Archive for December, 2007

Are you worried that you may be addicted to the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft? If so, you aren’t alone! There are thousands of people out there right now who spend more time thinking about when they will be able to get online next and enjoy the world of warriors that exists within this game than they do thinking about the details of their job, schooling, or even their relationships. This game can be all consuming to a great number of people who play it and for many the only solution is to quit. Quitting sounds good in theory, but how do you just quit if you feel you are addicted?

World of Warcraft: Quitting Cold Turkey

If you really want to quit you need to quit cold turkey. You need to uninstall WOW completely on your computer, make sure you take your credit card out of any systems, and simply shut down that part of your life! Sound difficult? Perhaps you could use some moral support, so be ready to call up your mom or your girlfriend and have them come over and remind you why you need to stop playing. It is usually these fundamental people in our lives that can provide us with the insight we need. And, if need be, tell them beforehand that they are allowed to lock you out of the room while they uninstall everything!

You will also want to make sure that any WOW related websites that are saved or bookmarked are erased so you do not find yourself online in a familiar place in a few hours time. If you have any WOW CDs or anything of that sort, simply give them to a friend or family member to discard, otherwise you might go rummaging through the garbage later for them! You are an addict, remember?

Now that you have done that, you will need to focus on filling the time that you usually spend playing World of Warcraft with something else. Many times the game simply fills down time and you need to find something else to do during this time. Otherwise the withdrawals are going to be more painful and you will be back playing within 48 hours!

You could schedule time with friends, join a club, register for a class, or simply fulfill your responsibilities that you have been neglecting. Imagine if you actually went out with friends when you were invited? If you did the laundry in a timely manner, or if you actually went out on a date from time to time! These are the simple activities that you can now attend to instead of spending all of your time on your computer. Or, perhaps you could just pick up a new book and enjoy another form of entertainment.

It is really hard to stop playing World of Warcraft and generally the first week is the most difficult. You should make a deal with yourself at the get go to stop playing for at least three full weeks. Many behavioral experts have determined that it takes three weeks to create a new schedule or habit, so if you fill your time with other things for three full weeks you will likely be a lot more successful in stopping the addiction in its tracks and creating a new schedule and habits. In three weeks you will also be able to look at your life and see that you are benefiting by cutting this part of your life out altogether. Many have found it helpful to find others who are recovering WoW addicts so that they can help one another find new and interesting things to do with their time. Just be careful if you do seek out other recovering addicts, you don’t want to enable one another!

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