Tooned Out

Suburban mommy talks about kicking her online gaming habit.

Name:
Location: Redmond, Washington, United States

Just another face in line at the grocery store...

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Auuggghhh! Oh wait, it's ok, really

Ok, I'll fess up. I bought my daughter a Toontown account, and worse than that, I've been dipping my toes into the digital pond a little now and then. Want to know something weird though? I don't like it much anymore. I'd rather read a book or just cuddle up in bed and watch a DVD. I just don't have much desire to play; it's boring and pretty inane. I guess it was a bit of a dangerous gamble to try it again, but I had a feeling that I was pretty much over it, and it turned out I was right. Toontown just doesn't do it for me anymore.

So what made the difference? I think it's kind of "been there, done that" as well as having gotten over the hump as far as dealing with my depression/anxiety. I didn't even know I was depressed until I quit gaming, and now that I'm 'in recovery' (gah, hate that phrase but can't think of a more appropriate one at the moment) Toontown, and games in general have lost their lustre. Cool.

Also, I got a part time job and bought myself a nifty new set of wheels. Nothing like some real life stuff to make virtual stuff seem so, um, unreal. So I'm out in the big bad real world with new responsibilities and something fun to look forward to in the form of zipping around in my sporty little car. I know that material things can't fill the void any more than gaming can though. I know too that I have to work on the part of me that felt like it so desparately needed to escape to my toon world. I still get frustrated at the tortuously long time it is taking to fully regain my emotional self, but hey, all in good time, all in good time.