I'll say it, I am SO bad at being productive. If I sit down in a room to write a paper and three hours later, I still won't have a title written. There are so many things that contribute to my inability to get work done, but I think what I never fail to get distracted by is "The Sims 4", which is always on my computer and ready to play. I played the previous "Sims" games too, but I had hard CD ROM copies of those and they weren't always convenient and ready to play.

With the fourth installment, the game I have is digital and literally always accessible. Because of this, I am ALWAYS able to play. But "The Sims" plagues my life in more ways than this, and I think it's time I come clean.

I've already made it clear that I have some serious focus issues, but I can't even stay concentrated while playing the game. I could spend hours making a family in Create-A-Sim and building a dream house, but as soon as I finish the creative process, I struggle to continue on with the game. I know that's supposed to be the fun part, but for some reason, I have like 50 families created but there are only three or four that I actually use in gameplay.

I do play, but I don't know if it's good for me. I have been known to disassociate ... constantly. I'm not really on top of my mental health and disassociation is my go-to coping mechanism. I know that's not great, and that's what worries me about "The Sims". I feel like I use the game as a quasi-surrogate for disassociation. I could play for hours without stopping and I really do get lost in that world.

Even though I know disassociating may not be in my best interest, I can't help but play. This game makes living a normal life so fun, and what more can I ask for from a video game? I'm entertained and it distracts me from the mundane day to day things. At the end of the day, I'll always be ready to sit down and play for an hour or two because no matter what, I'm addicted.