Frequently Asked Questions

GAA is for compulsive video gamers of all types, regardless of what type of device they played on. The term “computer gaming” is meant to be all inclusive, since all gaming devices are technically computers.

It is fine to attend a meeting and just listen. You don’t have to talk. In a Zoom meeting, you can leave video turned off. Nothing is required (except to not disrupt the meeting.) For those who do participate, each meeting has etiquette.

It’s completely up to you. Typically we attend several times per week in the early months, with some people attending a meeting every day. Most of us used to game every day, playing for dozens of hours per week. Gaining all of that time for positive uses is well worth spending a few of those hours on meetings each week.

At some point we become busy with our new game-free lives and attend fewer meetings, but typically we continue to attend weekly meetings to stay on track and keep connected to the fellowship. We try not to let the things that GAA gave us take GAA away from us.

While no one has to say anything, it is a good idea to introduce yourself so that people have some idea of how to be supportive to you. If you share your situation and ask questions, they are likely to share relevant, helpful experience. If you say you are struggling or want help, they are more likely to offer support and phone numbers to you.

We have traditions and etiquette for our meetings, but they are not strict rules. Typical etiquette says that one person shares at a time without cross talk. Sometimes a group will have more etiquette, like limiting shares to five minutes, not talking about game specifics, or not using profanity, but those guidelines vary from meeting to meeting. Feel free to ask the group about etiquette.

No. There are no dues or fees. You can attend as many meetings as you want without paying anything. Members typically contribute small amounts of money on a regular basis to cover the costs of running the meeting, but no one is required to pay.

Yes. We welcome anyone who thinks he or she has a problem with video gaming to attend our meetings. If you are still gaming, that’s okay. Keep coming back. Listen to our stories and see if you can relate to our experiences.

Most of us didn’t want to stop completely at first. We were still clinging to the hope that we might learn how to moderate. If you don’t yet want to stop, that’s okay. Keep coming back. We only ask that if you talk during the meeting, please don’t describe details of video games or advocate any moderation methods you might be trying.

That’s not something we can decide for you. We suggest taking our Self Test of Twenty Questions and counting your answers. If you answer yes to many of them, you have a lot in common with GAA members who call themselves gaming addicts. You can also read What is Gaming Addiction?

The video gaming behavior of gaming addicts and non-addicted problem gamers often looks the same. Both groups play a lot, neglect other things in life, and suffer some consequences in their relationships, health, work, or education. The differences sometimes do not appear until moderation is tried. Non-addicted gamers can take a break or limit themselves to certain games or hours, are able to attend to their lives and needs, and often feel much better in the process. Meanwhile, gaming addicts often are afraid of cutting back, fail with any kind of limits, feel too overwhelmed to deal with life, and feel worse when taking a break from gaming. Your attempts at moderation should tell you what you need to know.

Our list of suggestions in How can I stop video gaming? is a great place to start. The most important thing is to maximize contact with people who have overcome their compulsive gaming and are happy to help you do the same. Be aware that you are likely to experience cravings and some withdrawal symptoms.

Our members have shared their experience in the article Cravings and Triggers. The most important things are to not game no matter what and to use the GAA fellowship for support. Every urge to game that we ride out is one less to endure. But if we give in to an urge, we start over with going through them all again.

At first, it feels difficult to fill the hours that we used to spend gaming. Feeling scatterbrained with low motivation and energy is normal in the early weeks. We recommend frequently going to meetings and improving your basic self care, like getting good sleep, social connection, and exercise. For a list of activities, see What Can I Do Instead of Gaming?

In our experience the thousands of hours of obsessive thinking and compulsive gaming seem to have dug deep grooves in our brains. Those neural pathways become weaker with disuse, but do not disappear. Any amount of any type of gaming seems to bring them roaring back to life. Even when returning to video games with clear limits and a strong intention to stay in control, we found the thoughts and behaviors of addiction creeping back in and ratcheting up when under stress or in emotional pain.

The idea of quitting and never gaming again is overwhelming. We don’t worry about that. Our approach is to not game for just one day at a time. We can only control what we do today, not next year or even next week. The goal is to not start that first video game today, just between now and bedtime. That is all we need to achieve abstinence.

An addiction disorder is not a bad habit. It is a mental disorder of obsession, compulsion, and denial. It develops as a coping mechanism in response to chronic stress, emotional pain, childhood dysfunction, or trauma. Video gaming was not our underlying problem; it was our solution to the problem.

For an addict, it is painful to cut out this coping mechanism and the numbness and distraction it provided. GAA exists to help us deal with the discomfort and develop healthy coping skills and peace of mind. It helps us recover from both the damage of active addiction and the dysfunction that drove it in the first place.

We feel crazy at first. But each day free of gaming and each little step forward in recovery brings us closer to a sane, serene game-free life.

A sponsor is someone who has recovered from many of the problems of compulsive gaming and agrees to regularly share his or her experience with a newer member. Check out the Sponsorship section to learn more.

Listening to other members in meetings is the best way to find people who have achieved results that you would like to emulate. The Sponsorship section has guidance on choosing someone. If asking someone to be your sponsor feels too difficult, ask him or her questions about sponsorship in general. If you like what they say, it becomes much easier to say, “Will you sponsor me?”

Many potential sponsors already have people with whom they are working, so you may have to talk with several people before finding a good fit. The Sponsorship section has guidance on ways to get support and guidance while still looking for a sponsor. We highly recommend regularly talking with recovery buddies between meetings. You may find people who are willing to temporarily act as a sponsor while you look for a better fit.

Because of the variety of ways our members experience their addiction, GAA has no formal definition as to what constitutes computer or video gaming, but we have found some common threads in our collective experience. Based on this experience, we strongly encourage the avoidance of all continuously interactive forms of electronic entertainment (often referred to as “games”). Whether the game is primitive or complex and whether the device is new or old don’t seem to make a difference. Any game on any platform seems to inevitably restart the destructive cycle of our addiction. In addition to this, we encourage you to be very cautious about watching gaming videos or watching others play, as such activities frequently lead us back to playing games ourselves.

Lastly, we also encourage an honest discussion with others in the program about your boundaries, and in any and all cases about which you are uncertain, as we find that while our addiction thrives in secrecy, it weakens when we honestly expose the truth about our behaviors to our fellow recovering gaming addicts.

Our experience shows that any amount of any type of gaming, regardless of its platform, simplicity, or similarity to non-video games, gives energy to the addiction and makes it stronger. Some of us eventually spun out of control with simple games. Many of us lapsed back into highly compelling games after trying to stick to simpler ones.

Each of us is free to set our own boundaries. We recommend doing so with the help of a sponsor. Our experience shows that any amount of any type of game gives energy to the addiction and makes it stronger, even if we never play that particular game compulsively.

GAA only makes suggestions and requires nothing. We suggest putting distance and barriers between yourself and video games. Even though they will not stop you if you are determined to play, they will give you additional time to come to your senses and seek support.

Removing equipment, software, and accounts gives us the clear message that we are determined to not game. Keeping them around gives us the subliminal message that more gaming lies in our future.

Some people take the time to sell gear, especially if they really need the money. For others, getting rid of it immediately is more important than the money and they give it away or abandon it as soon as possible.

We suggest maximizing your time with people who support you in recovery from gaming addiction and minimizing your time with people who want you to relapse. Among your gaming buddies, you may have a true friend who supports your decision to stop gaming. But most of us discovered that once we stopped playing, our gaming buddies no longer had any interest in us unless we were coming back to play.

While most of us do not consider it a relapse to watch a gaming video or read a gaming forum, doing so is typically soon followed by a relapse. Addiction is cunning, baffling, and powerful. Feeding it any energy makes it stronger. We are best served by starving it of energy as much as possible.

Each person sets their own boundaries. Some of us find such games triggering and problematic. Others can play them without a problem. We suggest talking it over with a sponsor. A tabletop game very similar to a video game that you used to play may be triggering and feed energy to the addiction.

Most gaming addicts have games that we played obsessively and others we played moderately, just as drug addicts have drugs they abuse and others they do not. Gaming addiction is a mental condition of obsession, compulsion, and denial. It is apparent in the sufferer’s overall relationship with video games, rather than his or her behavior with a particular game.

Please read our experience in Obsessive Internet Use. Some of us discover we have a full blown addiction with screens and internet. Many of us are not addicted to screens and internet, but have overused them as a substitute coping mechanism when we were not gaming.