"I am a former EQ addict who quit originally back in 2000. I've been reading many of the posts here and have really felt bad seeing all the pain caused from the people addicted to the game. It's a horrible form of addiction because its effects are as real as any gambling or alcoholism but the outside world doesn't understand it.

When I quit the game I had just finished flunking out of my first year in college and had to come to terms with a life of little social skills as well as parents who had felt just as betrayed as perhaps many of you feel by your spouses. While my experience did not involve any online relationships, I thought I could perhaps simply bring the other side of things to fuller light.

I'm sure it is very tempting to give up. I've seen posts where people said they had spent years trying to get through to their spouses with no luck. People addicted to games (EQ in particular) do not admit to it by I assure you they do acknowledge it.

Like any addiction, without proper help it is near impossible to help someone. An alcoholic will not get better just because his family wills it; more likely than not he will need professional help.

The big problem lies with a lack of professional help available for this form of addiction. The academic and professional counselling world for the most part discredits the idea, though some awakenning has happened. (http://www.nickyee.com/hub/home.html).

The reason for this post is to simply make some of you aware that while it may seem like it is time to call it quits, realize that perhaps the type of help you've been trying to give is not powerful enough to get through. While I quit after being kicked out of college in the summer of 2000, I had many relapses after that. Even after being blessed with forgiving parents, whose trust I eventually regained overtime, and a second chance at college, I was still unable to control myself and went back every so often. It wasn't until I finally received free professional help at my new college two years ago that I was finally able to kick the habbit for good.

That was the key. I would urge everyone not to underestimate the power of a professional. For me it was not the professional herself, but rather the ritual of going every week and eventually, through her helpful questions, talking my way into realizing what DROVE my desire for playing. I helped myself, but I required a conduit that had an authoritative presence."