Do you guys play EQ to escape?

[Twochain]

Some of the most nostalgic memories I have are from 1999-2000, playing EverQuest right next to my father. I only got to play every other weekend at his house, the 11 days I wasn't at his house I daydreamt about playing constantly. I had a family guild, an EverQuest "Mom" (AKA the woman my dad e-dated) and I loved it. The game has always felt like magic to me.

I don't really have addiction issues, although one may take a look at my play time and say otherwise. A lot of things in my life are going well. My daughter is 5 years old and is the sweetest little girl. I have a great, supportive career, with my own big office and unlimited advancement opportunities.

But what I do have, is extreme sleeping issues. Always have. Bad Insomnia (can't stop thinking about stuff while laying in bed, however not in angst) Sleep Apnea (even though i'm in decent shape + have had several throat surgeries to correct this) and even "Severe Restless Leg Syndrome". Coupled with life long depression, I find myself playing for hours and hours on end during the wee hours of the night when sleeping seems impossible.

This is the first MMORPG (p99) I have committed so many hours to. I have 3 level 60's. I love our community. It's easy to just pop on to say hi to some people and get sucked into a 5 hour adventure.

Even though my life is going.. pretty okay, Norrath is my happy place.

If anyone ever wants to talk, don't hesitate to speak to me on the forums or in game. I'm always willing to help. Whether it be with some Real Life advice, some plat for your first toon, or if you need one of my bad ass toons for some adventure.

Love you all <3

[bomaroast]

I keep playing for that little tinge of satisfaction that comes from every group I'm in, someone commenting that it's the best group they've ever been in.

[scifo76]

Originally Posted by agentjayd007 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm not sure if I am making this post in the right forum. I was thinking maybe it belongs in the off topic section since it isn't about being in the game itself, but it still has to due with EQ.

My first memory of EQ wasn't actually being in the game itself. See, my mom worked with a guy who played EQ and during one of those "take your son/daughter to work for a day" things, he showed me everlore.com. I read up on all the classes and races, the cities, everything. I had to have EQ. A week later my dad and I went to the mall and we passed by FuncoLand, which eventually would become GameStop. Through one of the windows I saw EQ sitting on a shelf, it was the Kunark box art with Firiona Vie and that blue Iksar. I begged my dad to buy it and he did. Then we walked to the food court for dinner, I could hardly eat though because of how excited I was. I read that box up one side and down the other. Eventually, I got home, installed the game, and asked dad for his credit card cause it was $15 a month. He wasn't too thrilled about the game having a subscription, but he paid it anyway.

That was the first memory I made about EQ and I would make countless others as the years went by.

Things have been going pretty crappy for me for a little over a year now. It's really difficult to keep my head above water while I try and get to a better place mentally and emotionally. EQ is such a powerful thing, the immersion and the world itself is something I was amazed at when I first played at 12 years old right when Kunark came out. Here I am 20 years later and it still makes me feel that way. The sounds and the music and the look of the zones take me back. Honestly, the game has been therapeutic in a way because sometimes if I feel like just saying something out loud that I am too afraid to say in real life, I do so in game when I find a nice secluded spot to myself. Usually that place is the river in Toxxulia Forest, but if people are around, I'll find somewhere else. Like in the middle of the forest in Greater Faydark or something.

EverQuest reminds me that I can be happy. I remember how it made me feel when I was a kid. The memories help me cope with my alcoholism in a way by reminding me of life before alcohol and that self medicating with a toxic substance won't help anything. I relapsed recently and the guilt and shame I felt from it shook me to my core, but logging into EQ helps me deal with that, even when I am going through withdrawals and I can't sleep and have to force myself to eat something even though I have no appetite. I have been on the server since before P99 launched Kunark and have yet to hit max level on a character because honestly, I don't care about leveling. I made a druid to specifically be able to port around the world and go back to the same places I went to as a kid. It's an escape. I'm not sticking my head in the sand and forgetting about my problems and acting like they aren't there, I know they are. But sometimes it is just too difficult to handle at the moment, so I jump into EQ until I am ready to face the music.

This post ended up being way longer than I intended but I just wanted to say something.

Thanks for sharing your story. Take care.

[fastboy21]

You shouldn't regret posting your thoughts.

Most of us here have a similar recollection, not the same details obviously but the same very positive good feeling surrounding the nostalgia of our experience with EQ.

If you find EQ to be a needed escape it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Most of us also relate to the various power this game can have...if you do have a diagnosed mental illness you should def bring up your video game playing if you are concerned about it with a health care provider. For some folks, I have even heard some positive anecdotal improvement in depression and social anxiety.

[Awweshux]

Thank you for your post. This game is a total escape for me too. Escape from watching the news 24/7 and angsting about the state of the world. Escape from buying shit on Amazon. Escape from boredom. Escape from imperfection of RL. It's fun. It's beautiful. It's an amazing thing to be able to open the computer and enter this lovely magical world. It's amazing to be in the game where you first were able to play with people from all over the world, and you still can. Thank you again for sharing your post. We're all in Norrath to escape and play in a world very different from the real one. Or is it.....