What is Video Game Addiction
Game addiction is a form of psychological addiction related to a compulsive use of computer and video games, most notably MMORPGs - open ended, online video games known for their d...
Join Now
|
WoW is..Destroying me
|
Watch this |
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hello, I am Quiency, I am a 16 year old boy from Missouri..
This all started back in 07, around two weeks before my 14th birthday. I picked up a trial account for World of warcraft, I really enjoyed it even though I received limited features. After sometime playing, a friend helped me out and upgraded my account as a birthday present, and from there my life began to break apart. WoW has some kind of grip on me..I can't stop playing it, my school attendance has crumbled..I have a DJO now, and it's effecting the people around me. Now i see the problem, that i am a addict, but when it comes to actually facing the problem, its very hard, I just think "well an extra hour wont hurt.." but it does, I made my mother cry the other day..i yelled at her when she was asking me a question and i was doing something very important in a battleground. It really tore me up on the inside and which is why i am seeking help, my life.. my social life everything around me is going into the deep dark abyss. What have i done to deserve this? My father and i used to get along great...but now we argue alot, mainly because of WoW. I've caught myself insulting him, or Putting my guards up to him, which is highly disrespectful, but its all out of rage, i just couldnt control myself. I recently took a small break from WoW, my attendance was up, mainly because i did not have the resources to actually play. But around the time i actually began to get internet again, i immediately began to play again, and now i am in the same problem, I feel now that its too late, ive lost too many credits in highschool, i think i will be forced to drop out.. and there will be no other path to take, i will be alone in the world, poor , and the only last path is to suicide. i can see it, i think of it every day and my only light's beacon from it is WoW, because there i am shielded from all sorrow, atleast till i log off and have to face the problems of everyday life.. Posted on 02/20/09, 03:02 pm |
| 8 Replies | Add Your Advice |
| View More Posts Ignore |
Please read this... I too considered suicide more than once... Life does change in ways you never expected... trust yourself that you can find a way out... If you're that good at games (I was too) you're good at problem solving... You can use that in different ways... other than computer games... I promise.. there's a whole world that can use your problem solving. Trust yourself... know you can have a good and interesting life especially considering the skills you have. The games for me allowed me escape..too... now, I write in journals here and am grateful I have these skills to become very very good at other tasks besides games. You may look into ADHD because the games are particularly addicting for those of us who have it... We don't have to struggle with the daily tasks of remembering things.
Take care... know I care and there are many others too who'll support you. Sandy 
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hey Quiency,
How are you? I've been thinking about you.. hope you feel better about yourself. Use DS to avoid other things... that's what I do... and the difference is... when you leave the computer... you've communicated... maybe put some problems in perspective after reading about people just like you... have more realistic point of view... and even some humor about the situation.. mary popins.... --but true. To quit, I've done all sorts of things .. timers (mostly don't work)....number of games..(once is too many, 1000 not enough--AA) etc.. But addiction is addiction... And quitting means --- get support, find a healthy substitute, morn for your loss..cause it hurts, and TRUST YOURSELF THAT YOU HAVE THE SMARTS AND RESOURCES TO GET OUT OF IT...USE YOUR ABILITY TO PLAY GAMES FOR SOMETHING WAITING FOR YOU IN THE WORLD. That wonderful mental and emotional absorption will be there when you find something else... you're not losing that.. Game designers are the cigarette people....your addiction = their money... You take care, kiddo...I'm a grandmother... I know your life can get better ... it did for me. Hugs. Sandy
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Quiency, its not too late, believe me.
Believe it or not, you're lucky, because you've been brave enough and honest enough with yourself to recognize how serious the problem is when you have so much of your life ahead of you. I'm 41, and I don't even want to think about how much of my life I've lost to the kind of game addiction you describe (though the exact game may be different). If you think you feel bad now, about the way its affected your relationship with your parents, imagine how you would feel if you felt like you'd pushed the woman you love to the very edge of divorcing you. Coming here is a great first step - but as hard as it will be I recommend also talking to your parents and setting up counseling. As far as the suicidal thoughts, and depression in general - its things like that which cause a person to become addicted to something in the first place. We have this inner pain that we're trying to find a way to escape. Thats why some people can play an MMO heavily for six months, and then just walk away from it without any compulsion. You have to address the need thats driven you to seek escape in the game, or you're likely to just replace it with something else if you are able to quit. Thats where the counseling comes in. And on that note, Sankirk, it was interesting to me that you mentioned ADHD. My therapist suggested to me just a few days ago that I might be ADD, and that both depression and addiction are common among those with the disorder.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
first off, never get it stuck in your head that you'll be forced to drop out. no one is forced to drop out of school. simply take up some summer school, and repeat your senior year as many times as you need to, to accomplish graduation.
try to stay forward focused, and thinking about your future. it'll do alot for you. you already took the first step and identified the problem of wow addiction, so good job on that.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hi Quiency. I am 20 years old and i just joined this group because video gaming has affected my ability to get work done and study in college. Playing video games is not a way for me to escape, but a way for me to fulfill my ambition. I am great at sports and other activities, but i just play video games too much. If you'd like, we could quit playing video games and get back on track with life together (by commenting on each other's journal regularly). Suicide is not an option.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hi Quiency. I joined this group just so I could reply to your post. I have been playing WoW since open beta, and a few years ago I lost a good government job in part because of WoW. I left work early many times to go home and play the game, and my absences eventually cost me the job. I missed work for other reasons too, not just WoW, but WoW was a big part of it. I'm working again and I've learned my lesson, WoW is now in its proper place in my priorities, behind my husband, my family, my job.... You can overcome this. You seem to be very smart. Do not drop out, or if you already have, go back to school. It's NEVER too late to finish your education. You might have someone set limits on your game play from within the game, so that you can play only at certain times and only for a certain length of time. It's parental controls, but it might help. That person might have to set the password on the WoW account and then log you in when you play, but it'd control the amount of time you could play. Don't give up, please.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hi Quiency,
There is a great website called WoWDetox.com, people post their stories about wow/gaming addiction there and they say it has helped them. They have over 40,000 posts on there (as of today). I know it's helped me :) Also, a little tip... if you sign up on their email newsletter thing, it shows you how to search the site for any kind of phrase/issue. I am not that great at explaining how it works, but I know I can find basically what i am looking for with it. Good luck, and i hope my advice helps you!
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
|
|
|
|
||
| Add Your Advice |
