I've fallen off the face of the earth...

[teawiththecheat]

because I let World of Warcraft eat my brain. I've neglected the house, laundry, and loved ones and I am not proud of myself or my choice. I know how likely I am to get addicted to such things, which is why I tend to avoid so many temptations. I resist new things for months and years at a time, all the while someone whispering in my ear--most often

Comments

[dicedork]

As a fellow person with OCD, and the easy ability to fall into things I get into, be they shows, books, or games, especially games with huge immersive worlds and grotesque amounts of replay value, I sympathize greatly.

The trick, I find, is first to keep everything in perspective. The average person spends a lot of time in their leisurely pursuits--be they hanging out in bars, watching TV, or surfing the net. There are a lot worse, and less interactive things you could be doing. (At least there are other people on the other end of a lot of what you're doing.) Sure you don't want to go bugnuts, but a lot of people are passive--not active--when they play.

Second, and most importantly, when you feel yourself succumbing to an addiction (a familiar feeling for me), immediately codify--heck write down if it helps--the limitations you will put on it. If you do it from the negative side (only X time per day) or the positive side (only after I've done Y and Z) boundaries are the most important friend an OCD can have. If you just say you'll play less, too often you play a little less, slack, forgive yourself and end up as bad as ever. If you say that you're going to play no more than four hours a day, or hang out with a friend, do chores, or read for four hours on any day you don't work before you even look at Wow, that's a boundary with an actual measurable line. And you can check yourself. Expect to have your bad days where you fail, but at least that line in the sand is there.

In your case, just think about what you have to do. You're on summer vacation, and your work is very part time. If you gotta let something chew on your brain a little, now's not a bad time. Students are supposed to waste time in summer. It's in the rules. Make a list of priorities above WoW, and how you're going to give to each of them before you allow yourself wow time--or maybe sometime within the day or whatever works for you. But give yourself breathing room too. If you were blowing off school, I'd be properly mortified, but you're not. You have your life about as in control as it's ever been including the chores. This is pretty normal. It just FEELS like a lot because you usually have a lot on your plate. It's easy to feel like you're being cheesy, which is part of the reason to make boundaries. After feeling productive, it's easier to allow yourself to relax and enjoy instead of feeling shameful and possibly guilty.

There's a reason I don't touch shit that could physically addict me.