ADDICTIONS
ADDICTED TO DEATH BY EVERQUEST?
By Synthia Esther
Elizabeth Woolley confided in doctors that her son Shawn was addicted to a computer game. Shawn's suicide death confirmed her fears. On Thanksgiving morning in 2001, Shawn Woolley shot himself to death at his apartment in Hudson, Ill.. According to an article by Stanley A. Miller ll, in Journal Sentinel Online, Elizabeth is quoted as saying, “It's like any other addiction, either you die, go insane or you quit. My son died.”
When researching world wide “MMORPG” (massively multi player online role playing game) activity I came across details I found strikingly similar to all “addictive obsessive compulsions”. Virtual worlds are plentiful and so are the amount of people across the world who are entertained by them. World of War Craft, Flicker, Second Life - where one adult pedophilia resident raped a virtual child, are just a few alternate worlds of reality. In China some Qi Gong (chee gung) participants have seemingly become addicted to the slow motion martial arts exercises. Experts of addictionology agree that anything that has the potential to generate significant changes in mood, effect or feeling is potentially addictive to someone.
“EVERCRACK”
Shawn was no exception as he played EverQuest, a game that can be played indefinitely because it never ends. Shawn played for 12 - hours long, ignoring his responsibilities, quitting his job and living in a 3-D virtual fantasy world of what some EverQuest game players call “EverCrack”. Shawn isn't the only one who has suffered from the addictive lure of fantasy game playing over reality. Some online game players have gone to the extreme measure of wearing diapers so they don't have to go to the bathroom. They have neglected caring for and feeding their children, stopped talking to friends, quit their job, and stopped eating.
MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE ADDICTION LINK
Like many addicts Shawn displayed signs of vulnerability to the addiction process. According to reports he suffered from depression and schizoid personality disorder, diagnosed by a psychologist. Research studies have shown mental health problems and addiction co-occurrence are common. U.S. General's report, co-occurring disorder have been estimated to affect from 7 million to 10 million adult Americans in any year. Department of Health and Human Services – DHHS, 1999, (see also SAMSHA National Advisory Council, 1998). According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, approximately half of those who use drug and alcohol services have some form of mental health problem, commonly depression or personality disorder (The Independent, Revealed, October 8, 2006, by Marie Woolf and Sophie Goodchild). An estimated 41 to 65 percent of persons with a lifetime substance disorder have a lifetime history of at least one mental disorder, and about 51 percent of those with one or more lifetime mental disorders also have a history of at least one substance use disorder (U.S. DHHS, 1999).
Woolley admits her son had problems beyond EverQuest. With help from Miami attorney Jack Thompson, she has filed a lawsuit against Sony Online Entertainment who own EverQuest. According to Thompson, “We're trying to whack them with a verdict significantly large so that they, out of fiscal self-interest, will put warning labels on...we're trying to get them to act responsibly. They know this is an addictive game.”
Meanwhile technology continues to blur the lines between fantasy and reality with many people choosing a false utopia over what they deem is a boring reality. Is your avatar a projection of idealization, an alternate ego, or a fantasy of dreams? If you live a lie long enough, the truth will always seem strange.
Elizabeth Woolley founded an online gamers anonymous website in hopes of helping others: www.olganonboard.org
