Video games can be addicting, there is no doubt about it. I have dabbled myself here and there and pulled an all nighter or two but unlike the majority of players out there, I know when to stop. I am able to turn off my computer and rejoin the real world. Yes, cyber space can be tons of fun but that is exactly what it is, a virtual reality.
I recently read an article about a man who had a serious addiction to video games. He started off like everyone else. He went online to buy a world of warcraft account and started playing here and there. It was not long though until the game started to consume his everyday life. It got to the point where it was so severe, that while out in public he believed he was actually in a real life video game.
A sudden movement by someone else would transport him back into his virtual world. The player reported in one instance, while standing in line at the food store, someone reached in front of him to grab a pack of gum. Next thing he knew it was like he had never left the house and was still sitting at his computer screen. His heart was racing and he found himself breathing heavily, just like someone snuck up on him while he was battling a dragon on a quest.
After a few more instances like the one above, weekend long benders playing the game and constant threats from his wife that she would leave due to his addition, he finally realized he had problem. He deleted the game from his computer and went cold turkey. He shared that he went through a painful withdrawal that emotionally and physically affected him but in the long run it was worth it and he is now doing fine.