Gaming Addiction Help for Teens: Getting Active!

Gaming addiction help for teens involves resetting relationships and changing routines. Getting active is one of the most important things we can do to change video game addictions and provide gaming addiction help for teens.

Gaming Addiction Help for Teens: The Initial Detox

One of the most important steps in getting gaming addiction help for teens is to start with an initial detox. This gives the brain a chance to reset and establish new neurological connections. Neurological connections can be thought of as tiny muscles in the brain which are strengthened the more they connect or fire together. This is why a habit that has been practiced 20 years is so much more difficult to break than a habit which has only been practiced 2 weeks. There is a true physiological representation of the habit in the brain in the form of connected neurons.

Gaming Addiction Help for Teens: Why Activity is Important

Activity is important in getting gaming addiction help for teens because it replaces the purpose video games was serving. For example, a teen might have been playing video games for both entertainment and socialization purposes. A sport- whether that is a team sport or an individual sport can fill part of this need. Hobbies can also be important in replacing gaming overuse habits.

Carrying Changes Home to fight Gaming Addiction Help for Teens

The most critical part of the camp process is to carry the changes home that we have learned at camp. This is why at Summerland Camps we focus on building intrinsic motivation in our campers, that is, building the internal desire to continue the changes without external rewards or punishments. As part of this process, we focus on the fundamentals of all sports and clubs that we offer in hopes that our campers will find multiple activities they want to carry back home.

Gaming Addiction Help for Teens: Keeping a Schedule Matters

It is critical that campers learn to keep a schedule to track their gaming activities in addition to behaviors necessary to meet life goals. We work on helping campers identify life goals such as getting into college, establishing a career, health or relationship goals as well. When campers learn the process of self-regulation at Camp, they carry this skill back home which helps them learn to self-regulate their digital media habits.