From gaming addiction to healthy gamer: Dr K's storyFrom gaming addiction to healthy gamer: Dr K's story
All In The Mind
Why is gaming addictive? How do you know if it's a problem? And what should parents do if they're worried about their kids' gaming habits? This week, psychiatrist and author Dr Alok Kanojia (Dr K) unpacks gaming addiction. Long before Dr K was the co-founder of Healthy Gamer, he had his own story of addiction — playing for 20 hours a day and failing out of uni. How did he turn his own struggles into a global online community supporting gamers? And what practical advice does he have for gamers (and the parents raising them) who want to find a balance? Guest: Dr Alok Kanojia (Dr K) Psychiatrist Author, How To Raise A Healthy Gamer Co-founder, Healthy Gamer Credits: Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar Senior producer: James Bullen Producer: Rose Kerr Sound engineer: Roi Huberman More information: Inside Perth's gaming addiction clinic — the first in a public hospital in Australia To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
29:36•31 Jul 2026
From 20-Hour Gaming Sessions to Healthy Gamer: Dr K’s Journey
Episode Overview
- Gaming becomes a problem when it interferes with school, work, relationships, or mental and physical health.
- Modern games are addictive because they artificially satisfy core psychological needs like mastery, connection and identity.
- Parents are urged to understand why their child plays and build real-world alternatives, rather than relying solely on strict limits.
- You can’t be sober on someone else’s behalf; lasting change needs the gamer’s own motivation and responsibility.
- Learning to tolerate boredom, described as dopamine withdrawal, is a key skill for reducing unhealthy gaming and screen use.
“"If it causes a problem, it is a problem."”
What drives someone to seek a life without being ruled by games? This episode follows psychiatrist and streamer Dr Alok Kanojia (better known as Dr K) as he talks through his journey from gaming obsession to building Healthy Gamer, a global community centred on tech and media addiction.
You’ll hear how he went from playing "16 to 20 hours a day" and failing out of college, fuelled by kilo tubs of fried rice, to spending months in an Indian ashram doing yoga and meditation for up to 12 hours a day. He explains that no one ever taught him "how I work" and that learning about desire and the mind from a yogic perspective reshaped his life and career.
Dr K breaks down why games are so gripping, linking fun to survival skills and explaining how modern titles satisfy deep psychological needs: mastery, connection, identity and challenge. For him, that meant feeling like "a loser in college" while simultaneously being one of the top 100 Warcraft 3 players in North America. That contrast, he says, is at the heart of why gaming can become addictive. Parents get plain-language guidance too. His rule of thumb?
"If it causes a problem, it is a problem". He warns that you "can’t be sober for someone else" and urges mums and dads to shift from restriction to restraint, understand what needs games are meeting, and help kids find real-world alternatives. There’s also practical advice for adults who recognise their own gaming has gone too far, including learning to tolerate boredom, which he calls "dopamine withdrawal".
Host Sana Kadar keeps the tone relaxed and curious, mixing humour with frank questions about kids, young men, grandparents glued to iPads, and the manosphere. If you’ve ever wondered whether gaming in your life is harmless fun or something more serious, this conversation might be the nudge to take a closer look.
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