Rehab Center Help Kicks WoW Habit for $14,000

By Marcus Yam
published

It's $14,000, but you get your life back.

Ben Alexander was addicted to World of Warcraft and spent nearly every waking minute playing the MMORPG.

"At first, it was a couple of hours a day," Alexander said in an AP story. "By midway through the first semester, I was playing 16 or 17 hours a day."

As a result of his time sunk into the game, Alexander dropped out of the University of Iowa in his second semester and went to seek help. He originally found – and completed – a 10-week outdoors-based program in Utah, but felt that he hadn't yet shaken his WoW addiction.

Alexander eventually discovered a special center in Fall City, WA that deals with pathological computer use. The center, called ReSTART, offers a 45-day program costing $14,000 to help those addicted to internet, video games, texting, social networks, online auctions and other technological time-killers quit "cold turkey."

ReSTART is now providing Alexander with counseling and psychotherapy sessions, along with opportunities to do household chores, exercising, baking cookies, among other things.

"I don't think I'll go back to 'World of Warcraft' anytime soon," Alexander said.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
52 Comments Comment from the forums
  • epic fail is what i can say.
    Reply
  • ssalim
    Nasty. Once I played 12 hours a day playing DAoC for whole summer but now I play up to 2 hours a day when my kids are asleep. Oh and I didn't spend a dime to get rid of my UO or DAoC or WoW or Warhammer Online addictions.
    Reply
  • webbwbb
    ssalimOh and I didn't spend a dime to get rid of my UO or DAoC or WoW or Warhammer Online addictions.
    If you have had to get rid of addictions to all of these then maybe you have not actually taken control of your video game addiction. It kind of sounds more like you hop from one to another.
    Reply
  • redgarl
    Well, I think for that price someone should stick playing WoW... seriously...
    Reply
  • esquire468
    Quitting cold turkey doesn't help. It's all about moderation.
    Reply
  • zhaknafein
    ...or you can join my old guild for free, they will drive you mad in one week and you will never want to listen about wow for the rest of your life :)
    Reply
  • redgarl
    ssalimNasty. Once I played 12 hours a day playing DAoC for whole summer but now I play up to 2 hours a day when my kids are asleep. Oh and I didn't spend a dime to get rid of my UO or DAoC or WoW or Warhammer Online addictions.
    12 hours... and now only 2...? Sorry, but you are addicted to the bones but you don't know it. The maximum I played Counter-Strike was 6 hours a day... 12 hours is insane...

    Lately, I am playing a lot of Street Fighter 4 online, like 1 to 2 hours a day and I find it disturbing. For me online gaming is nothing more than useless competition. The fun became an habit before you know it.

    I didn't played online for around 3 to 4 years after my Counter-Strike habit... and I tend to do the same with my Street Fighter 4 habit.
    Reply
  • jellico
    $14,000 to beat your WoW addiction? Damn... in just 78 years, the program will have paid for itself in the amount you save on the monthly subscription cost.
    Reply
  • Pei-chen
    Usually some form of spanking is the best treatment against addition be it drug, internet, or TV.
    Reply
  • nixname
    I bet these programs are run by gold farmers...
    Reply