When is Enough...Enough?

Wow , it's been a long time since I've posted. I was hoping to post, atleast weekly on here, but sometimes real life and game life get in the way and time is limited. Of course, I don't know if anyone even reads this..lol.

I think generally, most people start playing W.O.W to have fun. It allows us to escape into another world. A world where we can leave the struggles of real life behind, if only for a few hours. We become a character, and we create our own story. We set out on our quests, somtimes alone and sometimes accompanied by our friends. We are challenged by other players, we are taunted by monsters. Our battles are always epic, even if we are not always victorious. All this in the name of fun...pure enjoyment.

What happens though, when the game becomes too serious? When the enjoyment we once had in this game, slowly deteriorates? I've seen game drama ruin relationships. I've seen friendships destroyed, all in the name of progression. I've seen guilds fall apart from things like unfair loot distribution and raid spots. What happens when it becomes more stressful to log in then to not? When is enough, enough ?

I've had both real life friends, and game friends stop playing for these very reasons. These were people who invested so much time and energy into this game. A game that once brought them so much pleasure, became a source of frustration and stress. It makes me question, what is the breaking point? When do you log off, never to log on again. When is enough....enough ?