A gaming addiction is good, or at least it was for me.

[Deleted]

Hey guys, all of the following events are based on my real life, and I'd like you to respect it the way I respect you. I might have made some mistakes here and there, for example my english is not perfect and not all the dates are exactly correct but I think I got most of it right. Enjoy reading!

I create my character, it's 2008 or 2009, this great world is ahead of me, undiscovered, full of adventure and lots of friends I'll meet during my journey to level 70. I did not know about expansion packs, neither did I know about wrath of the lich king releasing about 1 or 2 weeks later after I created my character. I leveled it all the way up to level 8, god what an achievement was that for a noob that barely had the time to play!

But no, things started to get worse in real life, as the rebel 15 year old teenager I was I got addicted to drugs... wrong friends, being a tough guy... all just lame excuses. I said yes to trying it and after a couple of times, maybe more than just a couple I got addicted. My mother was known to be abusive towards me and my younger brother, and one night she just threw us out with no clothes, no money nothing... we went to my grandparents. They knew nothing about my drug addiction, and I started using it more often. My entire life was about drugs, we were no longer friends with a tough attitude... we were idiots addicted to drugs, people who get spit out by the majority. No help at all, that's when my dad came back in our lives. He was worried about me, he knew something was wrong and we moved to another city so I would stop seeing the people who used it too. It didn't work at first, he tried finding other things for me to do. He did everything he could, until one day he bought me gametime for wow again as a Christmas present!

I started playing again, just as excited as I was the first time I created my character, my beloved blood elf paladin. Only level 8 so I had yet so much to discover. I started forgetting about the drugs and got slowly but surely more addicted to the game instead. Even though replacing an addiction with another one isn't the best thing to do it most certainly is better to play games then use something that destroys your body.

2 months later, I quit using drugs and all I do is play world of warcraft...I started to go back to school again, not getting the best grades... no far from it but at least I slowly started picking up normal life again. It was weird at first seeing people that had a perfect life, but after I pushed myself making some friends I made some buddies that played world of warcraft too.
It was funny how I got to be "the nerd" instead of "the cool guy" all of the sudden, but I enjoyed it. The other cool guys didn't really say anything against me, they were a little bit afraid to talk to me since they wouldn't even try to make fun of me like they did with the other outcasts.
Yet I was to blind to see that world of warcraft replaced my addiction, I was level 80 and I started collecting my icc gear just as everyone else. Eventually kill the lich king even, it was so important to me.

That's when cataclysm got released, I enjoyed the leveling and felt like a boss for being part of the old school wow now. Unfortunately it wasn't as awesome as wrath of the lich king was to me, so I quit playing. But what do I have to do now? I tried replacing wow by playing other games and this went on and on. I played hundreds of games... and I started missing a social life, no not the drugs that came along with it... they disgust me. Just friends, and a girlfriend... wouldn't it be lovely to have a girlfriend again? But nah I didn't care, until january 2011 or something. One of the cool guys liked a girl and she liked me for who I was, he told me that I was a gamer, a loser. I had never been called any of this in my life before... I was shocked... at first they didn't talk to me, and now they insult me? I used to be the king of pissing people off, dissing them... I felt left out... I now cared I was an outcast.

But no more.... I was done playing games, I canceled my wow subscription threw away some of my most precious games. I would show that punk who he was messing with, I got a haircut put back in my earrings and rings to get my old "douche look" again. The Next morning at school people acted surprised, and the guy laughing at me the other day was a little surprised. I was talking to my friends, until the tough guy decided to walk up to me and tell me that I wasn't tough just because of the clothing and stuff. I told him this is who I used to be, and that this is who he is now. He called me stupid and punched me in my belly... I got angry, made a fist smacked his face 4 or 5 times. He started crying and from that moment and on I knew, no one would call me or my friends out ever again.

From that exact day and on, I started to balance out things. I wouldn't be playing games 24/7 anymore, neither would I do drugs or only go out all the time.
I resubbed to wow again, and played it occasionally while I had a social life and did my best at school. I didn't get the girl, she said I changed to quick in an entire different person, the old me. But I could live with that, I loved my life again. I wasn't addicted to anything no more, no drugs, no games... nothing! I was free at last.

Although some things did happen after all this that have almost caused me a relapse to drugs again, I stood strong and distracted my mind by playing some world of warcraft.

So every person telling all addictions are bad, what do you have to say now? WoW got me off drugs and got me back to school again. I'm not addicted now, but whenever I hear someone talk about game addiction I tend to get a little mad.

Now this story isn't only based on my life, it also has a little morale in it: Do not judge a book by it's cover.

Kind regards,

An ex, but proud, wow addict.

[Martinussen]

nice story. An addiction is only as bad as you let it be. There are good and bad addictions. Take everything in moderation.

[Luperca]

nice story. An addiction is only as bad as you let it be. There are good and bad addictions. Take everything in moderation.

Exactly that, moderation. I am very happy to hear your story turned out well, too many people I know are addicts and too far too many I know have died from it. So I'm glad to know there is one less person being controlled by it and not dead from it. XD

[Deleted]

Exactly that, moderation. I am very happy to hear your story turned out well, too many people I know are addicts and too far too many I know have died from it. So I'm glad to know there is one less person being controlled by it and not dead from it. XD

Thanks guys (:!

[Deleted]

I'm glad thing's worked out for you! May I ask out of curiosity what drug you were addicted to? I get kind of a little mad when people talk about addiction also.

[Sorrior]

I was an anime and manga and video game addict...Kept me away from drugs abd all kinds of things. Plus inspired me....

So yep addictions are only as bad as you let them be....Ask musicians and painters LOL.

[Rucati]

I'd say I was probably addicted to WoW for the better part of high school, and while it did keep me out of trouble and away from the drugs my friends were doing (Raiding on the weekends is far more important than going out, let's be honest) it did also kind of decimate my social life.

But I'd rather be addicted to video games than to be addicted to drugs. Lesser of two evils and all that. But I will agree addictions aren't always bad, as long as you can control it somewhat.

Glad everything ended up going well for you.

[Deleted]

I was an anime and manga and video game addict...Kept me away from drugs abd all kinds of things. Plus inspired me....

So yep addictions are only as bad as you let them be....Ask musicians and painters LOL.

This is what I mean. You can't become addicted to anime, you might watch it and neglect doing other things but it's not an addiction. When you start sucking dick for money to buy the next Bleach movie, that's when you have an addiction

[FatRastafarian]

Addictive personalities tend to become ... Well addicted to things. Just remember it becomes an addiction when it severely interferes with your life in one way or another. Got rid of a women a while ago because she wod rather drink then spend time with me while the time denying the fact she didn't have an alcohol problem.
Glad to hear your life's back on track

[Gandrake]

Something becomes an addiction when it has a detrimental effect on your life because you can't stop doing it.

But even then, I suppose, your vice could be a much lesser evil than others.

This is what I mean. You can't become addicted to anime, you might watch it and neglect doing other things but it's not an addiction. When you start sucking dick for money to buy the next Bleach movie, that's when you have an addiction

I disagree, but I don't think your addiction has to be an inhibition on day to day life to be an addiction. It's just simply not a very serious addiction. A neglected partner will call your need to play World of Warcraft 8 hours a day, every day (or at least 5 days a week) an addiction, but it's not really harmful.

Unless your psycho crazy bitch girlfriend smashes your computer. Because then you might just beat her within an inch of her life or have some kind of manic depressive episode and god knows what else over the loss of your main source of entertainment.

The worst addictions are demonized and pushed under the limelight because they bring back nothing or something that is essentially worthless or undesirable in return. Someone said something about musicians and artists, but the fact is that they can use their workaholic tendency to expand on an ability that is essential in their profession.

[Deleted]

You can't just be randomly addicted to things though. Spending long hours watching a TV show doesn't make you addicted. The point I'm trying to illustrate is that addiction is a medical diagnosis and currently the only actual non-drug related addiction being recognized is gambling. Research has shown behavioral addiction (like gambling and gaming) to have similar effects neurologically as drugs however the evidence also suggests its just impulse control issues or escapism that stems from underlying psychological problems.

As a matter of fact, they had the option to include things like internet addiction and gaming addiction into the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) but chose to omit them for lack of evidence, even choosing to remove others such as sexual addiction that were previously though to be addictions.

[Deleted]

It more sounds to me than you found something else to do than drugs.
That's like it works. Drugs are such an easy way of having fun, so many people fall for it.
You need to find something that satisfies you.
It can be argued, if WoW would be the best choice, but i learned much from WoW that can be used in reallife.
But the gains in term of knowledge are rather small.

Anyway, i am happy for you, everything went out right for you.