WOW helped me learn to cope with a lot of the social anxiety issues I have. I went from just doing shit by myself and not talking to anyone and being timid about getting on the mic to eventually getting running raid groups and getting elected to take over as GM of the 60+ member guild I was in.

Yes, I was way too addicted to it for a long time but a big part of that through the middle to the end of my time playing it was the socialization factor. It was a "safe" means of interacting with people and just have conversations where it was easy to escape or stand up for yourself if someone was an asshole. Unlike public school where I had to worry about physical violence so I avoided people as much as possible except my small friend group. I learned to talk to people and banter. I learned how to manage conflicts and organize events. I learned how to have constructive conversations with people who were falling short in raids. All these things which I was able to bring into real life. It also gave me more opportunities to talk to women platonically which I think contributed to me not becoming an incel because I definitely fit the demo of someone that should have happened to.

As I got more confident I eventually got a job and started doing more stuff in real life and that got me off WOW and video games as a whole are a much smaller part of my life now. Would it have been better to go to therapy? Maybe, but I didn't know where to begin with that. I really don't think I'd have turned out as well as I did without that game.