I have learned something about myself this weekend. I seem to crave compliments and praise from people.

I was feeling depressed earlier today for no apparent reason until I booted up an online team based game that I'm really good at and do so well that I sometimes get complimented by people and ever since then, my mood has elevated from almost feeling like I wanted to cry to feeling cheery. The same thing happened to me yesterday; I was feeling overwhelmed with life and booted up my game to destress and I had some dude praise me about how amazing I am and it made my night.

It is because of this that I have a bit of a video game addiction. I'm not addicted to the games so much as the showers of praise and compliments from others when I do good and I take my game seriously and try to be the best player possible while putting thousands of hours in to be good at it just so people compliment me.

Can anybody else relate?

[Crazy Hitch]

Well, I definitely can't relate to the gaming.

But sure, it always feels good when I get a compliment, especially if I'm having a crappy day

[divine1966]

I think it's normal to crave praise. I do too.

Not in gaming though, I don't game.

[Shadix]

Sort of. I love getting noticed by women, especially if they are attractive. I suppose that counts.

[Patagonia]

Yes I can relate to part of this. I've realized that I love & need praise. I NEED attention....positive of course.
I'm starved for it as a woman.

And that realization had led me down a dark road, but that rush of someone noticing me & "seeing" me as a person....usually it's worth it.

The rush is addicting, yes? It's my prime motive for wanting to become a Twitch streamer rather than the money successful ones make.

I want people to fawn over me and idolize me and think I'm God's gift to gaming. Nothing else will do.

Gah I am sounding like a narcissist now haha

[Patagonia]

I'd say it is addicting & gives me self confidence. I realize I didn't get it as a kid so I have very young parts of me that crave that attention.

[Travelinglady]

Since I grew up in a critical environment, I probably crave compliments and praise a bit more than most people--of course, we all like it!

[s4ndm4n2006]

I think everyone likes praise and encouragement but not everyone may crave this or be "addicted" to it as you have alluded to here.

I cannot relate to it in the sense that I don't crave or need compliments all the time but I think that I can relate to it in the sense that there are times when I do crave or need it. it's just not something that I feel the need for all of the time, not in an extreme sense.

What I can say about it is that from my own experience, those times when I need it are when I feel low about myself or have done something I'm not entirely confident I did right or was successful in, so getting the encouragement from others or praise for a job well done helps to bring me back to the norm.

If you crave or are drawn to things like gaming as you said due to that, have you ever asked yourself why it is external praise and support is so important to you? It might be something to consider about your own view of yourself.

Originally Posted by s4ndm4n2006

I think everyone likes praise and encouragement but not everyone may crave this or be "addicted" to it as you have alluded to here.

I cannot relate to it in the sense that I don't crave or need compliments all the time but I think that I can relate to it in the sense that there are times when I do crave or need it. it's just not something that I feel the need for all of the time, not in an extreme sense.

What I can say about it is that from my own experience, those times when I need it are when I feel low about myself or have done something I'm not entirely confident I did right or was successful in, so getting the encouragement from others or praise for a job well done helps to bring me back to the norm.

If you crave or are drawn to things like gaming as you said due to that, have you ever asked yourself why it is external praise and support is so important to you? It might be something to consider about your own view of yourself.

It likely does stem from a combination of a lack of friends and family in my life and possibly my own securities, but who knows? It's not like I can afford a therapist at this time anyways and I'm done wasting energy on trying to learn about every little flaw and "issue" I have all on my own.

It seems to affect me even on PC particularly when I post on a thread and people thank other people but not me.

It affects all aspects of my life because when nobody pays attention to me but they pay attention to somebody else, I feel outright resentment and anger. I see the person who they pay all of the attention to as a rival and everybody who pays attention to them over me as having some type of vendetta towards me.

Heck, I'm kinda angry at you right now for thanking that person who made that abusive post towards me on that marriage thread and not me, but I'll get over it.

[s4ndm4n2006]

Originally Posted by DarknessIsMyFriend

It likely does stem from a combination of a lack of friends and family in my life and possibly my own securities, but who knows? It's not like I can afford a therapist at this time anyways and I'm done wasting energy on trying to learn about every little flaw and "issue" I have all on my own.

It seems to affect me even on PC particularly when I post on a thread and people thank other people but not me.

It affects all aspects of my life because when nobody pays attention to me but they pay attention to somebody else, I feel outright resentment and anger. I see the person who they pay all of the attention to as a rival and everybody who pays attention to them over me as having some type of vendetta towards me.

Heck, I'm kinda angry at you right now for thanking that person who made that abusive post towards me on that marriage thread and not me, but I'll get over it.

Well the positive thing here is that you're being self aware and whether or not you think you can do anything (assuming it bothered you) being aware and conscious of your tendencies whether positive or not is a good way to learn to cope and deal with things better or make changes if needed.

[s4ndm4n2006]

in response to your "anger" at me.. really I was agreeing with her point that certain trends happen in certain groups of people. Not necessarily agreeing or thanking her for saying anything that may have been meant as a jab at you so much as the point she was trying to make about trends. But sorry you took it that way.

No problem. I know from a logical standpoint that you have nothing against me but emotions have a funny way of depriving one of their sense of logic and reason haha

Originally Posted by DarknessIsMyFriend

I have learned something about myself this weekend. I seem to crave compliments and praise from people.

I was feeling depressed earlier today for no apparent reason until I booted up an online team based game that I'm really good at and do so well that I sometimes get complimented by people and ever since then, my mood has elevated from almost feeling like I wanted to cry to feeling cheery. The same thing happened to me yesterday; I was feeling overwhelmed with life and booted up my game to destress and I had some dude praise me about how amazing I am and it made my night.

It is because of this that I have a bit of a video game addiction. I'm not addicted to the games so much as the showers of praise and compliments from others when I do good and I take my game seriously and try to be the best player possible while putting thousands of hours in to be good at it just so people compliment me.

Can anybody else relate?

Some compliments are cheesy, like a "Well done" during work, or a "I'm proud of you" at home.
But there are richer compliments out there, such as my manager's after 2 months of working, which encouraged me... and also relieved me since I can get a little anxious about my performance.

Originally Posted by Vibrating Obsidian

Some compliments are cheesy, like a "Well done" during work, or a "I'm proud of you" at home.
But there are richer compliments out there, such as my manager's after 2 months of working, which encouraged me... and also relieved me since I can get a little anxious about my performance.

To be honest, it's really nice to hear you're getting such good compliments.

Thanks!

If there is one strength that I have it's that anything that I attempt no matter what it is, I put a lot of work into being as good at it as possible because I'm a perfectionist and being good at things gives my life meaning.

I put so much into wanting to be good at gaming because gaming was one of my primary ways of escaping abuse in my childhood and as a teen, the first dream that I ever had was to become a professional gamer; either to gain a sponsorship from one of these big gaming or computer hardware companies that give them out to promote their goods or a professional YouTuber that makes game videos for money.

Those goals drove me for awhile and are one of the reasons why I have put so much effort into being good at gaming other than my need for attention of course

[lotusblossom19]

Yeah. I wish I didn't to the extent that I do. Compliments are nice though and I think everyone needs them every now and then.