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This Speakout has not been edited

By Roberta L Brake-Pound, Aurora

Back in the 1970’s, I can remember the same hyperbolic activity over the
Role Playing Game, Dungeon and Dragons, right along with Tunnels and
Trolls, Power and Might and a few dozen other “RPGs” that were born
around the same time. Mainly, it is seems to be a knee jerk reaction,
caused by a few (darn few) mentally unstable people who got involved
with the games. Through their involvement in the games, they seemed to
have lost their way from reality into fantasy. Once lost they began to
act out their own fantasies. Their acting out or attempting to live the
fantasy in reality caused more then a little distress in the real world
around them. Mainly because, deaths happened, this is never a good
thing.

Then as now, it should be pointed out that the mentally unstable can
just as easily become obsessed with anything that takes their mind away
from reality. They are ‘already’ in an unhealthy state of mind. Their
minds are not working in what is considered a normal fashion. For some
of these individuals it is a chemical imbalance. For others of them it
is the result of some trauma that they experienced and never received
help to work through.

Yes, there are some people, who get too involved in their on-line games.
Because of their involvement, they forget common niceties like bathing
and general hygiene. They become reclusive, compulsive, and may even
display violence if prevented from having access to their games.
However, the question everybody should ask before pointing a blaming
finger is, were they mentally healthy to begin with?

Addiction is not something that just happens. It is a pre-disposition
that some people have; it is set down in their hard wiring. They have
family histories of addictive behavior, and not all-addictive behavior
has to be destructive. Some addictive behavior is merely compulsive,
take the example of the mother who cleans house every single day every
single moment.

People with addictive personality types will become addicted to
something, thanks to their genetic wiring. For some it will be alcohol,
drugs, smoking, sex or even coca cola (laugh is you want to but it is
true!). They are set or primed if you will to becoming addicted.

Is it the substance’s fault, that the individual is addicted to them?
Perhaps in a way yes, but in a very real way no. The person who is
addicted is addicted because of the way their substance of choice makes
them feel. Some addictions give the person a sense of well-being, of
being loved of being supported, of being important to somebody or
something. Others make the pain of everyday life fade away and let them
not have to deal with or think about it. Still others give them a sense
of power or control. All these feelings are of course illusions.
However, for the person with the addiction they seem real, so they feed
the addiction. To continue to get that feeling or escape what is
bothering them.

Addicts were pre-disposed to the addiction to begin with and therefore
not of stable mental constitution. This is not to say that every
addiction is dangerous, unless it takes over the person’s life and keeps
them from having a normal life. Again, I direct you to the compulsive
behavior of cleaning, which is in itself an addiction.

Once they have given themselves up to their addiction they have
abandoned reality for the illusion that the addiction provides, because
it provides something they find reality lacking.

A few addicts, realizing they have a problem make the leap and proclaim
their problem. They are however NOT the norm, they are the exception.
These you will find attending meetings for (insert name of addiction)
anonymous, and they then know they have to watch themselves around their
addictive substance. Yes, there are gamers anonymous, because some
people have determined that they were addicted. However, no one has yet
established if these individuals had mental health issues to begin with.

Alcoholics know they cannot drink not even one little sip, or they will
spiral into the pattern they have fought to break. Ditto, gamblers,
sexual addicts, they learn to avoid the substances that cause them to
behave inappropriately. Compulsive cleaners have to learn to relax and
let go of this need to order their environment. It is a real problem; it
is just not one people might thing is bad. (Try living in a house where
the place always looks like a show room and like no one lives there and
see how comfortable you are.)

Yes, there may be some people who will and who have been carried away
with online gaming. Examples of it abound on the internet an example is
the young lady who sold her self for sexual activities in order to earn
fake ‘gold’ to buy an equally fake mount (if you can believe that it
actually happened. This seems to be the commonly held belief of this
event.) Yes, there are reports of men, and women who are so caught up in
online gaming that they throw away their normal lives in order to plug
in for hours, which turn into days. Forgetting food, family, children,
pets, jobs. However, the question still remains, were they mentally
healthy to begin with?

Most likely the answer will be NO. They had issues and this ‘escape’
merely brought the issues they had to the forefront of everybody’s
awareness. However, telling them they have problem will not solve the
issues or the problem. They have to come to that awareness on their own.

However, most of the online gamers live perfectly normal lives. They
wash, brush their teeth, eat meals and generally hang out with friends
(who they can talk to about anything and everything including their
gaming) and not one of them has an issue. Some of them are NOT
teenagers, but adults with 9 to 5 jobs that are mentally stressing and
draining. For them the two to three hour instances (dungeon, raid,
adventure) on an on line gaming world, is a mini mental break, it is not
the focus of their life. Sure, they want the best armor, weapons, and
mounts, for their role-playing character. However, they do not fall into
a pattern where everything else is place on permanent hold for the game.

After they have played the events out, they go to bed, then they get up
and go to work the next day, dressed correctly, clean and neat, to their
offices, their patrol cars, their busses and never once does anybody
think they have some sort of issue because they choice to unwind by role
playing on line.

In simple terms, they are normal, in every way. (Okay, so maybe a few of
them are single and do not have a relationship) However, just as many do
have a relationship and the relationships are healthy ones and working
ones. (Functioning in a normal fashion)

Of course, the hype that media is putting out makes it sound as if every
single online role player is on the edge of reality and cannot handle a
9 to 5 job and family responsibilities. Or is on the verge of losing it
altogether, and becoming violent, acting out the violence that is in the
online role playing game (I have yet to see a Frostsaber walking down
the street. Nor a single Orc have I run across though a few people seem
to be closely related. )

Of course what do I know, though; I certainly am not a medical
professional, nor am I deeply involved in psychology. I am however
married to a medical professional whom... (Horrors) plays on-line
role-playing games. But then again (gasp) so do I.

For all that, horror, of admitting I play online role playing games, I
have managed to raise two children (17 and 27) and not once did they
starve; go without proper medical attention, clothing or supervision.
In fact, they would tell you they could not get away with anything; that
I had sonar or something like it.

They would also report that, I am an avid book reader (addicted to
reading, if my home library is any evidence and if you asked my parents,
they would tell you it was a life long addiction). Included in their
report would be that I also love to cook and bake (the old fashion way)
so I could be accused of being addicted to cooking and of course eating.
(Since I like what I cook) and feeding people well, I have been known to
feed armies of friends (I wonder what type addiction that is?).

It is all a matter of perspective and it is something healthy people
have (perspective that is.) We do not forget to look at the whole
picture and we do not jump on bandwagons and make strange accusations,
or assumptions about others behavior without all the facts being
available.

Is gaming online addictive? Yes, for certain types of people it is very
addictive, but then Monopoly is just as dangerous for them as any single
‘Role Playing’ system or game they might come across.

READER COMMENTS

Hey Tom,online poker is a game ,thus it is gaming.
Have you ever heard of a poker table referred to as a gambling table? No! Why? Because it is a gaming table
That is on-line gaming.
Now you know your ABC's next time won't you sing with me.

I found Pogo.com and can play games for around $40.00 a year and most have a real jackpot that you can win.

So far I have won screen savers. But it never costs me a cent extra unless I want to buy a cap or coffee mug.

Please don`t push for government regs on this.

I agree that online gaming is just another way adults can choose to waste their time. Unfortunately myhusband is one of those who ignores everything else to play Everquest.
I can count on him being in that computer chair all weekend and every night after work until late at night. He gets about 4 hours of sleep a night because he won't go to bed without playing for an hour.
I have been hospitalized (last time for heart surgery) for fifteen of the last twenty weeks. He loves me but I only saw him twice when he was not signing me in or out. He took off two days before my surgery and two afterwards claiming that I was in danger and needed him. My only danger was losing my temper with him for pinching our budget again. Last time that happened he cancelled his account but secretly kept it up on a second bank account and played at his sister's house. If I don't let him play he sulks and will play even longer on a work night then call in sick. He just found this job and like the last five he will lose it when the company gets tired of his excuses and absences.
Even so, online gaming is only a hazard to those who lack the internal compass to balance work and play.

On-line gaming, not gambling...Rosanne Rosannadana

Kenny Rogers (aka The Gambler)
You can gamble online for free if your good enough to win freeroll tournements. That's how I gamble for free. I win money in tournements that are free and play their money on real money tables. It's fun. Since I'm the better card player I usually win the money and let my husband play the money on real money tables.
For me the high is winning a tourney out of 12,000 people.

I'm best at 7-card stud and 7-card stud Hi/Lo

Cheaper than going to Central City.

Roberta - I like to gamble, and I enjoyed your article.

But the analogy between online gambling and Monopoly is flawed.

Last time I checked, you couldn't lose your rent money playing Monopoly.

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