books. I read a lot of biography and some history. I read almost no fiction. "

One of best thing to do beside playing video games? Study history. Then we can anticipate what will happen instead of reacting to the events in the world. We can prevent repeating the same mistakes.

I studied history so now I know when the next big market crash is likely to happen other than blackwan event. I will get out. Wait for bottom. Load up and profit.

Some game developer lurks here for long period of time like a full time job, subtly suggests people to play video games in moderation is just disgusting.

I hate to say it - but I can't stay off the game any longer. I want to go back and see what's happening. Just pure curiousity.

I really hate this - but perhaps it's part of the process. I just want to know - and I have thought about it too much now to hold back any longer.

I wish I could have made it at least until Christmas.