Gamer addiction patient says he "peed in a bottle" [update1]

by Blake Snow { Jul 27th 2006 at 2:00PM }

Though the Dutch gamer anonymous clinic has been booked like a mug, more disturbing is one gamer's story of how he barely left his room in over five years due to gameritis: "My room was a mess... Curtains drawn, pizza boxes, empty bottles and junk food wrappers everywhere... I didn't even get up to use the bathroom but peed in a bottle while I kept playing."

Hardcore or not, peeing in a bottle while playing "computer games" is probably a good indication you should check into a clinic. In all seriousness, though, props to the man for seeking help.

[Update 1: Changed to less offensive (less funny) peeing in a bottle pic. Bad judgment on my part. Sorry folks!]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jody Anthony @ Jul 27th 2006 2:05PM

hey blake, some people read joystiq from work you know.

Nin10dude @ Jul 27th 2006 2:06PM

Mind changing the picture? Stuff like that isn't what I typically use the internet for.

Christian aka nsomneia @ Jul 27th 2006 2:06PM

i agree with jody anthony .. . that picture .. .

haha .. .

wow .. .

Jody Anthony @ Jul 27th 2006 2:09PM

don't get me wrong, it's hilarious. i just dont wanna get fired, heh.

although if i was afraid if that I guess I should stop going on joystiq and the like from work anyway, heh.

Sub @ Jul 27th 2006 2:10PM

Yeah, I agree.. You guys should change the picture.

Anyway, about the story.. Just wow.

Jay @ Jul 27th 2006 2:10PM

Personally, considering the international crisis of lack of potable water, this man is doing a great service saving up his "pee" to flush at a later date. Highly commendable.

All joking aside, any addiction is scary ...

cringer8 @ Jul 27th 2006 2:12PM

Oh...my...God.

You people with your "not safe for work" bullshit again. Stop using the computer for personal shit at work. They SHOULD fire your lazy ass. If you're on break, then who the hell cares what you're doing? It's not like the lady in the picture is sucking on the kid's penis. Get over yourselves.

*Back on Topic*

I know way too many guys that have done the same thing. Quite obsessive if you ask me. Being prone to addiction is no joke. These people need help.

C. Grant @ Jul 27th 2006 2:12PM

Aww, c'mon! That doesn't count as wrong, tell your boss I said so. Looks like this lady's doing it in the mall ... which is weird. I mean, I've seen breast feeding, but bottle peeing. In the mall?

Eric @ Jul 27th 2006 2:13PM

Wow, Blake, TELL me that's your baby picture! :P

cringer8 @ Jul 27th 2006 2:14PM

You shouldn't apologize, Blake.

Who knew that kindegarten teachers were surfing your site during school?

Lame bastards ruining anything funny for everyone else.

Daniel M. @ Jul 27th 2006 2:14PM

cringer8: you obviously don't have an office-type job.

student @ Jul 27th 2006 2:15PM

Hah, I've come close to doing that when playing Civ 4 online but I've never actually done it. I guess the man's truly addicted :).

cringer8 @ Jul 27th 2006 2:16PM

No, Daniel, I'm a Real Estate agent. I mainly work on the go. But when I'm in the office, I don't visit Joystiq. I keep my internet usage strictly professional.

Strike Man @ Jul 27th 2006 2:19PM

@ #11:

Many of us do. While we are at our "office-type job," we work. When we arrive back at our domiciles, we can spend as much time as we'd like on the internet, reading up on the latest gaming news.

The number of Jeff Spicolis in this world sometimes amaze me.

DG @ Jul 27th 2006 2:19PM

Oh cringer, you chump. Whatever.

How does one even find such a picture? Careful the FBI doesn't call you up!

32_Footsteps @ Jul 27th 2006 2:23PM

I'm trying to figure out what it says that this isn't the first time I've heard a story about someone so addicted to games that they've relieved themselves in bottles. Of course, the first such story I heard about involved a table-top role-player. Take that for what you will.

BklynKid @ Jul 27th 2006 2:24PM

I'll pee in a bottle if the bathroom is in use by one of those pesky roommate people.

Jody Anthony @ Jul 27th 2006 2:32PM

i've peed in a bottle while sitting in traffic.

cringer8 @ Jul 27th 2006 2:34PM

Well, he DID admit to having "empty bottles" around, so I guess peeing in bottles wasn't the ONLY way he was "going." But it seems to me that you would need two hands to use the bottle technique, so it's not like he was able to control his character during the act.

Sounds like piss poor planning on his part.

As for the messy room; I don't think he can blame the game addiction ALONE for that problem. How many 16-22 year-old males have messy rooms?

I wonder what kind of "treatment" goes on in these clinics that are attracting so many gamers...

Scott @ Jul 27th 2006 2:36PM

I've peed in a bottle in the middle of the Arizona Desert.

zero2dash @ Jul 27th 2006 2:37PM

Peeing in a bottle to avoid getting up while playing a game? That's not cool.

Quitting a job because I didn't want to stop playing X-Men vs. Street Fighter (import Saturn)? Now that's cool.

Tiago @ Jul 27th 2006 2:37PM

I didn't see the first image :(

BIG REUB @ Jul 27th 2006 2:38PM

What happed to the origional more offensive picture? What was it? I have a private office so I'm not too worried about it but I do take a break to do actual work and low and behold...I missed the good stuff!

Strike Man @ Jul 27th 2006 2:44PM

@ 21/22:

It was a cropped picture that's been randomly floating around the internet and various forums for a while. It's the one of the little kid peeing into a bottle being held by his mother, at the middle of some Asian car expo.

Daniel M. @ Jul 27th 2006 2:47PM

cringer: good for you, working on the go. I'll bet that's a lot less boring than sitting in front of a computer all day. Don't get your panties in a bunch over a stupid picture, it doesn't really make this story any less funny.

@14: so, I guess you're posting from your "domicile" then (quite verbose of you, BTW). Must be your day off, eh ;)

to both of you: lighten up a little. My original point was that probably MOST people w/ boring office jobs use the internet for personal stuff at least a little during their workday. It's not hurting anyone if i've got a few minutes to spare and want to check out this site.

back on topic, I've peed in bottles in the middle of a crowd at a concert before. It's nearly impossible making your way to the bathroom + back when you're standing near the front of the crowd at a show!

geehal @ Jul 27th 2006 2:51PM

I saw it and didn't think it was NSFW but some people did. Cropped version of this photo:

http://www.funfry.com/data/507/medium/car_show_kid_pee_in_bottle_funny_picture_funfry_resize.jpg

Hey joystiq editors, could you just link to the original photos with a NSFW tag next time there's complaints? I'm always dying to see the original and then if I do I wonder what the big deal was.

KawF @ Jul 27th 2006 3:16PM

Oh lord, here we go again... insanity. [Regarding the picture....]

Babylonian @ Jul 27th 2006 3:19PM

Am I the only one who's actually also done that before? :[

hamilton @ Jul 27th 2006 3:33PM

The proclamations of those in the so called 'developed world' never cease to amaze me. I dont want to hear about what you can and cant' do in your 'job' or at your 'workplace'.
It often seems to me that people seem to think office work is some kind of honorable calling - wake up suckers.
Just because an individual refuses to follow the corporate line does not make them a 'Spicoli' or 'Slacker'.
Some of us actually get 'paid' for our creative endevours.
And by the way, what's so damn wrong with peeing in a bottle?
Better than 'in a discreet corner'. heh

Lobster @ Jul 27th 2006 3:50PM

I think it's great how lazy middle schoolers and high schoolers feel entitled to tell us grown ups to stop surfing their site and get back to work. Any of you kiddies ever hold a job where you didn't have your name on your shirt?

JPRacer @ Jul 27th 2006 3:56PM

He is not that hardcore. You have to remove your hands from the keyboard/mouse to pee in a bottle. A true hardcore gamer would have use a catheter and a bag.

Ren� Kneyber @ Jul 27th 2006 4:01PM

Didn't I post this as a comment on the early addiction thing?!?! Gimme my acknowledgements you bastards!!!

Strike Man @ Jul 27th 2006 4:09PM

@ #28
"Some of us actually get 'paid' for our creative endevours."

More power to you and everyone else who are in such a position. In fact, that's the type of workplace environment that I try to promote amongst my employees. I’ve found the majority of them (not all, but many) have become more productive once the bondage of corporate culture has been shed.

"I dont want to hear about what you can and cant' do in your 'job' or at your 'workplace'."

Funny though...in most places of employment there is a character who I will call a "boss." A boss most certainly DOES care about what you "can and can't do" while you're on company time and using company resources. And unlike other bosses, you can’t simply get rid of their presence by simply flipping them over and attacking their weak spot for massive damage.

The point is, if you’re browsing the internet for fun while at your job, and are in a working environment that doesn’t mind such activities, there is no problem. The problem I have stems from those who see something which may be considered NSFW, and come back with “HAY GUYZ WATZ WIT THE PICTAR U C I’M @ WORK AN THATS NOT RITE.” To me, it’s obvious that someone claiming that is not in a work environment that promotes or even accepts such activities. It’s certainly much easier for them to be “caught” when such a picture is on the screen instead of a bunch of text which may or may not be work-related

And for a point of reference, I’ve done a little slacking off in that department in the past. Wolfenstein 3-D had a handy feature that allowed you to instantly switch from the current game to a DOS-like screen. It came in handy once or twice when some mid-level managers would poke their heads in unannounced. My actual boss/mentor was less strict when it came to such things, as his only question after seeing the fake DOS prompt was whether or not I had found all of the secrets on that level. However, if I were ever caught by a boss that disapproved of such activities and was fired for it, I’d have no right to complain.

Of course, the views and opinions that I express are my own and you may feel free to disagree or disregard them to your heart’s content.

Zo� K. @ Jul 27th 2006 4:14PM

Bottle? Pfft.

I peed in my canteen in boot camp when they wouldn't let us use the head. Better than peeing in my utility pants.

Well, it was better, anyway, until this other recruit ratted on me to the division commander... who then made me drink from the canteen.

Good times.

Zo� K. @ Jul 27th 2006 4:28PM

By the by, I won't contribute too much to this "NSFW" thing seeing as how I've already said my piece on it in the past (in a post showcasing the REZ vibrator picture).

What I will say, though, is may we just pray that one of those "NSFW" whiners got a good verbal lashing (and a few days off work) from their superior when they caught them looking at what was most obviously child porn. Right? That is what we were implying, no? Little kid peeing in a bottle? MUST be vulgar.

What a bunch of cocksmiths.

Ichidou @ Jul 27th 2006 4:33PM

"Well, it was better, anyway, until this other recruit ratted on me to the division commander... who then made me drink from the canteen."

...hold a tick there... as in, drink the URINE from the canteen? or wash it out and drink any other beverage?

Darkwarder @ Jul 27th 2006 4:52PM

learn2saybrb_bio u nub

Wrappers littering the floors-check. Empty pizza boxes-check. Zomg I have gameritis (except I have a job and the part about peeing in bottles).

Pencil $havings @ Jul 27th 2006 4:53PM

Pee?

EvilBit @ Jul 27th 2006 4:57PM

"The problem I have stems from those who see something which may be considered NSFW, and come back with “HAY GUYZ WATZ WIT THE PICTAR U C I’M @ WORK AN THATS NOT RITE.” To me, it’s obvious that someone claiming that is not in a work environment that promotes or even accepts such activities."

Actually, I'd say there's a standard of work-safety to which Joystiq adheres for the sake of those who DO work in an environment that accepts some amount of leisure browsing. There's a difference between a groovy boss walking by and seeing you read about video games and a groovy boss walking by and seeing you looking at something that might be considered inappropriate, illegal, offensive, or explicit. Few bosses are groovy enough to let the latter scenario fly, but those with bosses cool enough to accept the former expect Joystiq to remain within those limits.

Zo� K. @ Jul 27th 2006 4:58PM

Awww... you just had to ruin the work of the imagination by asking.

Actually, there was a little urine in there, but, it was from days before. I hadn't been drinking out of it because it began to really, really stink (even after I rinsed it out with soapy water... which was all I had access to).

Our RDC (recruit division commander) made me stand in front of the division when he found out, with a full canteen of pissy water, and drink. Then he had me go refill the canteen three more times and do it again and again. All of this while the little rat recruit stood about seven feet away, smirking... the little shit. I shrugged it off initially. It was like, meh, it's gross, but it's not that bad.

I realized later why he did it. About an half an hour later, I really, really had to go. I requested to use the head, yet he refused. I ended up making a puddle right there where I stood, in front of everyone. Never did get the smell out of those boots.

Like I said, good times. ^_^

epobirs @ Jul 27th 2006 5:51PM

Hmm, I think gaming while performing eliminatory functions was why we had handhelds and and laptop machines.

This begins to suggest that the real psychosis isn't so much game addition but agoraphobia with games and internet connections serving as enablers.

This has become something of a major social concern that has earned itself a name: hikikomori.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/13/news/shutins.php

K1ller 1nst1nct @ Jul 27th 2006 7:08PM

Wow thats crazy hardcore. Wonder if he used a bed-pan if he needed to take a dump.

the deaf guy @ Jul 27th 2006 8:28PM

*sigh* I don't see why people are getting into a hissy fit about NSFW pics.. because I do know that joystiq has posted other NSFW pics in the past. so coming to this site you can't just assume there isn't gonna be anymore NSFW pics. If you get busted at work for it, its pretty much your own fault for deciding to check joystiq while at work. You don't gotta bust Blake's balls for this.

As for the story.. yea addiction isn't funny, and peeing in a bottle is nuts i'm glad the dude went to get help.

Daniel M. @ Jul 28th 2006 3:14PM

@43 (the deaf guy):

According to a statistic I just pulled out of my ass, if it ever got to the point where office workers decided Joystiq was a NSFW site, the readership of this blog would probably drop by 50%.

Joystiq needs to be trying to cater to a wide audience (the nintendo of game blogs?) Just because some nerds get their panties in a bunch when they want to see a "risky" picture (which has been posted a million times all over the net), doesn't mean Joystiq should cater to that small niche of nerds.

It's a business too, y'know.