Video Game Addiction Support Group

Hey,
I just forced myself to realise that the hours id sit there farming to earn some great thing or money or whatnot was actually me just changing a few bytes of data on some corperate machine.

Just give your account to the guild and say you are taking a break for a few months, you shouldnt need to feel compelled to return because of the time spent.

It might help to make sure you dont pay in the account so you actually cant re login for a while.

Re assure yourself you are doing the right thing by not playing and if it helps feel smug about it :P

Good luck :)

Your story reminds me alot of myself during my younger days. With me it started with Asheron's Calls but my addiction did eventually transcend into WoW up until a year ago when I finally got rid of my account.

I ended up joining the military. Bootcamp put things into perspective for me for a brief moment. I came back home motivated and in good physical shape, but it wasn't too long before gaming got ahold of me and it was back to square one.

I think what finally woke me up out my gaming spell was a sudden realization of my age. I spent most of my teens and early twenties playing video games. I am approaching my thirties and I have realised that I havent done jack squat with my life. This year was a huge turning point in my life, I have quit gaming, have lost weight, quit smoking, etc. My New Years resoltuion was basically to live a more productive, healthy life and so far I think I've been doing a good job of it.

If you're really serious about quitting WoW, the first thing you should do is set small goals for yourself. I know cancelling your account seems dowright impossible right now but if you set small goals for yourself and take things one step mat a time anyone can do it.

The first thing you should do is start selling or giving away some of your less important equipment. Then next week some of your gold. Then start informing your friends and guild members that you're thinking about quitting. Stay at this pace until eventually everything is gone. Once you've said your goodbyes, delete your character and cancel your account.

I know it sounds painful but think about it this way: In 5-10 years, WoW will be like Super Mario Bros. compared to the new games that will have come out. The people you're playing with now will have moved onto better and brighter things. You may be a celebrity on your server now but the honest truth is that no one will even remember your name in a few years. And all you will have to show for all of that wasted time and energy is bad grades and no friends.

To be frank, at 14 years old you are too young to be throwing your life away to video games and I feel that your parents may contributing to your problem if they are the ones paying for your account. (If they aren't my fault for assuming).

Anyways, take into account what I said. If your guild mates are really your friends they will more than understand your decision to leave the game. And if they don't then those aren't the kind of friends you would want to begin with. Good luck and keep me informed on how things go, if you need any more advice don't hesitate to ask.

I played WoW for almost a year. What I ended up doing was enrolling back in college. Eventually, I HAD to quit WoW.

I agree with setting small goals for yourself to eventually pull away. Having been off WoW for two years, it's not an easy road. You're gonna feel withdrawal; you may even relapse. You need to find and create distractions. I know it'll be hard to do if you dont have tons of friends or you live in an area where nothing happens.

I knew a hardcore raider who quit; he raided even harder than I did. He gave away his gold, and, after disenchanting his goods, he foulmouthed everyone he hated ingame and got himself permanently banned. Now he's back in shape and back to civil engineering and designing.

It was when he quit that made me realize I needed to quit. At the time, I didn't know about communities like this. He was my only nudge to look at my own problem.

It's gonna hurt the first few months. And when it does, you just keep coming back here. If you have the means to see a doctor, please do so. The withdrawal will get serious. But once it's over, you'll not want to go back.

Well, I went ahead and sold my account last weekend.

So far, the withdrawals are not as bad as they were - but they are still pretty unpleasant. Although I am readjusting to real life and now attending all my classes and working hard in school again, it's hard not to miss my "cool" persona online. Sometimes I wonder if I would have relapsed if I hadn't sold the account, but that's neither here nor there. I used the money to buy myself a couple treats (well, a coffee gift card and a new pair of jeans), and used the rest to pay off some credit card debt which makes me feel fairly productive.

There are definitely moments when I feel like I have lost something, even though rationally, I know that this will only be for the best. The one recurring thought, I think, is basically that I screwed up so badly playing wow, that im not confident I can get my GPA up in this last semester...its my last year in a pretty competitive program, so its a pretty difficult hardcore struggle - and doesnt really leave me time to be emo, exactly.

oh well, baby steps. i think the emo has been under control mostly because i havent been drinking a whole lot - when i played wow, i would 5-ish days a week (about half a bottle-to a bottle)

I know your pain, honestly, and all I have to say is congrats. I gave mine away, and my friend already transfered my pally. I felt like I let down everyone, no one understood how bad it hurt, and how bad everything felt. The emoness will pass hopefully. I devote alot of time now to guitar running, and reading. You will find another thing. But one thing I did notice is that your right, I was in a guild that was just getting to SSC you just dont feel as important in the world as you do when everyone goes to you for your help. Oh well this pain to hopefully will pass.

In reply to calus. Yes you say delete the char and account but why?
Then you really have wasted however long it took you to grind for that gear, to level to that level and to do all the instances and raids and PvP. It's a waste of money, of your life. Why?
I say dont quit i say cut down. Just let yourself play for a few hours every few days.Why quit something u like. Just cut down.
Sorry just my opnion

I say quit because as convinient and as comforting as cutting back and playing less sounds, it just isn't enough. I used to play WoW religiously, sometimes devoting as much as 14 hours a day to the game. Every time I promised myself I would play less I found myself back at square one. So long as you keep your account active the prospect of going back and kick-starting your old habits will always be there.

Spending 8+ hours a day playing a video is a waste of life and money in itself, if you really want to get better you're best hope for beating the addiction is to completely cut it from your life. If you look at all of the other types of addictions you will notice that in their recovery plans they all preach total abstinence from the whatever they are addicted to. So long as the source of the addiction is present in your life the addiction will never go away. That is why telling a die-hard gamer to play less is like telling someone to use a little less gasoline to put out the fire.
I could have told Amy to just cut back and play less, but she's clearly fed up with the game and she already stated she wanted to learn how to stop, so what else would you rather have do besides show her how?

Cutting back may work for some people out there. Hell, I know of a few people who've manage to play less and live a relatively balanced life. But then again, those people aren't coming here desperately seeking help.

My boyfriend has tried quiting in the past, and still hasn't. I didn't realize the extent of his problem, because we weren't together when he was obsessed (50-60) hours a week. He told me he stopped playing the game, and I stupidly believed him. I just found out yesterday that he quit for a month when we met, and has been playing ever since, secretly. I have seen him delete WOW from his computer, he gave his burning crusades cds away, he told me his mother changed his password... I don't know HOW he kept playing, but he found a way. He's 23, has no job, lives at home and went from a 3.8 to failing out of school. He doesn't have an associates degree yet.

I have my vices, I am addicted to my own things, and for me cold turkey is the only way to go. Obviously, for him, it did not work. Everyone is different, but I will tell you the same thing I told him.

Real life is hard. WoW, is hard. You need to spend time, money, dedication, energy and patience playing WoW... the only different between that imaginary world and the real world, are the rewards. In Wow you can say "If I do this, I get that." and if you don't want 'that', you don't have to do 'this'. You see instant gratification. Life is just a slow version of WoW. There's more waiting, a little more patience... but it's JUST as rewarding. Instead of seeing your character progress in the matter of weeks, in life you see yourself, your life, progress in the matter of years.

I don't know what it's like to be addicted to the game, but I know what it's like on the other end. Seeing someone with great potential fail to achieve it because of what? Don't trade in your real life for a game. You get ONE life, it's given to you for a reason. Whether you realize it or not, WoW has taught you so much. Patience, dedication, hardwork, the value of friendship. Take what you have learned, and apply it to your life.

Don't waste your life. Don't sell yourself short. Don't give up. If you need someone to talk to message me. I will give you my AIM name, I will give you my email. If you want to play, IM me. We can talk. This is a support group, and I'm here to support you. You CAN do it. I really believe you can.