In-game addiction therapy for WOW News

I've already broken the WoW addiction..


and moved onto Eve.

It's simple to break. You take a Stormwind child and sacrifice it to Arugal, and then sprinkle the blood on Mankrik's wife and then run in cirlces around Tanaris 4 times counter-clockwise, and then clear Dire Maul East using only a stiletto.

oh wait, I'm still mildly addicted. bah.

/gargles

Sounds like some psychiatrists just want to get their fix for free. Physician, heal thyself, etc.

I always get the shivers when some loonie wants to take his, or hers, imposed miracle cure to people who didn't know they wanted it. :p

"Psychiatrist seeks free advertising." More like.

What about if he becomes addicted!!!

We are sitting on a lack of social skills timebomb with MMO's and Xbox Live and as long as Blizzard et al are making money it's only going to keep growing.

@schnide

OMG! It r end of world!!

Your assumptions aside MMOs are all about social interaction. That's why people get so into them, they're a form of escapism where you and your guildies can forget about the world, relax and talk crap in a fun environment while playing a game you all know and enjoy.

best line from Dr Graham;
"a psychiatrist may excel in what they do in the real world, they’re probably not going to be very good at playing World of Warcraft"
Doubt they'll meet any addicts in Northshire!

I could stop playing WoW any time I liked. Any time at all.
Not right now obviously, with 3.2 just around the corner, but yeah. Any time.

Er... I'm doing a study into XBox 360s and the effects they have on 29 year old males who post on Eurogamer with the alias RexRunti and have too much time on their hands, can I have every new game between now and the end of the 360 life cycle for free?

Here's a hint. Parental control.

16 hours a day...whoever lets their child do that shouldn't really be a parent (unless they are power-levelling or gold-farming to bring in the money needed to pay mortgage payments of course). **rolls eyes**

@schnide aww bless. Tomorrows generation won't need social interaction skills for going down the pub or other 'in person' scenarios. It will all be digital (if you leave your house you will get murdered by mobs of un-enlightened hoodies - the trend is already beginning. I read the Daily Fail by mistake and now I know the true horror of youth Britain) and the LCD screens implanted onto our eyelids will allow us to view our digital friends and buddies. No more social inadequacy for not being pretty, thin, etc, your avatar will be perfection personified...and so many outfits, certainly two for every occasion!!

Yes social interaction 3.0 will be the dawning of a new era, and whilst my crusty old husk of a body withers away in a retirement home being tended to by monkey butlers (or immigrants, whichever will work for the cheaper wage) then my brain will still be logging into the most recent MMO of the time (Universe of Warcraft 18: Protoss insurrection) and people will talk to me like a human and not like a newborn child just because I'm so old with a little hearing trouble.

Pro-creation will be less....sticky...with digital insemination occurring from a synthesis of the avatar DNA.

The future sounds excellent. Social skills? pfft. That is so 2008.

Personally I'm all in favour of it as long as they can make it effective.

Yes, I am in favor of this.

I am also very glad that I have never even considered joining WoW, or any MMO for that matter. I don't handle addiction well.

A psychiatrist who can't pay for his own WoW account? Damn I'm glad I didn't go to med school if being a doctor pays that badly :).

I've just noticed a fundamental flaw with this plan. Say I'm a teen addicted to WoW, I'm having a huge urge to play, but know I shouldn't because I've got homework to do/a date/GCSE tomorrow... whatever anyway, in order to stay strong I need to contact my therapist... by logging into WoW...

It's a bit like having AA meetings at the local pub.

I agree with RexRunti, we should also start having AA meetings over shots in a bar and the breweries should have to pay the therapist's tab.

It makes perfect sense.

Except that's not a flaw, it's the point. Reread the article.

Save the Children!

Get them away from from something they love to working a dead end job 9-5, 5 days a week, 49 weeks a year!

This topic makes me feel the sort of manic glee, that is usually only accessable when I watch puppies being drowned on U tube :D

Or you could just go and stand in the barrens and realise you were like that once

Did it for me, shamed me it did.

If need a specialist wow shrink, then surely you need a specialist for bananas or maybe Jeremy kyle trauma.

People can become addicted to anything and anything can take over and be the focus of someone lives. I am not playing down WoW having a effect but it has the same effect as any social problem. Some people avoid Pubs for example as they dont like being around a lot people yes thats a social issue however doesn't mean you need a specialist to change it.

Breaking News: In-Game Quack gets hooked on Warcrack. Ironing found.

This much refer to such a small area of the population, that if it wasn't wow it would be something else.
Let them get on with it as they will soon learn that if they dont get an education they cant get a job,( and in their future) no job is no money, no money means not being able to pay for broadband, wow subscriptions or pc hardware.
Then they go cold turkey.
They Kill their families and get put into special care homes where the Psychiatrists realise the only way to keep the calm is let them play wow.
There...a whole social disease resolved in a few sentences.

haha...hahahah...HAHAHahahhahaha...

I play Warcraft n' all (new player got into the game late)...I also enjoy going out with friends and spending time with family.
And I mean in the real world!...And by real world I don't mean in Warcraft but the actual real world!!
It's still quite amazing that World of Warcraft seems to be more addictive than cocaine/weed/nicotine yet it's rated at 12+

...Hah...hahahaha....haahahahahahhahahaah

@FortysixterUK
Like all narcotics, the best way to quit IS cold turkey.
Well in the case of WoW... a hammer to smash the install discs after quitting cold turkey.

Just encourage griefers. Job done.

I say let him try, a summary of responses:

General Chat:
Dr: Hi all, are you addicted to WoW? Come to the fountain in Stormwind where we can help with your problem!
xxikyllUxx: STFU! newb!11!!
Eaurliy: Reported for spamming
Freddy982: Bet he's just a pedo! Come feel me!
Dr is now offline

So lets say someone had a sex addiction. Would it be usefull to have a therapist in the room while you are doing the deed?
"Ok Mr X, lets talk about how you are feeling"
"Horny"
"Tell me about it..."
*grind grind grind*
"Well you see..."

:-p

Massively multiplayer online games are habit forming. They are designed to pull you in and keep you playing. Unfortunately for some, the games become an all consuming addiction. Here are tips on how to maximize your online gaming fun without crossing the line into irresponsibility, obsession and (for some) addiction.

http://www.affsphere.com/Games/Online-Ga...

"Save the Children!

Get them away from from something they love to working a dead end job 9-5, 5 days a week, 49 weeks a year!"

I bet if they spent the time played studying or training some skill, they would be not locked in a dead end job.

Instead, they are wasting their time in something consisting in little more that clicking on a monster, watching it die and then clicking to another monster all for at least four hours a day.
If someone spent that time resolving differential equations although is nearly as useless in real life, still he is building mental skills that will be allow him to take on real life problems.

Now, they are only building resistance to doing the same thing for long time periods of times... ummm, they are going to be great at working at something like a supermarket or a chain factory.

I was once addicted for about two/three months to lineage 2 until after grinding for a week in a dungeon I asked myself "whate the fuck I'm doing?" I realized how boring and pointless was a game about clicking on monsters and waiting them to die for hours. Since then, I have not played again a game (for more than a day) that don't requires a brain to be played.

Even if they got a job instead of wasting their time playing, they would gain money so they could spend it in wasting it in dating girls, travelling, getting drunk or whatever and they will get a good job record for getting a better job in the future.