this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2025
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ADHD

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My ~~ND~~ NT husband will just like, play a game every once in a while when he feels like it. He'll just pick it up every so often, maybe play a few days in a week, and then leave it be again for a while to come back to later.

Meanwhile I will get into a game and spend every waking hour playing it. My sleep, diet, work, hygiene, all suffer to varying degrees. I give myself wrist pain and thumb calluses. I will not rest until I 100% it. And if I can't, I'll stop and most likely never pick it up again.

Anyway, anyone else playing Silksong?

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[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 46 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

When I play a game there is a 80% chance I almost never touch it again but a 20% chance I get every achievement and hundreds of hours within a month

[–] pleasestopasking@reddthat.com 10 points 4 days ago

Lol why is this so relatable. All or nothing

[–] hank_the_tank66@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Same. And I haven't stuck on a 20%er for a while which kinda bums me out!

[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

My last one was Baldur's Gate III so its been a while for me too 😔

[–] AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 days ago

This is me.

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 19 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I can't speak for everyone, but I absolutely do not play videogames like a normal person. I play videogames like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. I play videogames like the red-string-and-photos corkboard meme. I play videogames like I was assembling a sand mandala in the middle of a crowded lobby. I play videogames like the movie Memento. I play videogames like I was juggling ventriloquist dummies while chugging a liter of sparkling water and reciting Modern Major General at speed.

I can't speak for everyone, but I absolutely do not play videogames like a normal person.

[–] the_q@lemmy.zip 15 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I don't even enjoy playing them but I keep doing it. I feel guilty or that I'm wasting my time. I get tired of being me.

[–] Beacon@fedia.io 5 points 4 days ago

You can be me for awhile if you want, but it would be a lateral move. At least the scenery would be different?

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Real talk: consider talking to a therapist. This sounds like depression, possibly serious and chronic.

Source: waves at you while walking beside you on the road of life

[–] the_q@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Thanks, but I've been in therapy for 5 years now. Cptsd but depression comes along with it. I appreciate the concern though. I hope your walk is as easy and fulfilling as it can be.

Some similar circumstances myself. Keep your chin up, friend. ❤️

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I'm wasting my time.

Two sides come to mind:

Remember that productivity is at its peak with life satisfaction as well; we need relaxation and breaks, even if they must be scheduled at times, to maintain long-term productivity. We're not emotionless robots.

On the other hand, it's totally fine to feel phases when gaming isn't currently for you. Digging into a skill-based craft (pottery, cooking, music-making, etc.), exercising while watching TV & film, or even writing scripts is all fine as well, if not maybe even preferable. For me, I went through a time when the majority of my gaming was casual, turn-based, multiplayer board games with friends over voice chat, mostly just to have fun with and catch up with said friends almost more than the actual games (which include a range of both co-op and competitive titles). I've also generally gotten hyper-picky with games and how I spend my time; Lemmy posts are just as interesting as many games, or tinkering with the programs Espanso, Syncthing, etc. There is nothing wrong with leaving gaming due to a lack of personal interest, even if you were a hardcore gamer before or whatever. I can't even visit my favorites from before, but I find immense joy in watching a friend play through any of them for their first time. There are all sorts of things we can do in life outside of our own direct playing of games. Some even get wanderlust and fly abroad... those weirdos (lol jk).

I get tired of being me.

If this has been going on for a while, and the above mindsets don't make a dent, it sounds like a trip carefully planned and actively supervised by a veteran psychonaut may be worthwhile. 🍄

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 12 points 3 days ago

I don't care to aim for 100% in games, but I'll put it this way: I found wuthering waves 2ish months ago and already have 300 hours in it...

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

I made a rule where I can only play one game at a time. It helps keep me on track between times not playing games, which is fairly often. Makes it easy enough.

[–] RQG@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

It's either obsession or bust for me. But that's with everything in life almost.

Currently obsessed with silk song too. But then it could end any second.

I didn't game any video for almost two years prior. Like at all. Excitement suddenly gone.

I went into board games and trading cards instead. It's really annoying sometimes to lose interest after so much investment of time and money and emotion.

Brain is weird man.

[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don't personally care about achievement hunting or 100%-ing games, but otherwise I am exactly the same yes. If a game piques my interest it becomes a hyperfixation that consumes every waking hour, and I will spend as much free time as possible either playing it, watching others play it, watching videos about it, or reading things about it.

I also don't really understand people who are juggling multiple games at a time. "Oh, today I'll play some X, tomorrow I'll play some Y and over the weekend I'll enjoy some Z!". Sounds completely foreign and bizarre to me. I have my current game, and if I'm playing a game I'll be playing my current game. Who has the bandwidth to keep track of multiple games at once?

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 days ago

I usually only play games becazse they are either fun or interesting.
I also don't understand the playing of multiple games instead of focusing on one but playing it less frequently to avoid fatique.
What I do understand is playing a "brain-off" game and switching to a game that requires attention (e.g. due to a good story)

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

My NT husband switches between games. In one sitting. I look up from drawing evey once in a while and, wtf since when is Mario in Ass Creed? Not that he doesn't like the game, he always comes back to it after a while and finishes most of what he plays. He just gets bored after a bit and loads up another one. And they tell me I have attention issues.

When I start a game, I either drop it after one sitting or I am 150% in (and sometimes I get so deep into a game that I stop playing shortly before the end because I don't want it to end - fuck this brain (I need to finish Cyberpunk 2077)). I actively avoid certain games because I know they'll eat me. Instead I'll sit and draw for 37 hours a day without needing sustenance or the loo, which is much more healthy and socially accepted and even encouraged by my therapist.

[–] Broadfern@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

and sometimes I get so deep into a game that I stop playing shortly before the end because I don't want it to end

I stop at about ~80% completion on my favorite games for this reason EXACTLY. Like my logic brain says “finish” and my ADHD/attachment refuses outright.

This is why I avoid MMOs. Several years ago I picked up one again and ended up accumulating over 1000 hours over several months. And I didn't even play the main story for the most part. I remember clan members' reaction: "wtf, how have you not finished the story after so many hours played". The only reason I stopped literally over night was because I had something traumatic happen to me the following morning that fucked my life up for good. It quite literally required a life-changing event to shake me out of it.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

If I never had kids, I'd be right there with you.

I had to get in the habit of waiting for specified times (after bedtime/weekend mornings) to play games.

Oh, and it's Borderlands this weekend for me.

[–] scintilla@crust.piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago

Thank yo for the reminder I'm pumped all of the sudden lmao.

[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

And a lot of the times at the end of the day I want to put my feet up, so I just play something casual on my phone

[–] cokeslutgarbage@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

This is why I love the sims, I get obsessed for x amount of time. I go to work if I have to, but then I'll play sims every other second I can, I'll even bring the laptop into the bathroom with me. Won't sleep, won't cook, won't shower, etc. And then... all of a sudden, mid game even, I'm just... done. For months. Or years. And it's a sandbox game, it's literally digital barbies, so I can just stop and start over with a whole new game later. If im playing a more traditional game, I NEED to 100% it. I NEED a walk through to make sure I don't make any wrong choices, it almost takes some of the fun out of it, so I don't play those kinds that often (my roommate recently let me play Spiritfarer on her console, she had 40hrs and 98% and was like "its not important to the story and i cant find the last one... I got to 100% after 84 hours. We are not the same)

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 days ago

You should probably stay away from Rimworld then lol

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

You are the one here playing games like a normal person

Your husband sounds like they are just more interested in other things usually.

[–] blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 days ago

Depends how much I like the game and how busy I am otherwise.

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 4 points 3 days ago

Hah, the same here. That's why recently I'm avoiding playing videogames at all.

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Factorio was the last game that truly grabbed me by the short-and-curlies. At my worst, I was playing for 8-10 hours a day (with a full time job taking another 9 hours) and started seeing conveyor belt designs in my dreams.

[–] pleasestopasking@reddthat.com 1 points 3 days ago

Yo I called in sick to work today after I posted this and put in an 8 hour shift on Silksong instead aaaah

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Do I like the game: i'll play the through main story
Do I really like the game: I'll complete the side stories (assuming they arent tedious)

I was never one to 100% a game and only did it for select games (one I did a bit of 100% hunt was 'untitled goose game').
My time is too much worth as to "waste" it on 100% a game. Nobody except for me will care about it.

Instead I'll invest my time into my homelab/home-network. That way get a higher sense of an achievement.

Regarding my play style:
I'll usually play one story at a time and if it's a multi part game I'll research beforehand how important the story before was.
Is it unimportant or too expansiv, I'll watch a summary or playthrough on Youtube. If it's up my alley, I'll play in chronological order.

As for how often:
I have my phases. Either YT binge watching, watching something from my media library or I'm tinkering with my homelab. Playing went to a backseat for me since I starte an actual job full-time.

[–] Highlandcow@feddit.uk 3 points 3 days ago

LMAO I knew for a fact this about silksong, and yes I got hooked on that game very similarly too you

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 4 points 4 days ago

I rarely have the discipline to actually 100% anything, but I do play with that goal and tend to hyperfocus on games, often to my detriment. Not every game though. Sometimes it'll be months until another game really grabs me, and maybe I'm playing stuff more casually in between. Also I tend to go back to old favorites a lot.

For example I finally picked up Horizon: Forbidden West and for the first time in years even my favorite archaeology channels have unwatched content. My 4am bedtime is not great and last week someone at work asked me if I forgot to brush my chompers. But before that it was a 3rd or 4th playthrough of Witcher 3.

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 3 points 3 days ago

Anyway, anyone else playing Silksong?

I tried with HK and gave up after going over halfway through, taking a break, and getting slaughtered repeatedly upon the skills drop from the break. I have since learned that I'm no masochist and prefer my max health solidly in the double or triple digits (if the game has health at all).

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I collect video games, and also have a small handful i enjoy to a probably unhealthy degree.

The former is me finding crazy deals and wanting to support game studios whose content interests me.

The latter is my escapism. Sometimes I want to just lap the shit out of Nurburgring Nordschliefe, or slice-and-dice space ships in sandbox mode, or build a Soviet republic, or play a modern iteration of Escape Velocity with surprisingly tight and far-spanning plot, or get into some 6-DOF interstellar combat, or drive shooty botes around, or get into some pvp dogfights with recent and historic fighter jets.

[–] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago

I don’t get like this with every game, but yeah that’s how Silksong has been for me.

[–] Nangijala@feddit.dk 1 points 3 days ago

I was like you when I was still playing video games. All the Arkham games and some of the early Assassins Creed games were my obsessions. Prince of Persia and Uncharted too. A few zombie games. Mario too.

However, I haven't played video games since 2015 for several reasons:

  1. I disagreed with the direction of games back in 2015 when I noticed they were becoming more and more online focused and predatory toward players in terms of microtransactions and stuff like that. I felt that if I was supposed to get to play the games I wanted to play, it would eventually cost me so much money to upgrade entertainment systems and computers and I would not get to keep any of my games because everything was digital and could be taken from me at any point. I learned my lesson early on Facebook of all places with the death of Restaurant City (RIP my beauty).

  2. it was too time consuming and I wanted to spend my time developing skills instead of playing video games.

  3. my fucking temper, bro. This is the main reason I don't play video games anymore. I didn't like how infuriated I would get when I kept losing in a game. I have a temper. I really have a temper, but when it comes to video games and certain electronics, I would just become a Demon when shit didn't go my way. And I didn't want to feed that beast so I just stopped.

The only game I bought and paid for post 2015 was What Remains of Edith Finch. Played it once. Loved it. Watched a bunch of videos about the game, theories and so on and then I moved on.

Now I have my best friend who is a gamer, who plays video games on Twitch once a week so we can hang out and talk about our lives. It's cool.

Ps: not officially diagnosed. Just have a lot of symptoms to the point where it's a walk like a duck and quack like a duck scenario. So yeah, not officially one of you, but I can relate A LOT to things I read from and about ADHDers.

[–] ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 days ago

Haven't touched silksong. I tend to game in binges. I mostly play civ and ksp and will usually dump 10 hours or so in a session, but I don't do that very often, maybe twice a month nowadays. In my youth I'd game for hours and hours. I'm pretty sure I logged like 700 hours in skyrim in 2012 alone, and I didn't even get it til July that year

[–] JPAKx4@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 4 days ago
[–] ZoDoneRightNow@kbin.earth 1 points 4 days ago

I am sorta in between the two. There are a few games or series that I will always come back to and play the new ones when they come out but I don't play very often. Some times I will play a lot all at once maybe 5 days out of 7 for 3 or 4 weeks. Most of the time I will play maybe 1 to 2 days a fortnight and only for an hour or 2 each time I do.