the strange feeling of being addicted to WoW with no wow-friends

[Deleted]

This might be funny, this might be interesting... but I just want to share with you my strange "relation" with WoW

I have 23 years old, looking good, overall a nice life, I have friends, I have a new girlfriend and my social life is well active.

I've played WoW since end-TBC at around 16 years old with a few monthly pauses over time. I've been very addicted to the game but almost no one knew I was playing World of Warcraft.
The game hurted me for a few years, because you know, being addicted to it makes you forget more important things. So I've passed like 2 year (cataclysm period) hide in my house to play the game, with not much social life.

When I realised that I was wasting my youth, I started moderating the playing time and took a long pause to go out and live really. Now I play WoW but I don't get any happiness from it, I just MUST play it.
I'm a veteran of the game but I prefer the leveling part of the game (so I always makes new chars just to level them).

I basically have no reasons to plays WoW:
- I have no real wow-friends (I'm afraid to destroy my life by over-addiction to the game and i play it hide from even my sister that lives with me)
- I have no virtual wow-friends (friendlist empty, I'm afraid to virtual friendships because of social networks, teamspeaks, skypes and so on)
- I never talk in guilds (but i'm polite with everyone)

So my point is this: I'm very attracted to WoW and want to login just to run instances/bgs or make some quest. But I get bored in an half hour.
It is just the addiction that forces me to play it.

I love WoW but it tires me.

Anyone else?

edit: it's like having 2 personalities, 1 that wants to live in WoW, 1 that wants to live in Real Life

[Oopsmezedya]

Thats how the silent majority plays WoW pretty much, just going from guild to guild and meeting the odd 3-4 active people in them and occasionally talking, all whill just spaming LFG and LFR systems till you go into a coma, not really overcommiting and just being casual

[Blufossa]

Eh, that sounds pretty normal. Just be very polite and social on WoW and maybe you might make some WoW friends. If not, it's not really a big deal. Just find a decently active guild.

[Deleted]

Eh, that sounds pretty normal. Just be very polite and social on WoW and maybe you might make some WoW friends. If not, it's not really a big deal. Just find a decently active guild.

Thanks for the tip, but you know it's hard... I mean, you find some friends in WoW and you can't stop playing. Damn addiction might kill me.

[Laze]

Honestly, reading (When I realised that I was wasting my youth) the only thing i can say to you is to quit playing wow. Thoughts about wasting your time/youth will usually end up as depression when you grow older. I hope you do realize though that the (go out partying with friends and drink alcohol) lifestyle might sound ideal, but in reality you are wasting your time just as much as you do when you're playing wow. Sooo, just do whatever you enjoy, and don't think about ''wasting time''. Time simply can't be wasted if you're enjoying what you're doing

[DeleteThisUser]

Good read for sure. I'm in the same boat as you (sorta). I'm nice to everyone, but I'm a quiet person. However, I tend to stay to myself. I'm not anti-social by any means. I do talk to people in-game and outside of WoW. The game is my hobby, but I don't let it consume me. It should be fun, and something to do with spare time. I like to focus on what needs to get done, while clearing my head of the endless possibilities.

[Deleted]

time you enjoy wasting isn't wasted time

[Garkanh]

i feel quiet the same often. Once in a while i get into raiding, joins a guid for a month or two, but eventually, i start forgetting raid days, and eventually stops raiding all together. then i starts focusing on pvp, untill i get bored from that, and starts with raidfidner/pugging again, and then the cycle repeats. once in a while i take a break (allways mid exspansion, i stopped during the release of ulduar, fireland and throne of thunder). level a new toon, or finish some achivements across my few "main" characters (4-5 of them)

problem for me with the game is that people raid from like 20.00 to 23.00, and i have to meet at work at 6 every morning, so if i raid to 23.00 most days, i can't get up at 4 in the morning. i also joined the army at one point, witch made me quiet during 5.2/5.3

and in the weekends, i drink my brains out, so i mainly plays on sundays when i got a hangover. and if i'm really bored that sunday, i level a new character from 1-85 (1-90 after the patch, since it goes so fast now that i can do it in a day)

[Yunru]

You should try another game. (not a mmo or moba)

Did you miss any new games because of wow? There is like tons of them for playing.

[kyoloco]

if a game is ruining your life...relationships are going to be the end of you

[Hutmacher]

I play WoW without any people, no guild members (my own guild for guild bank) or other people, except the LFR dudes. For me, its like an Online Game with many NPCs, nothing more lol every1 can play it like he/she wants to, just take care if u rly have the feeling of getting addicted, thats never good

[Deleted]

Find something else to do.

As far as i can tell, it doesn't sound like you have a healthy relationship to WoW.

[Nutri]

Same boat here.
Playing since 2005. Right of the bat I've started raiding hardcore for 4-5 days a week, people around me played WoW and it was basicly the only conversation I could make back in the day: WoW this and WoW that. Just before Ulduar I had around 320 days /played.

All of the people that played have been long gone, I went guild-hopping every X weeks or months ending up with a single-player style of play. Logging in just to log in, playing just to play the game even if there where no goals. Just log in and stare at the screen sometimes haha. Quiting the game, be gone for 3 weeks and then starting to miss it. Resub and stare at the game again.

This went on for quite some time. Nowadays, every excuse not to play the game is taken. It's 2nd choice above all. Works pretty well. I still play often, but whenever my phone rings or my girlfriend asks me for whatever activity, it's exit game.

It really feels like a love/hate relationship as well.

[Deleted]

If you're not having fun just stop cold turkey.
If you think you're too addicted and/or weak to stop by yourself, uninstall WoW, delete Windows and use Linux for a while so it's more of a hassle when you get the itch to reinstall it.

[Amerissis]

Seems like you can't control yourself, even hiding that you play, so I'd suggest you quit. Cancel your account, deinstall and stop visiting WoW-related sites. You will miss it for a while, but you'll get over it and realise how much more there is to do in this world, both useful/important stuff and other ways to spend leisure time.

[Wildtree]

Find something else to do.

As far as i can tell, it doesn't sound like you have a healthy relationship to WoW.

He has a healthy relationship to himself.
He is - unlike many many others - aware that he's too involved with the game. Same cannot be said about many other people that are playing it.
But I think I still can agree with you in parts.

[Wildtree]

The fact that he's hidden the fact that he plays WoW from those closest to him shows he has an unhealthy relationship with himself. If he had a healthy relationship with himself he wouldn't feel the need to hide something like that.

That depends on the peer pressure.
Some things are better kept a secret to avoid trouble that isn't necessary.
He's still much further than others are.. He recognizes his irrational behavior. And that in itself is a healthy relationship to oneself.
In order to change, you've got to be aware of your wrong doing first.

[Deleted]

I see lot of people having the same feeling with WoW. Thanks for the comments!

Same boat here.
This went on for quite some time. Nowadays, every excuse not to play the game is taken. It's 2nd choice above all. Works pretty well. I still play often, but whenever my phone rings or my girlfriend asks me for whatever activity, it's exit game.

^ This is pretty much the best hint. Cause I don't really want to quit WoW, I still like it and I play it like it's not an online game. I will keep playing it less and less till I will forget it (or maybe I will keep playing it for just a few hours of gameplay in a week).

- - - Updated - - -

You need some therapy. The main issue is that you're not comfortable being yourself in ANY situation. That means you hide things you like from those closest to you and create huge stress in your life for no reason. If you told everyone IRL you play WoW a few might be surprised, but most won't really care. That might allow you to actually enjoy playing the game instead of feeling like you have to hide it. When you can enjoy the game you'll realize there are tons of people who love the game for the exact same reasons you do and make tons of new friends in the game. At the end of all this you'll be a happier person and realize you were being ridiculous for treating WoW like a crack habit.

Everyone from children to doctors to drug dealers and everything in between are in game at any given time of day. There's no reason to be ashamed that you found something that you enjoy without anyone else getting harmed in the process.

Yes I agree with you, I shouldn't give myself so many problems for nothing. Hide things is bad because these things will grow and real problems will born
It's like I have to create more personalities in myself to hide the others "me" and be OK in every situation.