Weekly World of Warcraft Addiction – 3/20/09

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Performance Anxiety | I Sheep Things…

I’ve had some really good questing buddies in the last few days. I usually play solo, I think you’re probably all familiar with my unfortunate guild situation at the moment, so the time I spend it groups is limited at best. It’s rare for me to want to quest with a random stranger, especially for quests that don’t involve an instance or elites or other group-requiring details. In my experience most of the people who group randomly are either sort of irritating, complete newbies who can’t find the party chat, or loot ninjas who don’t bother to /roll before grabbing. So I’ve typically steered clear of random groupings.

Progressive WoW: Leave of absence

I know it’s been a while since my last update, and that’s because I always update from work. That being said, I got laid off last week and as such I haven’t been at work to update. You’d think that means I would have more time to blog, but I guess I like to do other things online when I have full internet access.

What Happens When You Are “Done?” – Project Lore: World of Warcraft Videos and Guides

I’ve touched on this before, when talking about a lack of end game in the current content. But once again I personally have reached an interesting point in the life of my Paladin. When Wrath first came out, and I first got a look at all of the loot tables I spent a great deal of time planning my gear. I found every piece I wanted, determined what was the best in each slot, debated what set bonus were worth while, and finally came up with my “gear plan.” More or less I decided exactly
what I wanted my character to look like when I had everything I wanted.

Coming to terms with sex as an addiction

William Cope Moyers says: “Addiction is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. Addiction is not caused by a person’s character, or willpower; it is caused by the way an addict’s brain is wired.” I would add that especially with sex addiction, it is caused by the way early life experiences shaped the brain.

What are the social consequences of video game addiction? | addictionblog.org

Does playing video games negatively effect the time adolescents should be spending in more developmentally appropriate activities like sports and hanging out with friends? I’ve got a personal bone to pick with gaming. Although I intellectually understand the appeal, I emotionally resent
the pull of games. Specifically, I wish that sports would once again replace video games. Not to mention that it’s now the chosen method for how my husband unwinds at the end of the day.

20 Questions with Nassira | The Hunting Lodge

I don’t know about you, but one of the fun things and maybe one of the more fun and misunderstood aspects of WoW is how social this game is. True, chat within the game itself can rapidly become mundane with LFG, WTB, WTS, and Chuck Norris jokes. But if you look beyond that, you can’t help but see the proliferation of WoW related blogs, sites, and other sources like Twitter.

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March 20, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Tools to Help Once You’re Over World of Warcraft Addiction

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When you get over World of Warcraft addiction, you don’t play nearly as often. Makes sense, right? But one of the side effects of not playing as often is that disorientation when you do sit down to play again. What the heck was I doing last time I played? Where was that quest giver? Or maybe where were those pesky Timbermaw anyway?

First thing to get over is beating yourself up for not remembering. At least it is for me. When I’m living, eating, breathing World of Warcraft ie, addicted, I know everything. (Or at least think I do.) Now I sometimes feel like I know nothing.

Back in the addicted phase, I almost considered it cheating to have to resort to sites like thottbot.com and wowhead.com. Now they are my first line of reference. I don’t have time to wander around aimlessly. Tell me where it is and what I need to do. Thottbot and wowhead do that. (To be fair, there are other sites that fulfill the same role. Those are just the two I use.)

Even better though, I’ve discovered a couple great addons. Questhelper and Carbonite Quest. Both do almost the same thing, so choose between them. Don’t run them at the same time.

What they do is keep track of your quests and try to show you the most efficient route to completing them. If you are in a group, (and all group members are using the addon) they also consolidate the list of quests and coordinate you through the groups quests as efficiently as possible.

Neither tool is perfect. But both are right enough of the time to make them immensely worth installing. (Note: Carbonite Quest becomes even better with the Cartographer addon installed as well. Questhelper stands alone.)

Lately I’ve been using Carbonite instead of Questhelper for one reason. Carbonite shows you a path of where you’ve recently been. As someone who is constantly getting lost in dungeons, I find this feature a great benefit.

Questhelper is a totally free addon. Carbonite comes in two flavors. One free and one paid for. I admit I did pay for Carbonite and find the added features worthwhile. But it is a useful tool even in its free version.

Evidently there are addons that take the concept one step further. They not only guide you through the quests you have, but help you decide which quests and quest paths are worth following. I can see the value in that but since I’m one of those that enjoys the trip as much as the destination, I’ve never explored them further.

Do you know of other time saving addons? Let me know. You can either write them up yourself for me to post at myworldofwarcraftaddiction.com (giving you credit of course) or alert me to them and I’ll write something up. I’ve already thought of a couple more addons that I’ll be writing up in the near future.

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March 12, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

World of Warcraft Burn Out

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You all know I haven’t been playing hardly at all the last few weeks. I’ve been far too busy getting this and a couple other websites going to play World of Warcraft. To be honest with you, once I got over the lost of routine and the guilt factor for abandoning my friends, I haven’t really missed playing that much. Could it be the addiction is receding? I don’t really think so. More that it was time for one of my periodic breaks from World of Warcraft.

Which leads me into today’s topic. Today I want to talk a little about the flip side of World of Warcraft addiction. In my mind, that would be World of Warcraft burn out. Yes, World of Warcraft burn out happens just as much as World of Warcraft addiction.

Playing with the next Expansion in mind. « Kinless Chronicles

I’ve got tons left to keep me busy without being 80, and the Expansion will only open up another grand playground for me and the wife. I don’t plan to, or need to, fast track to the end-game and burn out.

Kinless really has it spot on in the above quote. Why do we flog ourselves if its only just a game? We burn out because we’re addicted and playing too much. We vacillate, going back and forth between addiction and burn out, addiction and burn out sometimes barely noticing the brief stopover at enjoyment in between the two.

Instead, why not relax and enjoy the game for what it is… a game! One of the beauties of this particular game is that its open ended. So do what you want in game, when you want. Right now I’m doing one of the very few “mandatory” tasks which is checking the mail every thirty days so you don’t lose items in transit. That’s all you have to do: Check in once a month to make sure you aren’t losing mail. How easy is that?

If you play, you’ve recognized it in some of your friends, guild mates and other acquaintances. Frequent complaints of being bored, general surliness, inability to focus on any one task, these are all signs of burnout. Maybe you’ve seen it in the form of erratic behavior; suddenly quitting a long time guild relationship, dropping out in the middle of an instance run, not being around when they said they would be.

Perhaps one of the tricks to beating both World of Warcraft addiction and World of Warcraft burnout is one and the same. Maybe we just need to slow down. You know, actually read the quests instead of just rushing through the objectives. Following the story lines rather than running about willy nilly to level in the fastest manner possible. I know what I’m saying here is heresy for my leveling guide friends, but so be it!

I don’t know what it is for you, but whatever it is, take time away from task orientation and do what you enjoy with friends. If that means fishing while chatting with guild mates, do that. If it means crafting, do that. If it means shopping for risque outfits or beautiful robes, do that!

If you do what you want, you derail the compulsion aspect of the game. Also, you will enjoy your time more and thus avoid the World of Warcraft burn out factor.

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March 8, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Overcome Your WoW Addiction With the Help of Subliminal Messages

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Overcome Your WoW Addiction With the Help of Subliminal Messages
By Dan Bainbridge

Millions of people all over the world play World of Warcraft – if you are reading this article then maybe you do too. It has been acclaimed as one of the most interactive and accomplished games ever.

However, every year 1000s of people find themselves totally addicted – with school children spending all evening and all of their weekends playing, office workers playing in their lunch hours and getting home then logging straight on.

At some point however it becomes much more than just a computer game, it starts to invade your life – lowering the quality of your schoolwork, or damaging your career, and especially it ends your social life completely. This has come to be known online as WoW addiction.

Can Subliminal Messages Help Overcome Warcraft Addiction?

you may be sceptical as howwubliminal messages will help youto beat your wow addiction, but it’s actually quite simple: subliminal messages will penetrate your mind and eliminate your negative thoughts which are having a negative influence upon your life.

These suggestions build in your subconscious mind to help you to adopt new behavior and ultimately end your addiction and help you to get your life back – here are some sample affirmations used in a wow addiction album:

  • I will stop playing world of warcraft
  • Stopping playing world of warcraft is easy
  • I want my life back
  • Every day it gets easier to resist
  • Each day my addiction lessens
  • I am free from my warcraft habit

Subliminal messages work gradually, however, in time these beliefs are embedded deep in your subconscious mind and eventually whole whole belief system changes. – it is not a magic cure but if you are serious about overcoming your addiction then subliminal messages will give you a boost, and possibly your best chance of overcoming your wow addiction.

As I’ve said, it isn’t a magic cure, but if you really do want to end your warcraft addiction then this will give you the mental strength and the best possible chance of succeeding.

Dan Bainbridge is the Director of Real Subliminal:
Try our free subliminal messages today and experience the power of subliminal messaging for yourself! Or use our WoW Addiction album to start getting your life back straight away.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Bainbridge
http://EzineArticles.com/?Overcome-Your-WoW-Addiction-With-the-Help-of-Subliminal-Messages&id=1965308

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March 4, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

World of Warcraft More Addictive than Cocaine?

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World Of Warcraft ‘more addictive than crack cocaine’ as teenager suffers convulsions after 24-hour-long game | Mail Online

An internet computer game has been condemned as being as addictive as cocaine after a teenager who played it 24 hours non-stop had convulsions.

World of Warcraft has been hugely successful in capturing the imagination of players by drawing them into a virtual universe of battles and quests.

However, it is at the centre of a growing problem of computer game addiction.

Why do people always have to go crazy over the top with their analogies or similes or whatever they are? What a ridiculous statement to say World of Warcraft addiction is similar to cocaine addiction. World of Warcraft is much more like maybe sugar or coffee in its addictive qualities.

  1. World of Warcraft kind of seeps into your life rather than giving you an immediate but short lived high.
  2. World of Warcraft is much cheaper than cocaine. What? Maybe 3 or 4 trips to Starbucks a month max.
  3. World of Warcraft does not immediately delve you into illegal activity. Well ok maybe if you decide to take the quick and easy way out and buy gold or powerleveling or even a whole account off eBay or something like that.
  4. World of Warcraft is not typically life threatening. Not immediately anyway. Perhaps years of sedentary free time might have an impact, but still…
  5. Word of Warcraft makes you international friends. To get that out of cocaine, you probably have to start dealing.
  6. World of Warcraft does not impair your ability to drive or operate heavy machinery. Not unless your muscles atrophy to a crazy level at least.
  7. World of Warcraft addiction does not make your nose bleed.
  8. You’ll never burn your face off with World of Warcraft addiction like Richard Prior did.
  9. World of Warcraft never familiarizes you with needles and self injection.
  10. World of Warcraft is much more prevalent. I doubt cocaine can claim 11 million accounts world wide.

So there you have it. World of Warcraft may be be addictive, but not like cocaine. No, not at all. People are just nuts when then come up with stuff like the above. You’ll have to excuse me now. I have to log in…

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February 28, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Moderation and Advocacy

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So I’ve been reading a little around the internet on the topic of World of Warcraft addiction and I’m amazed at how harsh and drastic most of it is. It makes me think I need to backtrack and repurpose before I’ve barely started.

myworldofwarcraftaddiction.com will NOT be an extremist, ban warcraft, twelve steps to freedom kind of thing as long as I have anything to do with it or until I have a major change of heart. I now currently play World of Warcraft and I have been addicted. I have made it through the addiction to the point where I can now play in moderation. That’s not to say I don’t struggle with the urge to play rather than typing this blog. Sure I do! But I am able function within the parameters I set for myself. I am in control of my play time (most of the time) rather than it being in control of me.

Do you know what I think it is? I think that World of Warcraft is not yet recognized as a legitimate hobby. Maybe I could broaden that statement to be true of the whole video game scene. We and what for some of us is our passion are somehow looked down upon as  some sort of ill adjusted segment of society. But what about the guy that is gone all summer long with his softball team or again, the guy that watches umpteen football games every week all season long? My wife is a “theater addict.” When she is involved in a play, we hardly see her for weeks at a time. How about the golfer that spends hours a week playing or practicing? What about the expensive green fees, often the travel on exotic golf vacations, the money spent on sport specific equipment and attire?

See? All these other things are seen as legitimate hobbies while our hobby is looked at as this huge waste of time… dangerous addiction. I think in part what needs to happen is that we need to start advocating for what some refer to as our hobby. I’m reminded of the bumper sticker that says, “Skateboarding is not a crime.” Well neither is playing World of Warcraft gosh darn it!

So now that being said, let me swing back the other way. World of Warcraft is most definitely addictive and for those who simply can not come to terms with its addictive nature the best course of action very well might be complete and total abstinence. But for many of us, finding that place of balance is the key. For instance, I’ve had to come to grips with the fact that I may never again be a raid worthy equipped player and therefore I might not ever see some of the end game content. Can I still have fun playing given that? Absolutely!

As I read those extreme, anti World of Warcraft sites, I was tempted to challenge them here. But that would be following a rabbit trail. I’ll leave it to others to take that on. Here we’ll talk about how to have fun in World of Warcraft without it completely taking over your life.

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February 17, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Ten Indicators You Might have World of Warcraft Addiction

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addiction – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Main Entry: ad·dic·tion
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈdik-shən, a-\
Function: noun
Date: 1599

1: the quality or state of being addicted
2: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal ; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

OK so there we have a generally accepted definition of the term addiction. Notice how it only suggests addiction to physical substances and ignores completely the area of psychological addiction. I think as much as anything that shows the definition hails back to a time before such things as video games were even a popular thing. Still things like gambling addiction have been around forever. I think World of Warcraft addiction has more in common with gambling addiction than heroin addiction in many ways.

Now that we have a standard definition, lets take a moment to look at World of Warcraft and come up with a list of ten indicators that you might be suffering from World of Warcraft addiction:

  1. You lose interest in other activities you previously enjoyed.
  2. You start the with the best of intentions to “get something done” and “only check auctions” early in the morning only to discover that the sun is now setting and you are still logged in playing.
  3. You become irritated when someone interrupts your playing even if you’re not doing anything particularly intense.
  4. You lose track of things like eating or sleeping.
  5. You make excuses to miss work or other activities in order to spend more time playing.
  6. When someone comes in the room to talk to you or you get a phone call, you keep trying to play while holding your conversation.
  7. In game occurrences have a huge impact on your mood for good or for bad.
  8. You realize in mid conversation that you’ve nothing to talk about other than World of Warcraft.
  9. You constantly interject in game references into real world conversations even though you know the other person doesn’t follow or isn’t interested.
  10. When you are not playing, you are still reading about or involved with World of Warcraft in some way.

Do you recognize yourself or someone you care about in the list above? Good! Believe it or not recognition is a fantastically huge first step. I think far more people suffer in guilty silence or in all out denial or defensiveness about this particular addiction. But there is hope. You can reach the point where you enjoy World of Warcraft while avoiding any or all of the above. Stick around and we’ll start exploring how to check yourself and other related topics as well.

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February 14, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »