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My Daughter Is Addicted To Video Games


Posts: 1
Joined: October 14, 2011


Posted: October 14, 2011, 11:18 AM
I have a beautiful, brilliant 20 year old daughter who seems to be addicted to video games and on-line role-playing games. She spends more than half of her waking hours on the computer. We have gotten to the point where she will be up all night playing video games or participating in on-line role-playing games and then sleep all day. This is directly affecting her friendships and her relationship with me. Most importantly, it has led to her dropping out of college due to poor grades. It's hard to go to class when you've been up all night playing games and forget about homework! She flatly refuses to find more than a part-time job becasue it will interfere with her on-line socializing and gaming. At first I thought that she was simply occupying her time with gaming because she is also bipolar (and so am I). However, when she spends so much time gaming that she even neglects her personal hygene and can't function with normal daily activities, I am convinced we are looking at addiction. I need advice and guidance. How do I help her break her addiction? Would therapy help? Where do we go to get therapy? PLEASE HELP!


Posts: 8683
Joined: April 24, 2007


Posted: October 14, 2011, 12:09 PM
This is an addiction as serious as any other because like every other addiciton it changes the brain's checmistry. Sounds like she is in a wickedly manic phase of her PBD, but that is not an excuse to let oneself slide and she needs to step up and be responsible for her adult self...don't do for her what she should do for herself. You can't break her addiction because it is HERS and SHE needs to do something about it...but she won't as long as you support it.

Presumably you pay the bills...shut off the internet or established Administrator controls so that she cannot use the computer. Remove the keyboard to your bedroom or other place she cannot get to it.

If these behaviors are not okay then you need to establish some boundaries. Boundaries might look like this:

-To live here you must be either in school getting reasonably good grades, or working full time.
-If you work full time you will contribute to the household in meaningful ways including help with housework and financial contributions to utilities and groceries.

She is an adult and should be treated as one. If you would not tolerate this from any other adult, then don't tolerate it from her. If she cannot live with your boundaries then tell her she should feel free to find somewhere she likes better. Don't let her bipolar disorder become an excuse for you to indulge your guilt and for her to behave inappropriately.

Peace ~ MomNMore

This post has been edited by MomNMore on October 14, 2011, 12:10 PM

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You will not change what you are willing to tolerate.

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Posts: 1
Joined: October 11, 2018


Posted: October 11, 2018, 10:22 AM
try to learn information about the games, so to speak, know your enemy by sight
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