Kicking the Computer Habit

The Globe and Mail has a revealing article called 40, married, gaming addict. It's one thing to spend a day putzing around on the internet. Sure, it's a waste of time, but no more than taking a $20 bill to the casino to spend on nickel slots, or watching the entire Lord of the Ring series in one day. It's one day.

But for some, it's never just one day. We had one such man, Sonny, on our LifeChange recovery program a number of years ago. You wonder, "How bad can it really be?" And then you learn the truth. When an addict is playing on the computer, an entire day can pass without their knowledge. This means they can go night and day without eating, and, in the worst cases, even defecate in their seats.

How did we help Sonny? Well, it took time. A whole lot of time! First we limited his computer usage, and did not allow him to engage in the role playing games to which he was addicted. Sonny found a way around it and resorted to playing a little handheld game in his room. Of course, we confiscated it when we found it.

A year later, he was freed from his addiction, and set out to make a new life for himself. Today, he holds down a full time job and even saved up enough money to buy a house!

Our program is for "life-controlling problems" of all kinds. Sure, most of the men and women who join LifeChange are addicted to alcohol, or drugs, but we also get the occasional gamer, gambler, sex addict. We also work with mental illness including depression, schizophrenia, and bi-polar disorder. For those who don't have an addiction, we allow them to join the program at an accelerated pace, in order to relieve them of homelessness or joblessness.

If you know anyone who might need to spend three months to one year with us, please contact our Womens and Mens LifeChange Resident Managers, Rebecca, or Mike at 543-0011. They'd be happy to tour you and your friend or family member around, and settle them in to a brand new life.