MMORPGs like World of Warcraft can easily consume a large part of your time with their regular updates and numerous contents. For some individuals, this can lead to gaming addiction as they neglect their real life. One player now reports how he overcame his addiction.
What problem did the player have? User finsup_305 writes in the reddit forum that he was “heavily addicted” to WoW. He invested dozens of hours of gameplay into the MMORPG over 16 years, neglecting his life: He failed 8th grade and dropped out of high school at 17.
Today, the user is 29 years old and happily married. However, he noticed that his life was slipping away from him again due to WoW. Therefore, he decided to take drastic action to free himself from the addiction.
Attention: If you feel that you may be affected by video game addiction, you can reach out to the following places:
German contacts for video game addiction
Consultation for video game and internet addiction
Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain
Landsberger Allee 49
10249 Berlin
Tel.: 030 130 238 011
E-Mail: [email protected]
Lost in Space
Wartenburgstraße 8
10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Tel.: 030 666 339 59
E-Mail: [email protected]
Consultation for gambling addiction
Untere Zahlbacher Straße 8
55131 Mainz
Tel.: 06131 176 064
E-Mail: [email protected]
Player is addicted to WoW, manages to overcome the addiction thanks to strong will
What step did the player take? The user explains that he deleted all his characters and even his account. As a further precaution, he completely uninstalled the game.
He writes that this step was very emotional and difficult for him. However, he could not risk WoW taking over most of his life again.
An anonymous author at GameStar struggled with similar issues. He and his family would have been addicted to MMOs, leading to serious problems. His family fell apart.
But WoW is finally over for him: He went into therapy and received a life-changing diagnosis there. He admitted that he would be addicted to gaming for the rest of his life – but he has managed to adjust to it as well as possible.
What do others say about it? In the comments, there are many supporters. Some write that they are struggling with similar issues and that he is not alone. One user also advises that the thread starter should not fall into another addiction, as it happened to him.
How is the user doing today? The user from the reddit forum was also able to free himself from addiction. He writes that he would not dare to create new accounts and start the game again. He had a moment of clarity and understood how he needed to solve the problem.
Other users accused him of trying to fill the gap with a new addiction. As the former WoW player admits, they were right: Luckily, he is not addicted to alcohol, drugs, or gambling, but is focusing his newfound time on his work and health.
Making money is a new addiction for him. He is not particularly good at it, but he is now really working hard on the things that would benefit his life.
MeinMMO also addressed the topic and asked psychologist Karl Brühwiler about the causes of gaming addiction: Why are MMORPGs addictive? We asked a psychologist
