"My EQA doesn't play EverQuest – it's World of Warcraft. We have been together for five years, and sort of live together....

Since WoW came out, every single weekend has been absorbed almost entirely by the game; plus he plays for anywhere from 3-8 hours on weeknights. He skipped a trip to see my family over Thanksgiving, just to play. (He told me he had projects around the house to work on, and I was surprised at how uncharacteristically cheerful he was about me leaving town. When I got home, and not a single house project had been touched, it didn't take many brain cells to figure out why he had so cheerfully bid me good-bye.) He did manage to tear himself away for a week over Christmas, but he was on the computer within 30 minutes of arriving home – despite it being after midnight, and having just spent 12 hours in the car. Yet he tells me – with a straight face – that he doesn't spend very much time playing the game!! I think he honestly believes this; and consequently, I think he must be completely out of touch with reality. Does he think that time stops when he's in the game?? Or does he think that a completely unproductive hobby absorbing 40-50 hours a week is normal? It really puzzles me.

I keep expecting him to get tired of it (it seems *really* dull to watch...over and over again, the same exact thing), but quite the opposite seems to be happening: over time, he's become *more* obsessed with it.

And me? I'd like to say that I've been handling this situation maturely, in a supportive manner that might encourage him to look at things from my perspective. But that would be a lie. I'm very, very angry. Every time I see him playing, I just boil over with anger all over again. He doesn't always notice when I'm there; but when he does and says hello, I just ignore him and do whatever I came in to do. It's stupid 5th grade behavior, and I fully admit that, but I just want him to understand - in some small way - how rejected I feel when he ignores me for hours and days on end. Of course, I understand that this just creates a spiral: the game has, no doubt, become his way of escaping from my moodiness and anger - which increases exponentially the longer he plays the game."