How can I stop my world of warcraft addiction?

I think im getting addicted to World of Warcraft, a mmorpg game I play around 126 hours a week its all you do and go to school online its really starting consuming me but I dont like my life how it is so I try to play until im barely asleep at 7am then wake up at 11am I feel so sad when im not playing cause when I play im another person I just wish I could be happy out of the game .. please give me advice I dont know what to do I am just 17.

I'm hardly one to talk but I certainly had some semesters where my computer games hurt my grades 20 years ago when the games we had were not nearly as good or as addictive as todays games.

There is no physical addiction to computer games. You don't go through physical widthdrawl if you don't play. Today it is popular to make every personal failing a dissease, syndrome, or disability. You have to take responsiblity for your excessive game playing.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that you wish your real life was as happy as your life in the game. The game has become an escape for you.

The problem with life is you only get out of it what you put into it. You are in a rut and it is easier to be successful in WoW than in real life.

If you are going to continue playing WoW you are going to have to limit yourself to a set number of hours/week. Some poeple can do this and some can't. Some people get playing and next thing they know 12 hours have gone by. If you can't limit your time playing you might have to give the game up entirely.

Everyone knows what they have to do but few people make themselves do it. Do overweight people really need a doctor to tell them to loose weight? Do people who aren't in good shape need a personal trainer to tell them that they need exercise? We all know what we need to do and you do as well. Spend the long hours you now spend playing WoW addressing whatever is lacking in your life.

best wishes and good luck!

An addiction can come in many forms...don't let Life pass you by...Good Luck !!

Engage in some sports, too. Choose the one that you like. It will distract you from the games for some time and it will make you healthy.

But do it 'before' computer time....lol.

I know just how you feel I went through the same thing I'd just hide away in my room and play games for hours but then one day I realised I let the would pass me by people would say to me have you heard about someone who I new just died.You see you can't hide away from life because the more you hide the harder it's going to hit you when you decide to face it.What I tend to do is take walks to clear my mind I now it sounds corney but it helps you think a lot about life and stuff I hope this helps you to get back on track.

my life is not fixxable atm ... and it will not be until I get away from everyone around me !
I think that im just going to keep playing so time goes by fater until I can escape from my real life.

lol I am a girl no im not a virgin nor fat nor ugly im cute and adorable and love games :P

HMM cutting my hands sounds interetimg what you say my friends but then how will I mas*urba*e? hmm

I've been playing for 3 days now. and I'm probably not as addicted as you r. but I think im addicted too. here's what keeps me sane.

1. Don't eat junk food while playing wow. Eat apples and oranges, stuff that tastes good. Even muffins, over donuts and stuff is better.
2. Do you have a pet? Don't neglect it. What I do is play with my rabbits, for a little bit, then go back to wow. While im not in instances or stuff where I have to pay attention I will keep one of them in my lap and pet him and stuff like that.
3. Got any friends in wow that you know in real life? Get together and go to the mall or play futbol (soccer), or sumthing.
4. Going to cyber cafe's and LAN centers with your wow friends can be fun too.
5. DON'T CUT YOURSELF (Or your hand's off) that makes it hard to type.
6. On patch days (LIKE TODAY! 3 MORE HOURS!) do all the things you said you'd do if you couldn't play wow. because' umm... you can't...
7. Listen to music. Talk on the phone. Interact.
8. Talk to your guild mates. Not about 'hey you guys want to pwn some alliance nubbs??!?!'. but just talk about stuff in current events or sports or sumthing.
9. Just remember that you are not your character. I've seen a couple of my friends accidentally address themselves as their Blood Elf.
10. Just remember that WOW is a good thing. Just don't over do it.

You don't have to give up wow totally to stop your addiction. Dedicate times of the day to WOW. Do house work. Remember to be human.

I'll be rootin' for ya.
btw what server you on?

Gambling is considered an addiction, and when you boil it down, aren't Blackjack and WoW both games??

You are so young and have so much you can do with your life. Please take the time to read my post about why WoW is addictive for you and make a choice to love yourself enough to quit! It will be hard, but worth it..trust me. I am an ex-addict myself. I happen to have a degree in Psychology, and even knowing the negative effects of the game and why it was so alluring, I still played. If you would have confronted me about WoW being unhealthy and effecting my life, I would have made up every excuse in the book why you where wrong. I would have made those same excuses to myself and I would have believed all of it.

WHY ARE WE ADDICTED?

I would say the first problem is not many people are willing to think of a
videogame as addictive, so few people find the support they need to quit,
but WoW addiction is REAL! Blizzard is a very cleaver company. Of course
gamers play it obsessively. Video-gamers all have this in common: we all
love our fantasy. But unlike a console game with a clear start and finish,
WoW is an endless game. You feel like you want to be the 'best' at a game,
and beat it..but WoW has not 'beating it'..just another level, just one
more epic. At lower levels of WoW, the rewards come quickly. This is how they suck you in. But as you level, it takes longer and longer to get the reward! The social environment keeps you hooked, as you start to need others to complete tasks. WoW Endgame has a variable reward system, which is the strongest addictive reward system possible..much like gambling.

It is the same reason gamblers will pull that little crank for hours and
hours: the reward is not everytime, but just enough to give you a quick rush
when the little bell goes off and coins drop (or the Epic Item you want
drops)..Everyone cheers for you! But the reward and rush is short lived, and
you are back to the mind-numbing grind. But WoW is even worse: instead of a
quick pull of a crank, you spend hours and hours wiping on a boss and
several runs before you get a reward. It takes endless hours to get even one reward. If WoW started off like this, no one would have stuck with it, but you feel like you have to justify the time you have already sunk into it. It is an endless downward spiral.

Add to all this, a social environment of like-minded people (chat, vent, TS,
forums) and players feel like they are not socially isolating themselves, and you have got a full environment of quick rewards and a group of supportive 'friends' who 'understand you'. The more you play WoW, the more these people seem to understand you and other 'outsiders' don't. Of course they understand you more if you have just spent hours and hours online with them and neglecting anyone else. It plays on the best and worst of our human nature. Also, millions of people have crappy jobs, bad families, lame relationships, lives that kinda suck ..so WoW will always have millions of faithful players. It is easier to zone out in a game where you can be God-like then to face having to make hard choices or deal with the emotional speedbumps of life. And the more you play obsessively, the more these other areas of your life suffer. Good game Blizz, you figured out how to keep people logging on for hours and hours forever and ever.

Please take your problem with WoW seriously and get help from your friends and family. Keep talking about your victories and setbacks. Forgive yourself. There will be times you will be tempted to play again. Make a list of things to do if you feel this way. Go back to the list everytime you feel the pull back to WoW. Post on boards, start a journal ect. Remind yourself this is NOT just a game, it is an ADDICTION and you need to be strong.

GOOD LUCK!

invite a friend over 2 help you do something else I had a addicaton with comand & conquer games!! lol tell your mom or dad w/e to take you somewhere for fun or your get a girlfriend

my friend stopped playing cause he realized that that game was wasting his time. he was so busy playing it he missed out on family activities, started flunking in school, and missed his favorite tv shows. he said he only playes it when he is bored.

I play wow... I LOVE games. im not addicted... I feel like I could play forever sometimes but at the end of the day at about 6 I actually feel sick of it, then the next day im like OMG WOW FUN. I do some questing, and I need loads of breaks to not become bored. I can go through days rather spending time with friends and family than playing... I think ~fooker69~ had great advice. You cant be addicted forever... I think. I would get SO BORED. and your lucky your not fat or ugly or anything bad, being cute and adorable is an oppertunity to live life easier. GO OUT AND EAT SOME PANCAKES AT A RESTURAUNT!!!

cancel your WoW account then you wont be ALLOWED to play it...

and then buy guildwars! XD

think of something you've always wanted to do (dancing, martial arts, learning an instrument, learning to cook) and do it.

video games are a colossal WASTE OF TIME and will get you nowhere in life.

the longer you play, the harder it will be to break the addiction so do it now!

force yourself to get out there. right now it seems like video games are more fun than real life, but once you give 'real life' a fair chance, you'll see you were wrong

Heh... DO what I always do... Rip your computer apart into individual circut boards, sell the parts on Ebay and buy older crappier ones so that when you try and play WoW you get 4 pixels, half a crappy spawning sound, and 4 days of loading time... Trust me... I used that to kick my old DOOM addiction. WoW and other MMORPG's are really more crappy stuff to have a funny story to tell your friends in school.

this may seem stupid but go on some site and post your username password and login details.

then someone will end up hacking you and you wont have that file

if you create a new file I cant help you, you need serious help

try giving it away 2 a stranger somewhere or just bury it in the gorund! oxo

give me the account

Just Stop. :D Instead read a good murder mystery or start a book or something like that. Please excersice a bit of will power. :D :D.

I LOVE WOW haha but im in BC bored outa my tree... So I play it until I go home and get to see my friends haha then I wont have the computer anymore haha goodluck!

Whats your toon's name and what realm?

I had the same prob and even hada lvl 41 druid...the way I got over the addiction, my comp crashed and had to cancel the account...I missed it for a lil, but you get used to it lol

I waited for my account card to run out then I uninstalled it and that helped

Stop playing its that simple