Have you ever been addicted to playing the Sims?
Hi everyone, this is not gonna be a very nice topic but I think it's a very important one, especially in times like this.
I wasn't sure where or in which forum category I could write this, but if it's wrong please change it. I just hope this won't get closed.
So my question for you is: Have you ever been addicted to playing the Sims and if yes, how did you deal with that?
By addicted I don't mean only playing everyday or being very excited to play everyday. By addicted I mean for example:
- Not being satisfied by a game session of 1-3 hours, but having a need to play atleast 5+ hours everyday
- Having a fear of the outside world and knowing that the Sims is your only world where you can be yourself and escape the reality
- Neglecting your responsibilities, family and friends just to be able to play the game
- Having panic attacks or getting angry when you are not able to play for a day
- Not being able to sleep because you wanna play
Why do I want to know this? Actually because all of the things above is what I have experienced in the last two months and because:
1. I really feel alone in this because I never ever saw any other simmers talk about this
2. I want to prevent other simmers from getting addicted to the game, because it's very easy in the times we are in now.
The reason why I got addicted to the game is because I have high functioning anxiety and I know a lot of sims players have anxiety too. And I think this is exactly the reason why we love the Sims so much, because here we don't need to worry about what others think about us. This is the place where we can be 100% ourselves. The Sims is the perfect escape, the perfect way to calm down, BUT this can start being dangerous too.
I am very afraid a lot of other simmers are gonna end up in the same situation like me, because everyone is able to play a lot during the lockdowns and during the pandemic in general. What happens is:
- You have a lot time to play, so you do so.
- You start playing crazy amount of time but you think that's okay because now is the time to do so!
- You gonna get out of the lockdown, start going back to the "real" world and suddenly you forgot how to socialize and everything is gonna scare you.
- After a time you will finally realize where your behavior is coming from and all you gonna think about is playing the game and having some symptoms as I mentioned above.
I really don't want to scare anyone, because even if you have anxiety like me it doesn't mean you gonna get addicted to the game like me. But there is that possibility and I just want to remember everyone to still do things during the lockdowns outside of your computer. Read a book, paint, play instrument, go for walks (if you can!) or find something new to do. The virtual world is more addictive than we really realize.
It's a shame this can happen. The Sims is an amazing game who has helped a lot of us through our mental issues, but we need to remember to play it safe. I have been playing the game for 15+ years and I never ever have experienced this before. All of this happened because of the lockdown I have been in so I really want to warn you and ask you to take good care of yourself! And if you experienced this before or if you are experiencing it now, please let me know your how to deal with this situation.
Sorry if this was too long, but I really had to make sure I explained everything very carefully. Anyway, thanks for reading if you did <3
ps.: before people are gonna start answering "just go to a psychologist", I did. The waiting times are crazy in my country and I have two more months to wait! So at this moment, you're the only one I can count on!
I wasn't sure where or in which forum category I could write this, but if it's wrong please change it. I just hope this won't get closed.
So my question for you is: Have you ever been addicted to playing the Sims and if yes, how did you deal with that?
By addicted I don't mean only playing everyday or being very excited to play everyday. By addicted I mean for example:
- Not being satisfied by a game session of 1-3 hours, but having a need to play atleast 5+ hours everyday
- Having a fear of the outside world and knowing that the Sims is your only world where you can be yourself and escape the reality
- Neglecting your responsibilities, family and friends just to be able to play the game
- Having panic attacks or getting angry when you are not able to play for a day
- Not being able to sleep because you wanna play
Why do I want to know this? Actually because all of the things above is what I have experienced in the last two months and because:
1. I really feel alone in this because I never ever saw any other simmers talk about this
2. I want to prevent other simmers from getting addicted to the game, because it's very easy in the times we are in now.
The reason why I got addicted to the game is because I have high functioning anxiety and I know a lot of sims players have anxiety too. And I think this is exactly the reason why we love the Sims so much, because here we don't need to worry about what others think about us. This is the place where we can be 100% ourselves. The Sims is the perfect escape, the perfect way to calm down, BUT this can start being dangerous too.
I am very afraid a lot of other simmers are gonna end up in the same situation like me, because everyone is able to play a lot during the lockdowns and during the pandemic in general. What happens is:
- You have a lot time to play, so you do so.
- You start playing crazy amount of time but you think that's okay because now is the time to do so!
- You gonna get out of the lockdown, start going back to the "real" world and suddenly you forgot how to socialize and everything is gonna scare you.
- After a time you will finally realize where your behavior is coming from and all you gonna think about is playing the game and having some symptoms as I mentioned above.
I really don't want to scare anyone, because even if you have anxiety like me it doesn't mean you gonna get addicted to the game like me. But there is that possibility and I just want to remember everyone to still do things during the lockdowns outside of your computer. Read a book, paint, play instrument, go for walks (if you can!) or find something new to do. The virtual world is more addictive than we really realize.
It's a shame this can happen. The Sims is an amazing game who has helped a lot of us through our mental issues, but we need to remember to play it safe. I have been playing the game for 15+ years and I never ever have experienced this before. All of this happened because of the lockdown I have been in so I really want to warn you and ask you to take good care of yourself! And if you experienced this before or if you are experiencing it now, please let me know your how to deal with this situation.
Sorry if this was too long, but I really had to make sure I explained everything very carefully. Anyway, thanks for reading if you did <3
ps.: before people are gonna start answering "just go to a psychologist", I did. The waiting times are crazy in my country and I have two more months to wait! So at this moment, you're the only one I can count on!
