Alex received his first video game station at the age of two. His love and eventual addiction to video gaming continued throughout his life. It wasn’t until recently that Alex found SMART Recovery, and has made positive changes to his life and began managing his problematic behavior.

In this interview, Alex talks about:

• His dad buying him a VecTrex at two years old
• The progression of gaming systems and how the technology over time
• The “water cooler” conversations around new video games
• First realizing that there was an issue with gaming when he didn’t “grow out of it”
• The “Just Say No to Drugs” PSAs being counterproductive in video games
• The opportunity cost of continuing to play video games
• Video gaming addiction characteristics
• Trying other recovery programs, then finding SMART
• The ways SMART talks about addiction and the nuances for helping each person differently
• How the pandemic affected his addiction
• Knowing he can’t keep throwing his life away