Where I have been for 5 years...

[Richard1979]

Some might find this interesting:
http://www.digit4l.net/2010/03/5-years-in-world-of-warcraft-a-gamers-journey/

Yeah, so that's my life for the last 5 years... :)

[RabbitWho]

Did you enjoy it?

[Richard1979]

Did you enjoy it?

I don't know, that's the problem.

[RabbitWho]

I think an addiction is anything you do when you don't want to.

For me computer games from solitaire and sonic all the way up are just a mind numbing exercise, because while you play them you don't think about anything else.

Fortunately all you have to do to break these addictions is give away your computer.
There are plenty of things you can do to numb your mind that are actually productive and will make your life better, like learning a skill of some kind (just think of it as leveling up), studying, cycling etc.

When my laptop is here there's nothing i can do to stop myself turning it on, there are many ways i'd prefer to spend my day off but this is always what I end up doing. But when i don't have it my life is awesome. I'm a study-bot
Still i actually do want it for one or two things (talking to my parents on skype) and because of those one or two things i spend all my free time on the damn thing.

[Richard1979]

I think an addiction is anything you do when you don't want to.

For me computer games from solitaire and sonic all the way up are just a mind numbing exercise, because while you play them you don't think about anything else.

Fortunately all you have to do to break these addictions is give away your computer.
There are plenty of things you can do to numb your mind that are actually productive and will make your life better, like learning a skill of some kind (just think of it as leveling up), studying, cycling etc.

When my laptop is here there's nothing i can do to stop myself turning it on, there are many ways i'd prefer to spend my day off but this is always what I end up doing. But when i don't have it my life is awesome. I'm a study-bot
Still i actually do want it for one or two things (talking to my parents on skype) and because of those one or two things i spend all my free time on the damn thing.

Well it's over now, I have my life back.
Blizzard-Activision can't be trusted... and I can't believe they are doing this.

[wilee-nilee]

5 years of acting like a 5 year old; why does anybody care.

[RevKeltina]

Being an addict (to anything) is a very hard life to live. The most important thing to know when wanting to change the habits and patterns of addictive behavior is to be aware of them. Something I had to do when I started recovery was to buy a manual counter and click off a number every time I thought about my desire to use. You would be amazed at the numbers you can reach doing that!

The trick to changing things is not, as some would have you believe, to find some other activity to replace it. That will only transfer the addiction to something else. The secret is to discover what it is inside you that is driving you to crave the satisfaction of what you are doing. Once you have discovered that, you can begin to alter the thought patterns you have learned that drive you toward your destructive habits.

While all this might sound simple, it is far from easy. I have been clean almost 20 years and still consider myself an addict. I am still working on those thought patterns and, even though my counter would have much smaller numbers on it these days, I would still be clicking it at least a few times every day.

[rottentree]

My opinion is that WoW and other MMOs are the dumbest games ever invented.
They give you a false impression of always achieving something while you pay for it and guess what? You don't achieve anything with it!
Seriously you could have used that time to work in a coal mine and it would have been a more stimulating experience both mentally and physically and you would have got cash from it.

Don't get me wrong I really like to play games too but MMOs are like drugs and they aren't even good. Yes the devs put a lot of effort into technical excellence but the game itself remains a hollow shell.


5 years of acting like a 5 year old; why does anybody care.

I don't know it must have something to do with being human and not being a robot.

[toupeiro]

Blame MMO's all you want, but if it wasn't MMO's it'd be something else. The problem isn't the MMO its the inability to control an addictive personality. I'm glad you finally got a hold of it, but it sounds like you're still blaming games for your problem, so to me it doesn't really sound like you've coped with that problem correctly. MILLIONS of people play wow, and maintain healthy relationships, careers, and have time to play with their children every day. WoW doesn't seem to consume them. I feel for what you went though, but accept responsibility for your actions. Blizzard didn't put WoW in your hands, and it certainly wasn't the first MMO on the block either. Games like everquest, and even non-MMO's like Diablo have revealed that people with addictive personalities are drawn to stuff like this. I've seen people in my own family very close to me battle with all sorts of addictions, and you have to conduct your entire life in a way to not let those addictions enter them. I dont care if it's drugs, alcohol, food, or gaming, it all manifests the same way if you struggle with addictions.

[Richard1979]

Blame MMO's all you want, but if it wasn't MMO's it'd be something else. The problem isn't the MMO its the inability to control an addictive personality. I'm glad you finally got a hold of it, but it sounds like you're still blaming games for your problem, so to me it doesn't really sound like you've coped with that problem correctly. MILLIONS of people play wow, and maintain healthy relationships, careers, and have time to play with their children every day. WoW doesn't seem to consume them. I feel for what you went though, but accept responsibility for your actions. Blizzard didn't put WoW in your hands, and it certainly wasn't the first MMO on the block either. Games like everquest, and even non-MMO's like Diablo have revealed that people with addictive personalities are drawn to stuff like this. I've seen people in my own family very close to me battle with all sorts of addictions, and you have to conduct your entire life in a way to not let those addictions enter them. I dont care if it's drugs, alcohol, food, or gaming, it all manifests the same way if you struggle with addictions.

I agree absolutely, but if somebody has nobody to turn to -- what then?
We've all experienced tragedy in our lives but do YOU have somebody to resolve it with?
Some of us aren't so lucky.... or don't have any family left to do it with.