Originally posted by Ilvaldyr

There's no such thing as MMO addiction.

People who play MMOs excessively to the detriment of their health and other aspects of their life are suffering from a compulsion disorder and have fixated on MMOs as the focus of their mental illness. They could just as easily have focused on something else; it is a recognised psychological condition .. but it's not specific to MMOs and it's not accurate to say that MMOs are inherently addictive.

I'd have to disagree here. I am one that was addicted at one point, and am no where near having a compulsion disorder.  I was fine before and I'm fine after my transition.

In regards to "fitting in", I actually did sort of "fit in".  In fact, during the time of UO, I was just becoming "popular" in school and was having a good time.  Earlier in my life I may not have fit in as much, but about a year after I was "fitting in" I started playing MMOs.  So, that worked the opposite with me.  My friends, however, openly admit to not fitting in. 

In regards to the comments about alternatives such as drugs, suicide, alcohol, etc....EVERY MMO addict that I know ALWAYS without fail says the same sentence to justify their play time -- "Well, at least I'm not on the street doing drugs instead.  I'm doing something that more safe than going out and getting into trouble." 

Originally posted by Excalaber2

Originally posted by Ilvaldyr

There's no such thing as MMO addiction.

People who play MMOs excessively to the detriment of their health and other aspects of their life are suffering from a compulsion disorder and have fixated on MMOs as the focus of their mental illness. They could just as easily have focused on something else; it is a recognised psychological condition .. but it's not specific to MMOs and it's not accurate to say that MMOs are inherently addictive.

 

I'd have to disagree here. I am one that was addicted at one point, and am no where near having a compulsion disorder.  I was fine before and I'm fine after my transition.

In regards to "fitting in", I actually did sort of "fit in".  In fact, during the time of UO, I was just becoming "popular" in school and was having a good time.  Earlier in my life I may not have fit in as much, but about a year after I was "fitting in" I started playing MMOs.  So, that worked the opposite with me.  My friends, however, openly admit to not fitting in. 

In regards to the comments about alternatives such as drugs, suicide, alcohol, etc....EVERY MMO addict that I know ALWAYS without fail says the same sentence to justify their play time -- "Well, at least I'm not on the street doing drugs instead.  I'm doing something that more safe than going out and getting into trouble." 

You're missing what he is saying. He is saying the MMO doesn't cause the addictive behavior, the phsycological condition of the individual causes the addiction. Drugs directly cause addiction because of the chemicals they put into the body, and MMO doesn't put anything into the body.

Essentially some people have a very addictive phsycological state and they will can get focused on anything. People with this condition have been addicted to TV, Shopping, Eating, Video Games, really anything can do it. I think he was just trying to highlight this point that the MMO doesn't directly cause any of the addiction that happens. Different actions can lead different people with that type of brain to get addicted, so where you say you haven't had a compulsion with anything else yet in your case the constant achievements and the getting to the next skill point/level or getting the next item could of caused it. Just like the smell of certain foods can do it to people who get addicted to eating, and how window displays can cause people with the shopping addiction to buy new items.

For every item that exists in the world there's someone who is addicted to it, I think some of the defenders of the MMOs on this thread just do not want people thinking that MMOs cause anything. People have been wasting their time on video games since they came into existance, and kids tend to play even more. So parents worry about addiction and start thinking the games cause it.

Originally posted by cfurlin

Originally posted by MikeB

I have a better one for you, it is titled "How To Post in the Correct Forums". Moving.

 

Gee Mike, now I know where the users at MMORPG.com get their attitudes -- they learned them from the community managers. Had you worded your response in a slightly different way, you probably wouldn't have sounded like such a jerk. I'd like to think the CM would at least try to be a role model for behavior in these forums. 

 

 

I agree. Sometimes the MMORPG staff come out of left field with this type of thing.

In regards to gaming addiction. I believe it's real, I was addicted for about three years. It's easy to become an addict in my opinion, when real life is much more difficult to "level-up".

The best thing to do is just quit cold turkey. It's  hard to do - trust me; but just cancel your accounts, cut up your discs, and find something new to occupy your time. For me now I game a little, but I don't have the same connection to the game world than I previously did. It might be because I'm older now, but trying to advance in real life just seems more fulfilling.

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf 

You're missing what he is saying. He is saying...

Thank you for clarifying.  I was under the impression that he was implying long-term, and not just "behavior".  I think where anything in the world can be addictive, the problem with MMOs is that it is their intention.  The companies behind them are aware of this, and strive for the ultimate goal of getting you addicted.  This can be said for many other things as well...but the fact still remains that people do get addicted to this at a much higher rate than many other things in life.  These people, who are already addicted, might need someone to talk to or something to read about to know that they aren't alone.  So, this thread exists :)

MMO playing is like alcohol: You need some discipline or you will waste your life away.

Playing sometime is fun but when something gets more important than your friends an families you should stop and think things through.

I always wanted to be a sex addict but it never worked out for me.

The easiest way to overcome an mmorpg addiction is to unplug long enough to play through a quality single-player rpg  (you know, an actual game instead of a digital hamster wheel).  In addition to the lack of e-peen Olympics, you also have an experience that ends, allowing you time to go outside and focus on some real accomplishments, rather than the artificial ones your dev overlords are perpetually dangling just out of reach.

I'm not sure mmos are addictive but they can be heavily time-consuming if you keep chasing all the carrots. If you sod the carrots and just play for enjoyment, log off when you've had enough then its much better.

I believe the Captain from MXC said it best when he asked a group sitting before him-

"How many of you think addiction is a disease?"

Many proceeded to raise their hand. The Captain responded with something like this-

"Well, you're wrong. Addicts are worthless and weak. It's called tough love."

I went cold turkey, myself with WoW, and a lot of other MMOs. I'm a rather fickle gamer, anyhow, so no game really keeps my attention for too long where there is just too many other kickass titles out there.

If that wasn't enough, I deleted my WoW toon and remade him on the opposite faction, same server. I quickly lost interest after basically erasing my entire history with the game.

It's all about getting over that fear of others surpassing you, needing you, and realizing that it's just a game in the end. Never take it so seriously, or it will likely cease being a game and become a gamer like me's worst nightmare: A JOB/WORK. Lord knows most of us already spend our days doing something we hate for a living.

Join a mediocre guild and raid.