Concupisco Quaestus
27-09-2011, 07:35
Gaming addiction is very serious thing, we all have it to some extent or other as can be witnessed by those week long trips out of town where by the end of it you're feeling the “withdrawal” but in its extreme forms it can ruin your life and even lead to death.
With RMT merging your game experience with your work experience mild gaming addiction could lead to workaholism. When it's fun making money it's very easy not to want to do anything else and you could easily find yourself sitting in front of the computer for 12 hours a day because you're making money whether you have a job to go to in the morning or not... That workaholic tendency will only nourish your game addiction and vice versa, it's a spiral that only leads to bad things.
When engaging in your little RMT enterprise it is very important to keep things in check, this holds true for anyone who “games” but more so for us due to the double threat nature of what we are engaging in. When this game goes live thousands of cats will go unfed, thousands of dogs will go unwalked and thousands of bodies will go unwashed, do not put yourself into that situation as it will only become ever increasingly difficult to get out of it, especially when you turn around one day and see the mess you've been wallowing in and depression shows up for a visit.
Make yourself fully aware that when you sit for long periods of time frequently without exercise your lungs and heart start losing their ability to function properly, you may not realize it because you're only a little chunkier than before, not obese or anything but you could be sitting there one day doing your thing and have a heart attack or stroke... Sound drastic? My father once had a medical call where he basically had to pull a dead teenage kid off his computer because that is exactly what happened.... and his story wasn't the first or the last that I've heard about.
In any business where large volumes of time are spent being physically “idle” fitness is always an issue, however that risk is amplified exponentially when you introduce addiction and the threat of addiction in Diablo 3 will be much higher than any other game we've ever been exposed to.
The warning signs to keep an eye out for are...
1) Severe decline in personal hygiene, We all get stinky butt from farting in our chairs for hours on end but if you can smell your own balls through your pants... It's become a problem... This is ironically enough one of the earliest markers for everything that follows below... Catch yourself here and save yourself a world of trouble.
2) Repeatedly “forgetting” to feed/walk pets, If you're getting pulled into the game enough that you are ignoring your furries, pull back and ask yourself how good you feel about abusing your critter because of a video game... When you have to go to the bathroom really bad or are very hungry it's not a very nice feeling is it?
3) Neglecting or getting short with your children because they are trying to interact with you while you are playing your “game”. This one should be obvious but when you have people letting their babies die while they're in a “raid” it's fairly easy to see where this type of behaviour ultimately ends up... It doesn't take bad people to do bad things, sometimes all it takes is 20 minutes of neglect.
4) Not paying bills or performing your most basic household duties, like #3 you would think this one would be obvious but when you start going from “addict” to “junky” you are not going to be looking at things with a rational outlook, try to catch yourself if it happens and take seemingly "insignificant" signs like this very seriously.
5) If you find your emotional investment in your character(s) turning from pride or sentiment to a full blown delusion that you “are” your character, get help fast... A little “make-believe RP” is one thing but this is a sign of a more severe psychological issue, you need to get out of the game and get help ASAP, if you can't get help for some reason detach yourself from all gaming and disconnect from the internet immediately... Psychosis is a very serious condition but it is treatable.
6) Hatred and spite for people or things that happen in game start spilling over into and influencing your real life... It's a game, we all take things too seriously from time to time but if you're still seething about something 3 days later, walk away from the game and readjust your priorities, it is just a game and you are in an unhealthy and dangerous place.
7) You feel the need to “do” something because someone wronged you or something happened. Let it go and like #6, readjust your priorities in life, if you are wanting to kill yourself because your online girlfriend broke up or kill someone else because of something they did you are suffering from SEVERE emotional dysfunction and possible mental illness. A perfectly rational human being can create a mental illness within themselves in a very short period of time, do not invest excessive emotion in anything that takes place in an online medium and if you think you are, don't shrug it off, play it safe and walk away... The time to fix the problem is when you first start feeling like you're crossing a “line”, by the time you're seriously contemplating murder, suicide or god knows what else it's usually too late... Just don't get there... If you find yourself moving in that direction get off the Internet and get help.
8) Keep a close eye on any compulsive or irrational behaviour. Are you finding yourself to be snippier than usual? Are you saying rude things to people that you wouldn't normally say? Are you walking around with a lingering tension or anxiety that just won't go away? Time to take a break, walk away, get outside, look at some pretty things, look at some cute things, maybe hit up a zoo if there is one in your area or take some nature walks. Tension, anxiety and stress are not difficult to deal with when you take measures to relieve them but leave them to their devices and you might be having your first heart attack earlier than you planned.
9) Lost your job because of the game? Stop playing immediately and seek help, explain to your boss that you have stopped playing the game and are in therapy and hope to heck you can resume your life. NEVER return to the game and avoid all other games until your therapist gives you the O.k... It's one thing to want to do this professionally but if you're getting yourself fired over the game there's something wrong.
I'm sure there's many more things I could list but as far as the big flashing red light warnings that you're standing on a road with some very black asphalt I think that covers the bases. Be aware of yourself, if you find what you are doing is “changing” your personality pay extra close attention to what is really going on, what could easily seem like a harmless change at the time could very rapidly devolve into something very serious.
It's natural to want to take a week off work and do nothing but play D3 on launch day and we're all going to spend way more time in this game that we probably should but maintain a balance in your life, get yourself outside. Did you just finish doing something in game and are pondering what to do next? Ponder while you walk around the block... Feeling a little tense? Go take a really hot shower... Feeling like you want to nibble on something? Grab some dumbbells, do some bicep curls and squats, 3 reps of 10... Still hungry? Go nibble.
We are all responsible for our own well being but we're going to have to look out for each other as well, get yourself open to the idea of someone politely putting the possibility of gaming addiction to you now as later on your addiction and ego may put you on the defensive and make you unreceptive to any helping hands. Also don't be afraid to pull someone aside and try to talk to them if you see someone who might be having a problem, if the problem seems severe enough to warrant it do not hesitate to contact Blizzard or even your local authorities if you know the person well enough to find out where they live.
Pretty much every horror story you can read about severe forms of gaming addiction came about by friends, family and guilds turning a blind eye to what was really going on... We need to try our best not only to keep ourselves on the right track but to help those around us who may be slipping as well.
I hope this didn't come across too preachy but being someone who has slipped to a certain degree myself I can say that the road there is a lot easier than the road back... and there's nothing there worth seeing.
If at this point you feel a little scared to get anywhere near this stuff, don't be. Just make sure you are aware and take a little time now to prepare for the event that you do notice something someday.
With RMT merging your game experience with your work experience mild gaming addiction could lead to workaholism. When it's fun making money it's very easy not to want to do anything else and you could easily find yourself sitting in front of the computer for 12 hours a day because you're making money whether you have a job to go to in the morning or not... That workaholic tendency will only nourish your game addiction and vice versa, it's a spiral that only leads to bad things.
When engaging in your little RMT enterprise it is very important to keep things in check, this holds true for anyone who “games” but more so for us due to the double threat nature of what we are engaging in. When this game goes live thousands of cats will go unfed, thousands of dogs will go unwalked and thousands of bodies will go unwashed, do not put yourself into that situation as it will only become ever increasingly difficult to get out of it, especially when you turn around one day and see the mess you've been wallowing in and depression shows up for a visit.
Make yourself fully aware that when you sit for long periods of time frequently without exercise your lungs and heart start losing their ability to function properly, you may not realize it because you're only a little chunkier than before, not obese or anything but you could be sitting there one day doing your thing and have a heart attack or stroke... Sound drastic? My father once had a medical call where he basically had to pull a dead teenage kid off his computer because that is exactly what happened.... and his story wasn't the first or the last that I've heard about.
In any business where large volumes of time are spent being physically “idle” fitness is always an issue, however that risk is amplified exponentially when you introduce addiction and the threat of addiction in Diablo 3 will be much higher than any other game we've ever been exposed to.
The warning signs to keep an eye out for are...
1) Severe decline in personal hygiene, We all get stinky butt from farting in our chairs for hours on end but if you can smell your own balls through your pants... It's become a problem... This is ironically enough one of the earliest markers for everything that follows below... Catch yourself here and save yourself a world of trouble.
2) Repeatedly “forgetting” to feed/walk pets, If you're getting pulled into the game enough that you are ignoring your furries, pull back and ask yourself how good you feel about abusing your critter because of a video game... When you have to go to the bathroom really bad or are very hungry it's not a very nice feeling is it?
3) Neglecting or getting short with your children because they are trying to interact with you while you are playing your “game”. This one should be obvious but when you have people letting their babies die while they're in a “raid” it's fairly easy to see where this type of behaviour ultimately ends up... It doesn't take bad people to do bad things, sometimes all it takes is 20 minutes of neglect.
4) Not paying bills or performing your most basic household duties, like #3 you would think this one would be obvious but when you start going from “addict” to “junky” you are not going to be looking at things with a rational outlook, try to catch yourself if it happens and take seemingly "insignificant" signs like this very seriously.
5) If you find your emotional investment in your character(s) turning from pride or sentiment to a full blown delusion that you “are” your character, get help fast... A little “make-believe RP” is one thing but this is a sign of a more severe psychological issue, you need to get out of the game and get help ASAP, if you can't get help for some reason detach yourself from all gaming and disconnect from the internet immediately... Psychosis is a very serious condition but it is treatable.
6) Hatred and spite for people or things that happen in game start spilling over into and influencing your real life... It's a game, we all take things too seriously from time to time but if you're still seething about something 3 days later, walk away from the game and readjust your priorities, it is just a game and you are in an unhealthy and dangerous place.
7) You feel the need to “do” something because someone wronged you or something happened. Let it go and like #6, readjust your priorities in life, if you are wanting to kill yourself because your online girlfriend broke up or kill someone else because of something they did you are suffering from SEVERE emotional dysfunction and possible mental illness. A perfectly rational human being can create a mental illness within themselves in a very short period of time, do not invest excessive emotion in anything that takes place in an online medium and if you think you are, don't shrug it off, play it safe and walk away... The time to fix the problem is when you first start feeling like you're crossing a “line”, by the time you're seriously contemplating murder, suicide or god knows what else it's usually too late... Just don't get there... If you find yourself moving in that direction get off the Internet and get help.
8) Keep a close eye on any compulsive or irrational behaviour. Are you finding yourself to be snippier than usual? Are you saying rude things to people that you wouldn't normally say? Are you walking around with a lingering tension or anxiety that just won't go away? Time to take a break, walk away, get outside, look at some pretty things, look at some cute things, maybe hit up a zoo if there is one in your area or take some nature walks. Tension, anxiety and stress are not difficult to deal with when you take measures to relieve them but leave them to their devices and you might be having your first heart attack earlier than you planned.
9) Lost your job because of the game? Stop playing immediately and seek help, explain to your boss that you have stopped playing the game and are in therapy and hope to heck you can resume your life. NEVER return to the game and avoid all other games until your therapist gives you the O.k... It's one thing to want to do this professionally but if you're getting yourself fired over the game there's something wrong.
I'm sure there's many more things I could list but as far as the big flashing red light warnings that you're standing on a road with some very black asphalt I think that covers the bases. Be aware of yourself, if you find what you are doing is “changing” your personality pay extra close attention to what is really going on, what could easily seem like a harmless change at the time could very rapidly devolve into something very serious.
It's natural to want to take a week off work and do nothing but play D3 on launch day and we're all going to spend way more time in this game that we probably should but maintain a balance in your life, get yourself outside. Did you just finish doing something in game and are pondering what to do next? Ponder while you walk around the block... Feeling a little tense? Go take a really hot shower... Feeling like you want to nibble on something? Grab some dumbbells, do some bicep curls and squats, 3 reps of 10... Still hungry? Go nibble.
We are all responsible for our own well being but we're going to have to look out for each other as well, get yourself open to the idea of someone politely putting the possibility of gaming addiction to you now as later on your addiction and ego may put you on the defensive and make you unreceptive to any helping hands. Also don't be afraid to pull someone aside and try to talk to them if you see someone who might be having a problem, if the problem seems severe enough to warrant it do not hesitate to contact Blizzard or even your local authorities if you know the person well enough to find out where they live.
Pretty much every horror story you can read about severe forms of gaming addiction came about by friends, family and guilds turning a blind eye to what was really going on... We need to try our best not only to keep ourselves on the right track but to help those around us who may be slipping as well.
I hope this didn't come across too preachy but being someone who has slipped to a certain degree myself I can say that the road there is a lot easier than the road back... and there's nothing there worth seeing.
If at this point you feel a little scared to get anywhere near this stuff, don't be. Just make sure you are aware and take a little time now to prepare for the event that you do notice something someday.