Please read this first--How to get help

Welcome to OLGA!  We're a community of people who have a desire to stop gaming.  Many of us have stories just like yours.  When we came here we were desperate, afraid, depressed. Today, many of us have successfully stayed away from games for weeks, months and years.   We did it with help.  It's hard to ask for help; but if you didn't want it, you wouldn't be here.  Well, help is here.  If you are obsessively compulsively gaming and want to stop, here are some ways you can be a part of our fellowship and use the website:

1.      Come to meetings.  We have chat meetings every day, often twice a day. Check the calendar for details:  Calendar

2.      Read the forums.  There is a lot of information here related to gaming addiction.  Many stories, many suggestions.  Suggestions from other gamers who figured out how to go one day at a time without gaming.  Enjoy.

3.      Post your story.  Many people begin posting by introducing themselves and explaining why they came here--i.e., telling how gaming has negatively impacted their lives.  This is the first step.  We suggest posting in the "I Need Help for Gamers" forum.  People will respond. 

Please read the forum guidelines: Registration and Participaton Rules

4.      Get to know people.  You can send private messages on the website. Use the chat box window to communicate with others currently online.  Contribute regularly to the accountability thread click here . Get some recovery buddies that you can call when things get tough.  (Please look at the bottom of this page* if you are concerned about the safety of doing this.)  Make friends and get their phone numbers and emails.

5.      Get a sponsor and work the 12 steps.  Get A Sponsor, Be A Sponsor  Millions and millions of people have recovered from addictions of all kinds by doing this.  Including gaming.  Right here.

Bottom line:  There is help here.  If your gaming is diminishing or ruining your life, you're in the right place.  We've been there.

Other things to be aware of:

1.      As you get off the games:

a.      You'll experience withdrawal.  Take a look at the possible symptoms here:   Withdrawal Symptoms

b.      You'll need support.  Go to the chatroom.  Go to an open AA or NA meeting in your area.  Call or write your sponsor and recovery friends.  Come to one of our meetings.

c.       You may want to watch a video about what sobriety from gaming is like and how to do it successfully:  Video about getting off the games

d.      You'll need to fill the void left by gaming with living real life:  What I Did Today to Not Game

e.       You'll want to play.  How have others dealt with cravings?  Look here:  What Do I Do When I Crave to Play the Games

2.      If you are considering working the 12 steps:

a.       you should read them:  The Twelve Steps and Principles of OLGA

b.      Or come to the 12-step meeting (Check the meeting calendar).  

c.      Or read the AA Big Book Online:  AA Big Book Online

d.       Or the NA Basic Text:  NA Basic Text Online

e.      Become a website member by sending an admin (like me) a private message.  Ask for a sponsor by posting your story on the forum and saying you're looking for a sponsor.

3.      If you are in crisis, considering suicide:  For Immediate Support

4.      Coming back from a relapse?  Here's what has happened to us: Relapse - Re-entering the Gaming World

Other frequently asked questions are found here:  Frequently Asked Questions About Our Organization

Welcome to OLGA.  See you at the meeting....

dan1

As for calls, the internet is not a safe place in general, so it's perfectly understandable to be concerned and cautious.  We try to create as much safety as we can here at OLGA. Here are some ideas:

1. Check out what the person has posted.  If they haven't posted anything here, well, who are they?  You can also see how long someone has been coming to the site.  Look at their profile (click on the username anywhere you see it).

2.  Come early or stay late at the meeting and chat with some people.  You'll get a sense of who they are.  You can always ask someone to meet you in the chat room at a specific time, if you aren't yet comfortable with a call.

3. Ask people about other people when you chat.  Say, who do you think might be helpful for me, or do you know this person?  Has interacting with this person been helpful to you?  It's the unity of the fellowship that helps save us.  When one person tells me something that's weird, I check it with other people.  When 4 people who obviously have good recovery tell me to do the very same thing, I begin to think it might be a good idea, lol.

4.  If you don't want to give out your phone number right away, start a new SKYPE account with your OLGA username and SKYPE with someone.  You can always wipe out that account.

5.  You never, never have to have an interaction with someone if you don't feel right about it, if it's not helping you, whatever.  Push the red button.  Delete the contact.  Download a call control app and block the number.  You can block pm's from a specific person on this site by going to their profile.

Hopefully, knowing that you have these options will help you feel safe enough to make some contacts. The friendships I've developed here are some of the closest and most important ones I have.  I wouldn't be in recovery today without them.  Period.

Best wishes.

1/19/2015 Updated for new website.  Liz W.