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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