Are you addicted to gaming? Take our test!

If you, a member of your family, or someone you know, spends too much time playing video or computer games or going online, they may need a little extra help and support. How can you know when you’re having when too much of a good thing when it comes to games?

Take our test and find out whether you need some help.

Our game addiction test

Instructions: Score yourself out of 5 for the following statements where 0 is ‘Not True’ and 5 is ‘Totally True’.

1. You play games every day without fail.
2. You look forward to playing your games when you get home from work or school.
3. You feel very happy when you’re playing -sometimes euphoric.
4. When you stop playing you feel annoyed, angry or upset.
5. If you aren’t playing you have feelings of restlessness and irritability.
6. You prefer playing games to any other pastime such as watching films, reading or sports.
7. You say you’re just ‘checking your email’ and then spend hours online playing your games.
8. You completely lose track of time.
9. You prefer playing games than meeting friends socially.
10. You have many friends online that you’ve never met.
11. You lie about how you spend your free time.
12. Other areas of your life are suffering – perhaps work, or you don’t cook, or clean.
13. You use gaming to avoid confronting how you are feeling about other areas of your life, such as stress at work, grief after a bereavement or a relationship breakdown, or concerns about finances or your health.
14. You get up in the night to check on how things are going in your games.
15. You spend a lot of money on games, or progressing in games, upgrading your hardware and software packages, and accessories.
16. You feel guilty.
17. You have physical symptoms. This can include difficulty sleeping, headaches and migraines, back and neck ache, dry eyes, or carpal tunnel syndrome.
18. You stay up so late at night playing games that your work or education suffer.
19. You suffer with fatigue.
20. You sometimes spend all day in your sleepwear and forget to shower or eat.

Results

If you scored less than 40, you are interested in playing games but they don’t dominate your life. If you scored 40-60, you may want to think about easing back on your game playing. For anything above 61, you need to take a long hard look at your gaming habits and think about getting some support. If you dismiss this as nonsense, you may need help now.

Remember that there are negative consequences for any addiction, it is never healthy to skip meals or reduce the amount of sleep you’re getting and social isolation can lead to a host of emotional issues. No-one would suggest never playing video games, or games online, but ‘everything in moderation’ should be the key.

Other articles

How to break your bad habits

Bad habits waste your energy and time. They disrupt your life, risk your health and stop you from achieving your aims. So why do we do them? And what can we do to break our bad habits?

Why not me?

It's natural to compare our own lives with those of others - weighing up the pros and cons of situations helps us make decisions. But there can be a downside when you find you're constantly comparing yourself with others, envying their seemingly perfect lives and wondering why they are luckier, more prosperous, and better looking than you.

How to be less judgemental of others (and yourself!)

Do you feel you’re always criticising and judging everyone, yourself included? Do you feel bad about it afterwards? You’re certainly not alone! Read on to discover how you can judge less and start to accept things the way they are.

12 easy ways to get people to like you

Have you ever noticed that some people are instantly likeable? Many people believe that people will only like you because of natural traits you're born with: good looks, talent and sociability. But this is a misconception. Getting people to like you is within your control, and it's all to do with self-belief, knowing yourself and being emotionally intelligent. Here's what to do to be more likeable.

Letting go of the past: 5 tips

Lynn Anderson told it very nicely in her song “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden”. Life isn’t all roses and everybody experiences something they would rather not once in their life.

Even the brightest minds have setbacks!

We all want to be successful but many of us find the path to achieving our dreams is blocked by our fear of failure. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, go backpacking around the world or start up a new business, you need to accept that you might fail many times over before you achieve success.

Is the world as we know it over?

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have taken unprecedented measures to stop the spread of coronavirus. The rapid changes we've seen have had an impact on almost every aspect of our lives.

5 tips to survive autumn healthily

We simply can’t avoid noticing the changes all around us. Autumn is here... Autumn is also called a transitional season. Slowly and steadily, it prepares us for the transition...

Do you 'Musturbate' too much?

Do you suffer from a disorder known as "musturbation"? This term was first coined in the 1950s by psychotherapist Albert Ellis and described the way a negative inner voice rules our minds and bludgeons us with words such as "must", "should", and "ought".

Why you're not the best

What are your aims in life? Do you plan to be rich, to be a top footballer, to be a good parent, or to become Prime Minister? However efficiently you plan your life, sooner or later you are going to come up against obstacles to achieving your goals.