Comment Breaking the Trance (Score 1) 559
I've been in a similar situation, and I found a solution that worked for me.
I initially started by playing World of Warcraft trial while in school, and I would skip a lot of days due to this addiction. I was forced to stop due to my lack of a credit card, but after I moved out I quickly acquired one and starting playing this game. A few days after my second month of play started, a old high school buddy of mine dropped by, and we are talking about old times and our latest life developments. When he asked what I had been up to, I simply stated: "Well, I got to work, I get home, I play World of Warcraft, and I repeat." While this schedule had exceptions that were for the better, I still clearly realized how this game was consuming my soul. I cancelled the account the next day, even though this meant I was paying for a month that I wasn't going to use.
A few months later, I got another urge to play World of Warcraft, which was generally when I had some time off between semesters, and I was doing some web development work at home. I played the game for another month, and then I ended up quitting again, realizing once more that this game is a completely unhealthy addiction. My friends helped shake out of my trance yet again, and I hoped this impulse would not return. Then I got an idea: I connected to private servers that were so accelerated that they would allow me to see all the end-game content, and thus, ruin the game. I stepped into a server, and a player ran by, stopped, handed me 50,000 gold, and continued on his way. 50,000 gold. I bought 8 epic mounts (yes, even alliance), and I explored high level instances and killed all the bosses on my own. I don't feel the need to play this game anymore, because I am bored to death of everything. I would switch mounts every minute and run around with a full set of legendary items. That, and my character was powerful enough to solo bosses. What a great way to ruin World of Warcraft.
Basically, my best suggestion would be to look to your friends for encouragement, but mostly, to realize that everything you are doing in the game will not advance you in your real life, and thus, it is time lost. As a friend of mine playfully put it: "Why don't you learn to be a tailor in real-life?"
I initially started by playing World of Warcraft trial while in school, and I would skip a lot of days due to this addiction. I was forced to stop due to my lack of a credit card, but after I moved out I quickly acquired one and starting playing this game. A few days after my second month of play started, a old high school buddy of mine dropped by, and we are talking about old times and our latest life developments. When he asked what I had been up to, I simply stated: "Well, I got to work, I get home, I play World of Warcraft, and I repeat." While this schedule had exceptions that were for the better, I still clearly realized how this game was consuming my soul. I cancelled the account the next day, even though this meant I was paying for a month that I wasn't going to use.
A few months later, I got another urge to play World of Warcraft, which was generally when I had some time off between semesters, and I was doing some web development work at home. I played the game for another month, and then I ended up quitting again, realizing once more that this game is a completely unhealthy addiction. My friends helped shake out of my trance yet again, and I hoped this impulse would not return. Then I got an idea: I connected to private servers that were so accelerated that they would allow me to see all the end-game content, and thus, ruin the game. I stepped into a server, and a player ran by, stopped, handed me 50,000 gold, and continued on his way. 50,000 gold. I bought 8 epic mounts (yes, even alliance), and I explored high level instances and killed all the bosses on my own. I don't feel the need to play this game anymore, because I am bored to death of everything. I would switch mounts every minute and run around with a full set of legendary items. That, and my character was powerful enough to solo bosses. What a great way to ruin World of Warcraft.
Basically, my best suggestion would be to look to your friends for encouragement, but mostly, to realize that everything you are doing in the game will not advance you in your real life, and thus, it is time lost. As a friend of mine playfully put it: "Why don't you learn to be a tailor in real-life?"
