When to call in a pro
Respec is a program and a guild. It is real support, and it is not therapy. Some fights should not be taken on with community backup alone, and pretending otherwise would break the one rule this whole thing runs on: we're honest with you.
The four red flags
If any of these is true, bring in a professional. Not instead of the community. Alongside it.
Thoughts of harming yourself
Passing dark thoughts, a plan, or anything in between. This is above the community's pay grade, and it outranks everything else on this page.
You can't function
Work, school, eating, sleep, or basic care of yourself is falling apart, and pulling it back isn't working.
Withdrawal that frightens you
Restless and irritable for a couple of weeks is the documented, normal dip. Panic, rage, or despair that scares you is not. Trust that instinct.
You're swapping the coping
Drinking more since you stopped playing. New substances, gambling, anything else filling the exact same slot. The pattern is the tell.
Who to call, today, for free
Call or text 988. 24/7, free, confidential. For the first red flag, start here, now.
1-800-662-4357. 24/7, free, confidential. Treatment referral and information for mental health and substance-use struggles, gaming included.
findahelpline.comlists free, verified crisis lines for over 130 countries.
What to actually say
Booking the first appointment is the boss fight, so here's the script. Call a therapist's office, or your doctor, and read this out loud:
"Hi, I'm looking for help with compulsive gaming. It's affecting my daily life and I'd like to talk to someone who works with behavioral or internet-related problems. Are you taking new clients?"
That's the whole thing. If they're not the right fit, they'll point you to someone who is. Therapists hear this more often than you'd guess, and nobody on the other end of that phone thinks less of you.
Calling in support is a power move. It's what people who win long campaigns do. The guild will still be here, cheering, the whole way through.