Every month a local Fort Bragg group called “Army Wives Marriage Recovery” meets to discuss tips for having a successful military marriage. Every so often I attend to observe and listen and share my experiences as a mil spouse and gather valuable tips to share with you guys. One of the topics of discussion was soldiers who come home from work and are glued to their videos games. It was something that so many of us had in common. Upon further discussion we realized that there is a very big segment of military members who are big time gamers.
On first thought it may seem that your significant other is just really more into the video games than you. He comes home from work, and in some cases doesn’t take a leak before he hops on the PS4 or the Xbox without so much as removing his uniform. He sits on it for hours without talking to you or muttering “uhuhs” to your questions in which he probably isn’t listening. While you may not always be able to get him to put down the controller, understanding why your husband plays his games so much is the first step to creating a solution to lessen his time on the gaming system.
1. Stress of Work
There is no doubt that there are some who just game because they just love it! However as I mentioned within the military community this gaming thing seems to be a big issue and the number one reason why is STRESS. According to military personnel it’s not just deployments that cause stress. The daily pressures of being in the military and the incompetency of personnel in some units can make for an unfavorable work environment. Gaming is an outlet for them is an outlet and how they relieve some of their stress.
2. Control
It doesn’t sound so cool when we say it but the truth of the matter is ” military are Uncle Sam’s property”. As the military spouse we may refuse to see that, but the soldier knows that. In a weird way gaming is one of the few things that they can control in their lives. They can control the outcome of the game.
3. Mama Said Knock You Out
While we don’t condone violence, there are times where the guys get a bit rowled up. If you see them going in a little hard on that Assassin’s Creed or Call Of Duty- keep in mind that game may be saving someone from a punch in the face.
4. Game Stop At Your Fingertips
Go to any major military installations PX (speaking for the Army) and you will find a Game Stop. Our guys have no shortage of options to play video games.
5. Interaction With Other Military Personnel
Lastly other soldiers like to play games with other soldiers online. Playing online with some of their colleagues is a great way ( in their eyes) to interact with each other outside of the work environment.
While these aren’t exactly solutions to getting them to put down the controller, understanding is half the battle.
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Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.