Just came here to say that I literally deleted all of my games off my PS4 as soon as I read this. I've been struggling with depression my whole life, but around 3 years ago I finally had a pretty decent life setup with work and relationships. I got back into video games because "why not?" And I could finally afford them. It's become a shit show since then. I stay up too late almost nightly, started avoiding social situations because id be too tired after work or on weekends. My temper started getting worse as I played more PVP, and I'd start getting furious when losing a match because internally I was loathing this feeling of putting my time into something unproductive when I have so many goals in my life that I was avoiding to pursue. I know a lot of people can game for 30 minutes and forget about it, but not me - it'd quickly become 3am and then I'd feel like shit the next day at work.

So many things that I've had piled up on my list to do: write more, read more, get outside, exercise more, etc.

Thinking about deleting the games wasn't even a thought, it was always "just manage it better, you can get a good sleep tomorrow and not play any." But it'd never work...

Deleting the games almost has no direct feeling of relief, except that internally I can tell that it's been enough. They're fun, but so is life - and I've been pretty bad about living it these last 2 years...

I think that addiction is a strange thing, and it's hard to grasp how it's wrapped you up. But I'll play games on my deathbed after I've lived my life. I'm sure they'll be great, and there'll be a "simulator" so I can experience anything I've missed between here and then.

Thanks for posting this.