How do I get rid of a gaming addiction?

[Michael]

I am 13, and a gamer. Like most boys; however, I have a bit of a problem. Just to put this in to perspective I will describe my current situation/lifestyle: I get up and do last nights homework, eat, go to school, get home and play for the rest of the night (school day). Weekends: Get up, play for about 6 hours, eat, then play until 1-4 in the morning. I know, it is terrible, but its the truth. I have at least come to the conclusion that I am addicted, but I need to know how to solve it. Sorry if his sounds rude, but I don't want the usual answers like reduce time and put a timer on it. I have already taken many precautions to help me rid of this.( Uninstalled all games from my computer except for three, I don't want to full out quit, I still like doing it, it just is controlling my life at the moment; I am selling my Xbox as it is just a waste of money at the moment, and later down the road I might have to sell my gaming computer and get just a normal laptop to quench the urges or at least make me unable to act upon them). I do pretty well in school. I am taking two advanced classes( math and french, because those are the only ones offered in my school). But I have noticed my grades have slipped a point or two, I still have a 4.0 GPA, but that is basically all I have at the moment, because all of my "achievements" have been in the virtual world. Plus, my family doesn't know me, and I don't know my family because of the gaming. It is like talking to a stranger every day, with 2 second conversations that start and end with hello. Basically, the questions I need answered are:

1. How do I stop being addicted to gaming but still game, as I like it as a hobby, but it is controlling my life at the moment

2. How do I become social again? I have lost all of my knowledge with communicating with other people in the flesh, when it isn't gaming related, I usually don't join the conversation. I don't want to be like that. I am a huge computer nerd, I build computers, want to become a PC repairman/builder, and those are my interests. (I forgot to mention that I do fighting; going to karate tournaments and sparring)

3. How do I avoid becoming addicted again if I can ever become a non-addict?


Huge thanks to anyone that takes the time to read this and save a kids future/life