Advice: stop the video games and choose useful obssessions

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I enjoy playing video games, they make me happy, and that is useful for me. If I did nothing but play video games my entire life and was happy doing it, could you honestly say that my life had been wasted?

Sorry, I love my Nintendo 3DS and now that I am feeling better, I can streetpasses again and get back into Tomodachi Life. I just downloaded Turtle Tale and had fun and it was like a retro game of the 1980's but there are no bosses (except for at the end after all the levels) and no limited lives and there is no score. I have been downloading new games for my 3DS.

Erm...that's one of the main symptoms of Asperger's. You're basically saying that being an Aspie makes you a bad stereotype putting other people off your hobbies. That's not the best thing to say in an Aspie forum, or anywhere for that matter.

I wish you wouldn't imply that an autistic person can "choose" his or her obsessions, and that we are somehow wasting our minds if we are especially interested in video games or play them alone. But I appreciate your apology.

I gave up on making friends a while ago. I tried as hard as I could for a long time and it didn't work out. Video games had nothing to do with it. On the contrary, most of the kids I grew up with also played them. I don't magically gain the ability to understand and deal with people just because I stop playing. It's a lot more complicated than that.

THIS.

I wish I could become obsessed in programming instead of a MMO game and anime/manga but I can't.
I am about to graduate IT course but I doubt myself if I can really pass it. I do fine with HTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript but I am unable to learn anymore because I am too stressed out by the incoming exam so I sink in my video game instead or watch anime. Those are the only 2 things in this world that can currently keep me sane. Honestly, being obsessed with programming would help me a lot right now. But I can't choose what keeps me calm and focused and programming is currently nothing but anxiety generator. I know I don't know enough so I am afraid I won't pass the exam. And the only way to get rid of anxiety are special interests. "You get less scared once you learn enough so keep learning." - you might say but it simply doesn't work this way. Anxiety makes it impossible to learn and no matter how much I learn I know it might be not enough to pass the exam. Actually the more I learn the more anxious I get because the more I know how much I still don't know.

I tried becoming obsessed w/ exercise for the sake of my health, I've tried sewing, as it is a useful and profitable skill but no luck. I can't control my obsessions nor can I choose them. It just doesn't work that way. I wish it did, because I keep getting embarrassing ones.

This.

There's a reason there's a stereotype of gamers being basement dwelling losers, as harsh as that sounds.

Way to generalize us gamers in that way goldfish.

I don't make fun of others for their special interests, so why should you? As long as someone isn't hurting someone else, let them be obsessed with whatever special interest they are into.

Games for me are a way to escape from my daily anxiety filled life and to relax, have fun, challenge myself or just to experience a story from someone else' perspective.

Who knows what activities are a waste of time, and what activities are worthwhile, apart from the one who does the thing?

I see no harm in gaming, if it interests people. As long as the bills are getting paid and the food's coming in, we can pursue happiness in whatever way we like. I suppose there would be health effects from sitting still, peering at a screen, RSIs etc., if it were taken to an extreme, but otherwise, why not?

100 Percent agree with ToughDiamond.

That's kind of a dumb generalization there...

...and really, people always say crap like that without actually MEETING that many. I personally have *way* more free time than most, gaming is my main hobby, and I can pretty much buy new games whenever I happen to feel like it, and I dont work. So it's the main thing I do. So much time spent in this blasted chair....

....but you'd never know it, if you saw me IRL. Neither the way I look or the way I act would give that bit away. And I've got my group of friends, though most of them live at least an hour from here, because argh.


And really, the term "losers"... people always throw that one around with such abandon. Considering what normal society believes to be good things to do... such as drinking alcohol until your IQ drops by 2000 and then making an absolute moron of yourself at some bar... frankly, I'd MUCH rather be in the "loser" group, because the "winner" group seriously sounds like a bunch of idiots to me. I'll have no part in that, thanks.

yes, it is a dumb generalization. i would understand if you thought hat about certain people who fit that description - but how many have you (goldfish) really met?

yeah, agreed as if a lifestyle of hitting the bars every weekend and swigging alcohol until your blood is one chopped fruit away from being sangria and dealing with hellish hangovers and car wrecks from drunk driving, among other activities, is certainly something to look up to, right? i'd rather stay in and read about what interests me, or go on a nice walk with one person whose company and thoughts i enjoy, or walk alone, or...play video games that i like.

i understand the appeal of wanting to have fun with your life and make everything worthwhile but i don't want to have any long-lasting regrets because of what i do.

like Dox has said earlier, if you genuinely enjoy gaming, and it hurts nobody then how can you say your time has been wasted?

besides, i don't like the taste of alcohol anyway. not beer, at least.

if you genuinely enjoy doing that kind of stuff, and are willing to deal with any possible repercussions then hey, good for truly enjoying your life, but if you only do it because you've been guilted and bullied and suckered into it and don't want to feel like a "loser".... then i feel for you.

I haven't met too many because they're hiding away in their basements playing games.

Strange that the last two posters assume that I mean people should go drink alcohol instead of playing video games. Where did that come from?

I mean people ought to have a variety of interests. Do some exercise, learn something, work towards some goal or another, work a job, have a bit of a social life with friends and family, eat healthy food etc vs. the stereotypical basement dwelling video gamer.

Oh, I didnt say that YOU said "go drink alcohol". It's more of a generalization on what people often mean when they say something like "you should get out more!". And a generalization on the inherant idiocy that many "normal" activities include.

Most typical activities from that sort do seem to involve drinking at least somewhat. Or sitting around a table talking about inane subjects. Or going off to the mall to stare at merchandise. Or, my absolute favorite, sitting around watching TV and movies. THAT one always gets me. People complain about me, or others like me, sitting around playing games and how that'll "rot the brain!!!11", and they follow this up by sitting down and blankly staring at the latest episode of Generic Reality Show. Or perhaps screaming at the TV while watching some sort of sport. What gets me even more is that so many spend ALOT of their free time doing the TV thing. At least my own hobby involves actual interaction with the machine, coordination, thinking, reflexes, improvement of all 3 of those due to the constant challenge, AND can even be played with friends, often with lots of good-natured yelling and hilarity going on (wheras talking much during a TV show when watching with others is rude!).

Or they could also WORK. I dont work. Havent in years. Which is fine by me: The only jobs I could ever get around here are all basic, "serve the customer" sorts. Like standing behind a register for about a billion years, dealing with the endless lines of often confused or irate customers that come through. Gee, yeah, that's a good road towards self-improvement. Bah. I"ve had so many of those jobs in the past. Bloody horrible at all of them.

And finally, things beyond that are often not that simple. I'll never have much of a social life, and I'll always have trouble stepping outside of the boundaries of the narrow range of foods I'll eat... finding a different hobby or whatever will never end those problems. Same with plenty of other things.

How would you know people who live in the basement and play video games don't also spend time doing those things as well? As you say you haven't met to many...