Now that it's recognized as an addiction by the world health organization it made me realize how shitty my life is by how often I use them as an escape. My social life is trash, my sexual life is trash and while I've just begun hitting the gym and losing weight I cannot help but see reality for what it is: I'm a fat loser who's living with his parents, is unemployed and is 30+ years old.

I'm feeling like quitting video games, a hobby I have since I was 5 (fuck me if I'd ever expose a kid to video games in such a tender age), is one of the cornerstones of starting a new life. Problem is, I cannot fucking quit cold turkey. I always end up peeking in some subreddit or watch Twitch streamers, whose chatrooms are full of "lost boys" (to borrow the term immitableman used in his post) and whose social skills are the same as mine - nonexistent.

Do I quit gaming slowly, do I restrict playtime for starters? Do I just give it a 1-2 days of "free trial" and see how I respond? Give me some ideas. I've been gaming for 25 years, daily. I don't expect this shit to be as easy as someone who has been doing it for 5-6.

Edit: tfw expected nothing and I'm still let down. I'll check stopgaming.