According to Dr. Hilarie Cash, the executive director of the reSTART internet and gaming addition recovery program and co-author of the book "Video Games & Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control," retreating inside a video game to avoid real world problems is a common cause of "video game addiction."
The article's author basically descends into an obsessive state over EverQuest - way back in the year 2000! - and loses his job and girl in the process. Altogether, it's kind of reminiscent of an episode of Intervention without the stint in rehab. I don't say that to be patronizing of gaming addiction, but I do find myself wondering when this particular issue will come to be taken seriously. Even thinking about gaming as a serious form of addiction is hard to swallow, especially for the non-gamer.
The one thing I can say, though, is that people suffering from gaming addiction can often use that experience later in life in an actual job setting (just as the blog poster did), but you don't see that very often in the realm of actual drug addiction (unless it's in the realm of prevention). You don't see heroin addicts becoming needle salesmen, for example. But I'm sure there's someone out there who is.
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