My husband of 5 years (partner of 9) is slipping away from me. He is obsessed with a role-playing game called EverQuest that is played online against people from all over the world. If his addiction were to a substance such as drugs or alcohol, I would be able to seek help for him and for myself. But where do I go for something like this? I've tried to reason with him, to beg, to get angry, I've tried to ignore it and hope he'd tire of it on his own. I've written him heart-felt letters and tried to schedule time for us to talk about how a stupid game has come between our family. Nothing works. Last night he told me he was leaving me because I keep "*****ing" about the amount of time he spends on the computer. Which right now, is anywhere between 15-20 hours a day. He completely missed out on the entire summer with the kids (boys ages 10 and 2). Not once did he get outdoors to bike ride, play ball or just BE with them. No swimming, no picnics, nothing. He and I haven't been to dinner or a movie in I can't remember how long. He's lost one job and is continually late to this one due to the fact that he gets little to no sleep because of the game. We used to have a family, we used to TALK to each other. Now, I can't be sure he even hears me; he is very adept at tuning all of us out when he is playing. He even takes his meals here at the desk. I feel as if this is sooo surreal. I'm going to lose my life over a GAME. But to him, there is no problem. He "enjoys" it. He's "making friends". There is no "other woman". I think I could actually cope better if that were the case. But how do I get past a GAME? It's not real, it can't love him, need him, want him the way I and the kids do. His response to that? "Shut up. You're stupid". Please, someone, ANYONE, out there...HELP ME!!!!!
