getting help in world to deal with SL addiction, is it possible?

I believe i most likelly would need somthing like those websites to help people with internet addiction, but in this case, I have a hard time not staying in SL, and i do believe this adiction combined with some other issues I have are likelly at least borderline pathological or somthing.....


I think it would be good if there was a group or a place I could go to try to get some help or somthing...do you guys know of anything like that? or if you don't, would you know how I coudl find out?

While I wish you the best of luck in combating your addiction, doesn't the thought of seeking help for internet addiction in an online virtual environment seem...self-defeating?

At any rate, you might consider calling a local mental-health care professional in your area, explaining your issues and concerns, and asking if they think it would be feasible or wise to meet you online.

First, i would have to ask, wether it was an addiction, or an obsession..

ad·dic·tion (-dkshn)
n.
1.
a. Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance: a drug used in the treatment of heroin addiction.
b. An instance of this: a person with multiple chemical addictions.
2.
a. The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.
b. An instance of this: had an addiction for fast cars.


ob·ses·sion (b-sshn, b-)
n.
1. Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.
2. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

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You have some anxiety, you are concerned that using SL as frequently that you do, is unreasonable to you, yet even so, you do not want to stop.

i would suggest it is an obsession. No different than someone who listens everyday to the same song, until they eventually stop, the interest fades.. there is nothing new, no more curiosity..or someone who must become the best they can at something, in ignorance of everything that prevents that happening.

Folks become obseessed with work..or keeping things clean... looking right all the time.. the list is endless.

SL can be obsessional, particularly if you sense a challenge, and feel the need to succeed and master it. Such behaviour is normal.. it isnt the same as an addiction, folks die from addiction, forced removal from the source, is the only way they can stop.


Take a close look at what you use SL for, create a list of priorities, Things in SL you want to succeed at, Things that are just coincidental to succeeding. If the list contains things you can do elswhere.. then try some diversity.. you may in fact find that you will create a new obsession..just trying to stop using stuff in SL..

It could be you have lost direction, yet because your sympathy lies in SL it becomes the cushion, you dont have to deal with being lost.. your in the comfort zone...your step on the ladder..your space. There is nothing abnormal in that either..

Certainly create the list of priorities..
You need to assign yourself some targets...both in time and achievement.

There is nothing wrong in discovering yourself, what makes you tick, what you are good at, what you need help with.. do not be vindictive or assumptional, with yourself or things you use...

Folks can be obsessed with something their whole lives..

I`m obsessional.. often days go by... when i lose track of time, even what day it is..just in the pursuit of something i do not want to let go.. or beat me... i am sure i can find what i am looking for... i need the solution.

Often when i do.. the interest dies immediately.. been there, done that..


If like me your no great socialiser, then having someone to use as a sounding board would often provide a solution to the obsession. If you have close friends or family.. try that.. sound them out.. see if they have the same kind of problems, obsessions..

I am sure you will find they have...

It isnt addiction, i have no doubt this topic will cause much debate..

top right hand corner, press the X

the idea of getting help with internet adiction on an website, like the idea of getting help with SL addiction while inside SL is just like how it happens with people with issues like extreme social fobia, or fobia of germs, etc, if the person is trapped somewhere the help goes to the person and slowlly makes them more confortable with somthing not the "cell" they've got themselves iomprisioned into....

about the priorities list... I'll see what i can come up with, not sure how much that would help nor if I would actually be able to make a list with very clear itens without taking in consideration the somewhat direct access to the pleasure center of my brain that just being logged seems to have... it does seem that it hits me in a very raw level, ñ necessarilly related to any one specific activity or goal...dunno...the ammount of nights I've not slept to stay in SL so far will probably make me die way earlier... I was already feeling my brain fail more often from not sleeping every now and then, but SL made it kinda chronicle :/

and Robin, hitting the X or pressing control-Q or any other stuff like that wouldn't change the fact that a couple of moments later I would still be in SL...

Maybe LL should provide an option to set "The Cornfield" as Home with no way to change it for a selectable duration. The option to log in to a specific region would have to be suppressed.

- maybe not the Cornfield, but somewhere not intended to be stimulating.

The problem is, you'd probably met a bunch of like-minded people, and have such a good time that .....
So maybe in this place one's ability to see anybody or anything, or to communicate inworld could be suppressed.

I think that's about the only sure way of getting in-world addiction 'therapy'. It would force one to face into RL.

Try joining the "Positive Mental Health" group in SL and inquiring there. Perhaps they can point you in the right direction.

oh, and about the mental professionals thing, I'll try to mention how I feel this issue got bigger to my therapist next time I talk with him

ok, thanx, I'll join that group, thanx

Getting in-world help to help your addiction for Second Life seems somehow ..

backwards.

Must... hear.. Copacobana...

Her name was Leia, she was a princess,
with a danish on each ear, and Darth Vader drawing near
so R2-D2 found Ben Kenobi, (Obi-Wan)
He'd have to put the Death Star plans into the Rebellions hands,
So Luke and Obi-Wan had to get to Alderaan
So they stopped into Mos Eisly to have a drink with Han

At the Star Wars, Star Wars cantina
The weirdest creatures you've ever seena
Here at the Star Wars, Star Wars cantina,
music and blasters and old Jedi masters
at the Star Wars.

(Oona Koota Solo?)
His name was Solo (Han solo), he was a pilot
with a blaster at his side and a smile twelve parsecs wide,
there with Chewbacca, he was a Wookie,
They met with Luke and Obi-Wan about the Millennium Falcon,
docking bay ninety four(ninety four), stormtroopers at the door
With a flash of Bens lightsaber, now there's an arm on the floor

At the Star Wars, Star Wars cantina
The weirdest creatures you've ever seena
Here at the Star Wars, Star Wars cantina,
music and blasters and old Jedi masters
at the Star Wars. (Mos Eisly Spaceport, you will never
find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy,
we must be cautious)

His name was Yoda, he was a muppet.
Darth Vader was so bad and by the way he's Luke's dad,
Luke kissed his sister, his hand got cut off
In that galaxy far far away, Luke has had a lousy day,
Boba Fett was so mean, Jabba had bad hygiene,
Why didn't they all just relax, back on Tatooine

At the Star Wars, Star Wars cantina
The weirdest creatures you've ever seena
Here at the Star Wars, Star Wars cantina,
music and blasters and old Jedi masters
at the Star Wars. (The Force will be with you…always)

The Star Wars...
The Star Wars cantina...
The Star Wars...
The Star Wars cantina...

I'm sorry, and I don't want to minimize anyone's addiction...

but isn't that like asking for drug counselling in a crackhouse?

Try getting help in your first life.

Wouldn't that be like having AA meetings in a pub?

I'm not meaning to make light of this because I know it's a problem....hell it's a problem for me. But the only real cure I've found is turning the dam PC off and getting involved with LIFE again. Sadly, this only works when my fiance is home from over seas.....I have no need or desire to spend hours on SL when he's here... (and anyway he hogs my PC to play HIS game lol) and once I've been away from it for a while....I find I get kind of bored with it when I return.

I think you're on to something.....but I can't say I agree it would be any benefit to treat any kind of on-line addiction with on-line therapy.

I have to agree with the above sentiments. The answer to an SL obsession is in my opinion, Get a First Life, or get help to make it a better one. I know addiction to RPG's has been in the news in recent times, with tragic consequences sometimes. But it all comes back to RL issues that have to be dealt with.

i think you are already cured. are you wanting to be addicted to SL and can't get in the groove? or is that a typo?

it's not just SL. people often get addicted to whatever internet forum they have the most fun with. if it's interferring with your RL, then you just need to quit cold turkey for a week or two, or shut off your internet connection altogether for a month. the easiest way to quit is to be SO busy in RL that you simply cannot find time to play on your computer. pretty soon, you won't really care.

but, as soon as you start back again, you have to be careful not to fall back into that groove.

i have been like that on occasion, but not with SL. i enjoy SL, and when i am creating something, i spend a lot of time inworld. when i finish the project, i rarely log in until i get a bug up my butt again.

my problem is these darn forums. i belong to too many and i can't quite seem to keep my pie-hole shut. pretty soon, i feel obligated, and then 3 months have gone by.... you get the picture. well, off to enjoy my RL. i have a garden, windows to wash, a couch to trim and a motorcycle to ride... today.

The reason i dont think tigro has an addiction is that i sensed and saw concern..tigro had anxiety, there was guilt, addicts seldom seek help.. unless the source of the addiction is unavailable. an addict would not post here, unless SL was unavailable.

Certainly there may be undisclosed concerns or factualities that tigro has not come to terms with yet and remain hidden. tigro is no different in that from any of us.. we all hold secrets.. no one is an open book.

The big plus is that tigro is prepared to seek advice... i say advice, not help,simply because no one can be certain if tigro needs help or advice, until tigro can come to terms with what it is that has caused this, folks can suggest solutions.. only tigro will identify the one that brought him here.SL might not be the cause... ive already mentioned the comfort zone....

tigro already knows the answer... he just cant identify and come to terms with it. Else perhaps tigro will never have the answer.. obsessions are like that..

If the cause is in fact something hidden that tigro isnt giving... then even sympathy in response, is better than nothing at all.

If one wanted to stop using SL and go beyond just closing the program they might cancel all SL accounts, delete all SL related web pages, etc., delete all SL related material stored on hard drives, remove all SL related contacts from contact lists, etc., the get rid of all computer equipment, disks, software, hardware, the desk the computer sat on, the SL bling necklace, etc., then cancel one's internet service.

Then, go to the arts and craft store, buy some sketchpads and some pencils, some modeling clay and some real clay, some acrylic paints and some canvas boards, an easel, and a small table to work the clay on. Or some variation of "alternate activity" that works for you.

Getting help in SL for Dealing with Internet addiction is sort of like getting your concelling for Alchohol addiction in a Pub.

If you have a problem, and are at the stage where you are ADMITTING you have a problem it's time to turn off the computer and seek Councelling In the Real World.

Good LucK Chere!

Angel.

lemme try to answer a few thing smentioned

I don't want to completly run away from SL, I just want to learn how to better control myself

the idea with getting help while still in it is to do a smooth slow down instead of hitting a concrete wall at full speed

I've spent about almost a month without logging, but when I logged again it was worse than ever...

about me having some undisclosed reason for my issue, that is probably right, but I don't even know myself what would it be (or perhaps it is like you said, I could have the knowledge already in my head I've just not managed to understand/pay attention/trust/accept/whatever to the point I can say what it is or somthing like that.....)

Maybe the issue is that you are being too hard on yourself.

SL is wonderful.
It has its tacky bits, but overall if your mind is open, it's mind-bogglingly wonderful.
It doesn't take some dark unspoken personal flaw to get sucked in for a while. It just takes a sudden rush of WOW!!!!

I was fortunate enough that RL was not demanding when I first hit SL. There was a thread here a few months ago about the longest continuous sessions that people had in SL. It appears that many get very immersed in SL for a while at least.

You are not a freak.
Lots of people start off by drinking soooooooo deeply of this place. So much to explore. So much to create, with such easy powers!!

I think it's an obsession that many people get, and not an addiction.
Now that you are well aware of an issue for yourself, you will probably come to a sane RL/SL balance.

Kinda like heading to the local dive bar to get help with alcoholism - LOL

Actually, there is a bar I go to that hosts AA meetings on Saturdays...hmmmm

i pass no judgement trigo.. that you have courage to lay it on the line, and share in honesty, is really brave and astute.you know what you are doing.. i am sure you will find the way to go..the credit is yours surpassing this in spite of the publicity, will make you stronger than any critic..