Ryan’s playing a lot of video games. It is an escape from reality for him, as he’s been dealing with name-calling and bullying at school.

Addiction: The False Feel Good

RYAN (CHARLESTON, SC) QUESTION:

Ryan: Am I addicted to video games?

Dawson: You know, Ryan, an addiction is an addiction, is an addiction, is an addiction. How do you like that?

Ryan: Pretty weird

DAWSON MCALLISTER'S ANSWER:

Dawson:  I mean, is it going to be drugs? Is it going to be porn? Is it going to be shoplifting? Is it going to be alcohol? Is it going to be speeding? Whatever it is, they are all related to one another. What you have is a false feel good. What you want to do with the false feel goods is to get away from reality, because reality hurts too much, and hide behind something that makes you feel good. The problem is it comes to own us. We don’t own it. So, then the false feel good that you have, the addiction you have is even more painful in the end than what you’re trying to block out of your life.

Ryan: ok

Dawson: You have to ask yourself, what am I trying to cover over in my life to where I go into another reality (not just for 15 minutes or 30 minutes, that wouldn’t be an addiction), but for hours and hours and hours?

Ryan: I have been having trouble at school. Everybody’s been calling me names and stuff. They think it’s all fun and games, but it really hurts. I’m thinking of dropping out of school because of it.

Dawson: You see now what the reality is…people are laughing at you at school for whatever reason. The reality is you’ve been hurt in the past. Your fantasy is your video games, because you can go there, and no one is going to hurt you there. So, how do you quit? Number one, you have to get the computer out of your house.

Ryan: It’s a family computer.

Dawson: It doesn’t matter. If I was one of your parents and you came to me and said I am addicted to video games. Guess what? I’d make sure you don’t get near a computer. Secondly, I would confess to them the horror you are going through at school. Then you come up with a plan with your principal, where this ridiculous abuse stops. Then your draw to hide behind your video games will subside. It won’t have the power that it had. Then maybe you can go back to having a computer in the house. But you will never deal with the reality of the actions causing the true pain until you break your addiction to video games.

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