Here is an interesting story from the EQ widows site - It is being posted here, with the author's permission.....she is the "significant other" of a gamer.
Quote: Hello everyone. I know its been awhile since you have heard from
me. I been very busy since i last posted.For one thing i had to do alot of thinking, since my beloved came
home from his temporary stay at his mothers. While he did not go
back to playing that '****' game (Dark Age of Camelot) for about a
week, soon he started playing obscene amounts of time on it again. I
asked him to stop and cut down and he basically told me, "Why, I get
up on time for work, I get alot of sleep," I then told him some
choice words and that i would move back with my mother, until he
would realize that its either me or that game. (My mother lives in
WV and I live in western NY btw.)Within a couple of weeks, I get a call from him. He basically said
that he was sorry, blah, blah, blah. I had heard that all before,
around the time that he said he would cut down after he hit me! But
this time, there was a note of desperation in his voice, that wasn't
there last time. Well, i think it was there, perhaps i was hearing
things in his voice I wanted to hear. Then he said, "Snuggles, you
know i love you. I'd do anything you want to make it up to you. I'm
a man of my word." Just like the last time he said he would cut down
and didn't? I was thinking, but i decided i'd give him 1 more chance
but if i was coming back it would be on my own terms. I then told
him, "If i am coming back, you ARE going to delete your characters
and uninstall DAoC. Then your going to break the CD so you can't
reinstall it. Finally, you ARE going to admit that you have a
problem." I was never this bossy ever in my life. But when you
reach the end of your rope with someone it is surprising to what you
would do. In short, he did everything he said he was going to do.
He actually cried when he deleted his 43 arms! I, myself, thought
this was pathetic, but i didn't want to say anything.The next week was like we were on egg shells. He was snappy and
moody. He did not feel like 'being' together at all. I chalked this
up to withdrawl. He actually went through withdrawl from this game.
Its sick to know that someone can become addicted to a game, and its
alittle scary to.I went shopping with friends one night, and figure to ease his habit,
I'd by him neverwinter nights. You don't have to play it online, but
its free to do so. Its a form of Dungeons and Dragons, but on the
computer. I walk in the house and found him glueing the pieces of
the CD together. To my surprise, horror, and amazement, I dropped
the bag that contained NWN.To keep my addict's attention, i bought several things to try to keep
his mind off of it. I suggested he enroll back into school, having
dropped out of college. I also enrolled. I'm going to be a
zoologist when I grow up and look forward to working with animals. He
wants to be a teacher, and eventually teach college. To do this, he
has to kick his addiction.Well, now, its calmed down quite a bit. Last night, just before
getting up to go to work, he came in and admitted to me that it was
insane to spend time on creating a character. He missed out on so
much of me. I just smiled and knew that this was as close as I was
going to get to him actually admitting and believing that he was
addicted. Who knows what will happen now.Love and Best Wishes,
Nikki
I asked her to send the broken CD's, but she said they threw them in the garbage, after she made him rebreak the CD's, again.
Edited by: lizwool at: 8/1/02 7:02:38 pm
[color=blue]lauramc edit: OLGA in no way endorses the above site[/color]
Liz Woolley