Gaming Addiction Therapy in West Sussex

Gaming addiction and online gaming addiction can quietly take hold, often long before someone realises how much time, energy, and emotional space gaming has begun to occupy. At Eleos Counselling, we offer professional, confidential therapy for gaming addiction in West Sussex, providing a calm and supportive space to explore what is happening beneath the behaviour and how lasting change can begin.

While gaming itself is not harmful, problems can arise when it becomes a primary way of coping with stress, low mood, loneliness, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm. Over time, this can affect sleep, work, relationships, self-esteem, and overall wellbeing. Therapy offers an opportunity to step back, reflect, and regain a sense of balance and control.

Understanding Gaming Addiction and Online Gaming Addiction

Gaming addiction, sometimes referred to as online gaming addiction, is not simply about spending “too much time” playing games. Instead, it often involves a growing sense of compulsion, where gaming feels difficult to stop even when negative consequences begin to appear. As a result, everyday responsibilities and relationships may start to feel secondary.

For many people, gaming provides relief from emotional discomfort. It may offer escape, achievement, connection, or a sense of control that feels harder to find elsewhere. However, when gaming becomes the main emotional outlet, problems can develop gradually and feel hard to untangle alone. Therapy helps make sense of these patterns without judgement or blame.

Importantly, gaming addiction affects adults as well as teenagers. Many clients seek therapy when they notice increasing conflict at home, declining motivation, disrupted sleep, or a growing sense of disconnection from real-world life.

How Therapy Can Help with Gaming Addiction

Therapy for gaming addiction focuses on understanding the person behind the behaviour. Rather than removing gaming altogether, counselling explores how gaming fits into your life and what may be driving the urge to play. Through this process, healthier and more sustainable ways of coping can emerge.

Therapy can help you:

• Restore balance between gaming, work, relationships, and rest

• Understand emotional triggers that lead to excessive gaming

• Develop safer ways to manage stress, boredom, or anxiety

• Reduce shame, guilt, and self-criticism around gaming behaviour

• Improve sleep, concentration, and emotional regulation

Over time, many people find that gaming becomes less controlling, allowing space for other interests, relationships, and goals to return.

Therapy for Online Gaming Addiction in West Sussex

Online gaming addiction often brings additional challenges. Because online games are always accessible, socially immersive, and reward-driven, it can feel especially hard to step away. Some people feel a strong sense of responsibility toward online teams or communities, while others rely on gaming as their primary source of connection.

Therapy provides a confidential space to explore these pressures openly. Together, we can look at how online gaming affects your emotional wellbeing, identity, and relationships. Gradually, therapy supports the development of boundaries that feel realistic rather than restrictive.

For those in West Sussex, attending therapy locally can offer consistency and a sense of grounding outside the digital world. However, online counselling is also available where appropriate, allowing flexibility while maintaining therapeutic depth.

The Impact of Gaming Addiction on Relationships and Daily Life

When gaming addiction develops, its effects often ripple outward. Partners may feel ignored or shut out, family members may worry, and conflict can increase. At the same time, the person struggling with gaming may feel misunderstood, criticised, or defensive.

Therapy helps create clarity around these dynamics. By understanding how gaming has become linked to emotional needs or avoidance, it becomes possible to rebuild communication and trust. Many clients report feeling more present, emotionally available, and connected as therapy progresses.

In addition, therapy can support improvements in routine, including sleep patterns, motivation, and work or study performance. These changes often happen gradually, reinforcing confidence and self-belief.

Professional Standards and Experience

Eleos Counselling is committed to high professional and ethical standards. Our therapists are experienced in working with addiction, emotional regulation, trauma, and co-occurring mental health difficulties. In addition, Eleos Counselling is a registered member of Addiction Professionals, the leading UK membership organisation for professionals working with addictive behaviours.

This membership reflects a commitment to ongoing training, ethical practice, and evidence-informed approaches to addiction counselling. Clients can feel reassured that they are receiving support grounded in professional accountability and current best practice.

Why Choose Eleos Counselling for Gaming Addiction Therapy?

At Eleos Counselling, we understand that seeking help for gaming addiction can feel daunting. Many people worry about being judged or told to simply “stop playing.” Instead, our approach is compassionate, thoughtful, and tailored to you as an individual.

We offer:

• Private, one-to-one therapy in a confidential setting

• A calm, non-judgemental approach to gaming addiction

• Support that looks at emotional wellbeing, not just behaviour

• Experience working with addiction-related patterns

• Therapists who are members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

Our work is guided by ethical standards and a strong focus on emotional safety. Whether gaming has become a recent concern or a long-standing pattern, therapy offers space to slow things down and make sense of what is happening.

Crisis and Immediate Support

If you are at immediate risk or experiencing severe distress:

• Call 999 in an emergency

• Contact your GP or local NHS urgent mental health service

• Call Samaritans on 116 123 (UK, free, 24/7)

Alcohol addiction counselling is not a substitute for emergency care but can form an important part of longer-term recovery and emotional stability.

Taking the First Step Toward Change

Acknowledging a problem with gaming does not mean failure. In fact, it often reflects insight, courage, and a desire for something better. Therapy offers a place to explore that desire at your own pace, without pressure or expectation.

If gaming or online gaming is beginning to affect your mental health, relationships, or sense of direction, professional therapy in West Sussex may help you reconnect with balance, purpose, and emotional wellbeing.

Related Support Options in West Sussex

If you’re exploring recovery from alcohol use, you may also find these pages helpful. Many people look into nearby support, such as alcohol addiction counselling in Petworth, alcohol support in Billingshurst, or options for online addiction therapy across West Sussex. If stress, trauma, or difficult life events contribute to your drinking, you may also want to read more about substance misuse counselling or trauma and PTSD therapy.

Frequently Asked Questions – Gaming Addiction Counselling at Eleos Counselling West Sussex

UK Agencies Supporting Online Gaming Addiction

NHS – Gaming Disorder Support

Official NHS information on gaming disorder, including recognised symptoms, risks, and routes to professional support.
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/addictions/behavioural-addictions/gaming-disorder/

This service provides NHS-recognised guidance for adults, young people, and families, with clear pathways for accessing support.

National Centre for Gaming Disorders (NHS)

A specialist NHS service dedicated to the assessment and treatment of gaming disorder in England.
https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/services/national-centre-gaming-disorders

The centre offers specialist treatment for children, young people, and adults through NHS referral pathways.

Mind – Mental Health Support

A leading UK mental health charity offering information and support for emotional wellbeing and addictive behaviours.
https://www.mind.org.uk/

Mind provides guidance on anxiety, low mood, stress, and related mental health difficulties that often sit alongside problematic gaming.

Samaritans – Emotional Support

Confidential, 24-hour emotional support for anyone feeling overwhelmed, distressed, or in crisis.
https://www.samaritans.org/
Telephone: 116 123

Samaritans offer immediate emotional support for people struggling to cope, including those affected by compulsive online behaviours.

UK Addiction Treatment (UKAT)

Information and guidance on behavioural addictions, including gaming and online addiction.
https://www.ukat.co.uk/addiction/behavioural/gaming/

This resource offers educational material and general guidance for individuals and families affected by gaming addiction.

NHS 111 – Urgent Mental Health Support

Access to urgent mental health advice and local crisis services through the NHS.
https://111.nhs.uk/

NHS 111 can provide guidance and signposting to local crisis teams when immediate mental health support is needed.

PAPYRUS – Hopeline247

Confidential support for children and young people experiencing distress or suicidal thoughts.
https://www.papyrus-uk.org/
Telephone: 0800 068 4141

PAPYRUS offers crisis support and suicide prevention services for people under 35.

CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)

Mental health support for men experiencing distress, isolation, or emotional overwhelm.
https://www.thecalmzone.net/

CALM provides helplines and online resources focused on men’s mental health.

Disclaimer
The organisations listed above are provided for information and signposting purposes only. Eleos Counselling is not affiliated with, nor responsible for, the content, availability, or services offered by external organisations. Inclusion on this page does not constitute an endorsement. If you are in immediate danger or crisis, please contact emergency services, your GP, or NHS urgent mental health services.