How do you personally Detox from WoW Burnout?

[facefist]

Job is the biggest reason I don't get burned out from gaming.

If you sit on your computer all the time, there is no way to not get burned out. It's just like every other thing you can do, if you don't do anything else you get burnt out eventually.

So maybe try another hobby if you cant work. Only play for limited time instead of grinding it out like crazy. Try having other objectives in life that are not gaming related.

[Eazy]

Just stop playing the game, it's as simple.

I feel like if you think about WoW on this level you should probably just quit the game entirely and seek professional help.

How the hell this comment got an infraction though it's the best and most fitting comment here?

[Iain]

Not actual advice, I'm not a health professional, just a personal anecdote. A small dose of psilocybin mushrooms, like the weight of a paperclip, as strong as a glass of wine, was enough for me to resolve a lot of addictive cravings in my life. It just severed that constant need to stay entertained. I still enjoy video games, and I'm looking forward to Dragonflight. But I don't need it. That lack of a need opens a lot of spare time to devote to other things in life.

[Accendor]

I usually go to the lore forums and rant about the mai storyline for the last 2 expansions and try to focus my disgust that way.

[WowIsDead64]

Unsub and play something else. 1p games, like Terraria. Relaxing games, like ETS/ATS. PVP FPS games just to change scenery. I don't actually like PVP, because it's toxic. Major source of burnout - is FOMO (not in social context). I can't play at my own rate, because everything is time-gated and therefore not doing something today = missing it out forever. Trying to do too many things at the same time instead of doing them one after another = burning out. Doing "mandatory for progression" things instead of just doing what I want = burning out. Another sources of burning out: exceeding competition, annoying game design, like abusing aggro/combat mechanics too much.

[Nyel]

I don't, Blizzard does by releasing a new expansion every two years. The only time I enjoy a new expansion is the short period after its launch. No content patch is able to bring me back as it's just more of the exact same in the last years.

[kranur]

Agree that if you're bored or burned out with WoW (or anything else that is just entertainment and not something that's generating your income) and you can't just walk away until you feel like playing it again, you might have a real problem.

Whenever I got too bored, I just played or did something else. You'd be surprised at how much fun some other games can be. If classic didn't exist, I wouldn't be playing WoW at all at the moment.

[psyquest]

Burnout is a prevalent feeling i fight against in my day to day life.
Since im not employed is pretty easy for me to get burned out from games in general, specifically WoW which i consider to be my main game i play on and off since TBC.
Here is how i personaly deal with it, since the objective is to detox WoW from your system to end up missing playing it again.

1-Playing other game/s
I personally start the detox process by replacing WoW with another game BUT for me this is absolutely NOT enough.
You may think you are just burned out of WoW but sometimes you are ALSO burned out of "games" in general.
This is always how i start the process but is not enough.

2-Work on a hobby
Very important step for me.
I need to immerse myself in work or a hobby to counterbalance the overload of videogames in my life.
Personally i work on my art (digital paintings).

3-Chill and Hibernate
This step is just (for me) youtube, netflix, movies, walks, grabbing a coffee outside.
Is your chill step outside of your work/hobby hours

4-Drunk with friends on discord call
Me and online friends grab a drink and talk online while playing or watching stuff online...good times
Just dont do it a lot, lol.

5-Join the latest HYPE-TRAIN of a videogame release
Hype trains only come once in a full moon, so take advantage of those rare times to catch the wave of motivation to play a new thing that is just releasing and entire internet is streaming on twitch and talking about on youtube.

-----

Thats it for me, usually the detox takes weeks/months
How about you?

simple. you burnt yourself out by playing too much. it has become a chore, not fun.

My advice is simple. You quit completely for a few weeks.

[ablib]

Not sure why all the best replies are being infracted.

We live in a world now where mental health should be taken seriously (not that it always shouldn't have).

There are multiple red flags in the OP's post.

While it's ok to reach out to anonymous people on an internet forum, ideally OP, you have someone IRL to talk to (while not drunk).

[Ryzeth]

Take a break like a fucking normal person who gets burned out.

Inb4 infraction for reasons.

[Shinchi Migi]

Burnout is a prevalent feeling i fight against in my day to day life.
Since im not employed is pretty easy for me to get burned out from games in general, specifically WoW which i consider to be my main game i play on and off since TBC.
Here is how i personaly deal with it, since the objective is to detox WoW from your system to end up missing playing it again.

1-Playing other game/s
I personally start the detox process by replacing WoW with another game BUT for me this is absolutely NOT enough.
You may think you are just burned out of WoW but sometimes you are ALSO burned out of "games" in general.
This is always how i start the process but is not enough.

2-Work on a hobby
Very important step for me.
I need to immerse myself in work or a hobby to counterbalance the overload of videogames in my life.
Personally i work on my art (digital paintings).

3-Chill and Hibernate
This step is just (for me) youtube, netflix, movies, walks, grabbing a coffee outside.
Is your chill step outside of your work/hobby hours

4-Drunk with friends on discord call
Me and online friends grab a drink and talk online while playing or watching stuff online...good times
Just dont do it a lot, lol.

5-Join the latest HYPE-TRAIN of a videogame release
Hype trains only come once in a full moon, so take advantage of those rare times to catch the wave of motivation to play a new thing that is just releasing and entire internet is streaming on twitch and talking about on youtube.

-----

Thats it for me, usually the detox takes weeks/months
How about you?

I detoxed from WoW back in May or 2021 and never came back. Stay away. Blizzard is a sleazy and slimy company now.

[Loveliest]

I think the point of a detox is to live a healthier life from then on, not take a breaks and then do it all over again. But wording aside, I don't think the answer can be anything other than taking a break. And what you do in that break is up to you: read, go out with friends etc.
Personally, I use walking as a go to for everything. Walking lessens anxiety too, is healthy and is enjoyable. I walk 66 minutes every day and I do one of the following while walking: reading a book, reading comics or catching up on youtube vids I have subs on.
So I would reccommend any physical activity you enjoy. And if you're the lazy type (like me), you can pick something you can do indoors. I walk indoors.

[Donald Hellscream]

I step away and play other games, right now I am getting back into swtor and I will probably play that until I either get access to the beta, or the prepatch for Dragonflight is out.

[The Stormbringer]

It sounds like you might be struggling with video game addiction. If you can, sit down and sort through your priorities in life. Figure out what's important to you. If you decide that World of Warcraft shouldn't be such a high priority, make a commitment to distance yourself from it.

If it's too difficult to easily do, take more extreme measures like unsubscribing, or giving someone else access to the account and having them change the password/transfer the authenticator to themselves, so you don't know it. You might be able to turn on the Parental Controls and set yourself up with limited play time as well, if you think you can handle just a little.

But most importantly, try talking to someone close to you if you think it's a serious issue. There's no shame in asking for help from people you care about.

- - - Updated - - -

Not sure why all the best replies are being infracted.

We live in a world now where mental health should be taken seriously (not that it always shouldn't have).

There are multiple red flags in the OP's post.

While it's ok to reach out to anonymous people on an internet forum, ideally OP, you have someone IRL to talk to (while not drunk).

Probably because they're more insulting than helpful. "Get some help you basement dweller" isn't exactly constructive...

[nvaelz]

I go to a place of realization that life is not only a toxic competition where you have no friends and everyone wants your rating.

[VinceVega]

I stop playing until the next expansion. No reason to force myself to play game that is not good for my mental health. But i stop the moment i get annoyed, that i have to log in. Not letting it get as far as you do.

And if you get to a point you get actuall burnout FROM A GAME! You definetly should stop playing video games in general for a while and look for another hobby or RL social stuff in general.

[Shigma]

Just uninstall it, stop using this site, dont check any wow related site/news/channels, find some other games until you find something that is fun to you. Maybe some other hobbies/sports.

But... if you are still here, asking, i have the feeling you won't just quit.

When WoW became unfun to me or i felt burnout, i just moved away, and i never felt a hole. It gave me a lot of years of fun, and nothing will change that. But i don't get the point to keep playing something that's not fun to you. And i still believe that was the best decission (for me).

Like others said here, that's probably an addiction problem and you should do something about it. Maybe it's something else, and that requires a professional to find out what's going on. WoW (Or any game) isn't as important as your health. If you can't move from it even like that, there are issues. And those can be fixed, but you gotta move and work on it. Don't leave it "for tomorrow".

[LedZeppelin]

wait for the next expansion

[Ielenia]

Here is how i personaly deal with it, since the objective is to detox WoW from your system to end up missing playing it again.

First off: interesting choice of words. Saying you need to "detox WoW from your system" implies that you, at least at some level, know WoW is harmful to you, like a drug, only for you to go back to it, again, like a drug.

Second: if you actually feel the need to "detox", it means WoW is likely dominating your thoughts when you're not playing the game, to the point you feel the need to immerse yourself into something else to stop thinking about WoW. Again, Wow is like a drug to you.

Third: it seems to be, from the way you wrote your post, that you're in a constant cycle of going in-and-out of WoW, never able to 'quit it', and always returning to it.

It seems to be that the best solution for you would be to stop and think really about if WoW is still the game for you, if it's still a hobby or if it became a chore, a "drug" if you will, if it's dominating your thoughts to the point it becomes necessary to "detox" like that.

[Froggy]

I quit, until I feel like playing again. Like right now I'm unsubbed, and have no desire to resub until Dragonflight launch.