Discouraged, Bored, and Defeated? Gaming Slump

Discouraged, bored, and defeated! Gaming funk is real

Ugh. Don’t I always come with the truth? I’m spiraling, people.

Discouraged, bored, and defeated. Gaming Slump.

I know, I know. “Gaming is fun, it’s an escape, it’s therapy.” That’s my motto. But life… life's sometimes. Every game I pick up feels like starting MASH as a kid and realizing you’re up too late. (Some won’t get that—ha!) I even started revisiting old games I hadn’t touched in months, hoping they’d save me. Guess what? They didn’t.

And don’t get me started on Call of Duty burnout. Cheaters, hackers, toxic lobbies, it’s like walking into a casino knowing you’re going to lose a ton of money and then get COVID.

Oh wait… that’s exactly what happened to me this week. COD cheaters have stolen the spark. COD used to fuel me, but now it’s just another reminder that fun has been hijacked by people who couldn’t win fair if their life depended on it. At least teammates keep it entertaining.

Add in the season shift, I hate the change from summer to fall. So depressing. I am, in fact, NOT a pumpkin spice woman.

Meanwhile, my brain is working in overdrive. She’s like a different person than me. While I’m pouting in a corner, she’s got her notebook out writing down 1,000 ideas. We work at different levels. She keeps poking me like, “Let’s go, get your sh*t together.”* But like following GPS in real life, I just can’t get on the right road.

So yeah, I became overwhelmed with life. Trying to bring my dream project to life. Juggling ideas. Fighting off gaming burnout. I’m discouraged. Defeated.

And then there’s this extra layer I’ve given myself, building my dream.

Affiliates.

SEO.

New merch.

Content!

I’m cloud-chasing everything at once.

I’m scatterbrained while excited, trying to squeeze a year’s worth of progress into an hour. Unrealistic, I know. Growth takes time. SEO is a slow burn, affiliates need traction, merch takes testing. But my brain? Oh no, she wants it NOW. I’m not a patient gal.

I want to skip the messy middle, fast forward straight to the part where it all clicks and I can finally say, “See, I told you it would work.”

That “I told you so” is for myself. We are all our own biggest critic.

It’s slow, but it’s my ambition. That restless, impatient energy is proof I care and I want it bad. But it’s also exhausting when you’re already discouraged, already bored with the games you love, and now also fighting with your own brain because nothing is falling into place fast enough.

Now pile on the mental load of life! Health, family, relationships, the never ending to do list. Suddenly, the one place that’s supposed to feel like my escape feels like just another task.

But here’s the part where I refuse to just pout (okay, not as much). Because burnout happens. Gaming funks happen. What matters is how we climb out.

What I'm starting to follow.

• Switch it up. I stopped staying on the same game all night. Once I get that Gen Z blank stare at my monitor, I close the game and try something different.

• Game small. Not every session needs to be a sweaty, three-hour COD grind. A quick 20-minute silly run still counts.

• Revisit your WHY. For me, gaming has always been my escape when life throws too much. It’s not about being the best, it’s about being me.

• Step away. Yep, I said it. If you know me, you know my office setup is my little oasis. But sometimes the best cure is to log off.

When my husband suggested going away for the night, I usually throw a tantrum. I’m a homebody. I love being home. I love feeling safe, especially in this crazy world right now. But I actually went a couple days ago, and it helped me refocus on my dreams and on having fun. (Or maybe it’s just the COVID talking while I sit here getting back into the grind.)

If you’re discouraged, bored, or stuck in a gaming slump, you’re not alone. I’m HERE.

Gamers carry a different kind of weight in this space, and sometimes the fun gets buried under expectations, trolls, and burnout.

But here’s the reminder I needed to hear (and maybe you do too.)

We built this gaming space for ourselves. We listened to the noise, the stereotypes, the cheaters. We refreshed SEO, tweaked our branding, picked fonts, and tried to make it all catch someone’s attention. Because as much as we create for ourselves, we also want people like us to feel the same way.

It’s ours. Together. And the funky feeling? Temporary.

So yeah, today I might be slumped in my office chair, hoodie on, surrounded by tissues with COVID, questioning all my life choices.

I’ll still pick up the controller.

I’ll still clip those fire game moves.

I’ll still make content.

I’ll still sit and blog.

I’ll still hunt down amazing products on Amazon to share.

I’ll still give it my all.

Maybe not with fireworks, maybe not with joy at first.

But I will give it my all.

For me.

For you.

For us.

For therapy sake!

And you should too.