JUN 5, 19 .. WHAT TO DO .. ASKS OUR FRIEND OLGA IN CHITA, RUSSIAN SIBERIA.
In a comment to my recent Post on video game addiction, our friend Olga in Chita wrote :
Cap, I see your concern on the topic above but I don’t see your comments on it… You always have unique approaches to various topics. Is there a place for the question “What to do?” here? Will your answer be … “nothing”?…
Olga, the best way to help someone with a problem, is to get another person who has the same problem and has recovered from the problem to assist them.
I do not have any problems with video game addiction. So I am in no position to offer any advice on the matter Olga.
I CAN say this about video game addiction, the basic principles of Alcoholics Anonymous apply :
First, the person MUST realize that they have a problem with video games. IF they don’t realize they have a problem, nothing is going to change.
Second, that person MUST want to solve their problem. Just knowing they have a problem is not enough. Then they must want to solve the problem. AA and other 12-step programs are not for people who need help. These programs are for people who WANT help.
Third, the best way to recover is to get in contact with other people who have had the same problem and, one day at a time, are recovering from their video game addiction.
That is all I can say about video game addiction Olga.
I posted the below comment yesterday :
My Fiancee plays a game called ‘Lords Mobile’.
In the first month, she spent more that $20,000.00 on this game. She has now been playing this game for nearly 7 months. At this point she is nearly $65,000.00 in debt. She has been hiding the debt from me, until two weeks ago when I came across her Visa bill. I went through our bank records and I nearly threw up.
We are literally going to loose our house over this game. I am currently going to a debt consolidation agency to try and get the credit card debt under control.
I knew she had been playing this game obsessively for months (she sleeps with her phone, with the game running, in case her guild gets attacked), but I had absolutely no idea about the massive amounts of money she was paying for in-game purchases.
I am realizing this game has much more in common with online gambling than anything else.
The worst part is, despite all this – she *refuses* to stop playing the god-damn game.
What to tell the above gentleman Olga? Until the lady herself wants help, nothing is going to change.
Thanks Olga for your interest.
Cap
- JUN 4, 19 .. A TRAVEL TOUCH-BASE / VIDEO GAME ADDICTION POST
- JUN 6, 19 .. D-DAY, JUNE 6, 1944, PLUS SEVENTY FIVE YEARS