Posts with tag stress

Officers' Quarters: LF guild leader PST

by Scott Andrews Dec 21st 2009 at 1:00PM

Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.

Some guild leaders think we are irreplaceable, but few of us actually are. Who will carry on the Torch of the Damned if we can't fulfill our duties? I know exactly who would if I ever had to stop playing. But some guild leaders aren't that lucky. Caasi is one of them. She wrote me this week to ask what she should do.

Erro thar.

I've been playing WoW since 2006 and started my own guild in July 2007 and, at times when RL does not allow enough time, I have handed the guild over to a friend. As it stands there is currently two 2ic's and various raid and class leaders. It has generally gone smoothly, starting off as a leveling guild and then moving on to (very) casual raiding. We didn't get to do much of TBC raiding due to most members leveling slowly and only starting to play the game in TBC. We are up to TotC standards but have encountered a raid and guild breaking issue.

When the Australian DST changes kicked over our raiding teams were pretty much split. This has meant that raiding stopped for around 6 weeks causing quite a few of our main raiding team to leave. During that time I took over main guild leadership to try and kick people back into gear. Things were working well enough until I realised that I had over committed myself both IRL and in game. I was fast heading to "SCREW THIS GAME AND YOUR STUPID BLOODY ATTITUDES" before I realised that something needed to be done.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Officers' Quarters (Guild Leadership)

WoW Insider Show live at a special time tonight

by Mike Schramm Sep 16th 2009 at 2:00PM

Because I'll be out of pocket this coming weekend (and by "out of pocket," I mean driving a Uhaul with all of my earthly possessions in it through the Rocky Mountains), our podcast is going live at a special time this evening -- we'll be on the air over on Ustream at 6pm Eastern time. I can't tell you exactly who'll be on with us, but it'll have all the things you've come to expect from the show: some silliness, your emails (email theshow@wow.com if you have something to tell us), and lots of insight about the latest news out of Azeroth. This week, we'll talk about shady Arena team ratings, the controversial change to Bestial Wrath, the Abyssal Maw and what we know of Cataclysm's dungeons, and if we have time, we'll talk about how being in a guild can actually make you calmer.

Sounds like a packed show, no? That's because it is. And if you can't make it to listen live tonight (you can jump right after the break if you like for another embedded feed), then worry not, because as always, we'll have the show on the iTunes feed for your listening enjoyment. But if you are around, do stop by -- I'll guarantee it'll be a good time. See you this evening!

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Humor, WoW Insider Show, Cataclysm

Study: Playing in a guild actually lowers stress

by Mike Schramm Sep 14th 2009 at 2:00PM

A new study done by researchers at Australia's Queensland University of Technology says that spending time online playing World of Warcraft with others can actually be good for your mental wellbeing -- within moderation of course. Researcher Huon Longman studied WoW players who played alongside guildies in game, and found that players often shared their real-life concerns with their virtual associates, which resulted in lowered levels of "anxiety, depression, and stress." In short, it seems that when you build relationships and share emotions even with people online, it can help you deal with problems in real life as well. That follows what we talked about earlier this week with Dr. Hilarie Cash -- games like WoW can definitely complement real-life relationships and actually help you relax.

But only when used in moderation -- Longman also found that 10% of the sample he studied played considerably more World of Warcraft than normal, and that those players not only didn't experience a bigger benefit to their wellbeing, but actually experienced more "negative psychological symptoms." A good balance of virtual and real life can have a lot of benefits, but falling too much into virtual life can actually cause more problems psychologically, according to this researcher's work. Obviously, this is one study of many about how playing these games can affect how we think, but the results are definitely reflected in experience: in-game relationships, used in moderation, can definitely help you deal with the real world in a healthier way.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WoW Social Conventions, Virtual selves, Guilds, Blizzard, Raiding

15 Minutes of Fame: Tanking with a panic button

by Lisa Poisso Nov 25th 2008 at 2:00PM

15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.

It's always fun to indulge in WoW talk with fellow players, but our favorite interviews for 15 Minutes of Fame happen with people for whom WoW opens doors – whether as fun and frothy as indulging another hobby by crafting a replica of Booty Bay entirely out of Legos or as meaningful as being able to game in a non-threatening, non-judgmental atmosphere among like-minded friends.

This week's featured player exemplifies the power of WoW to energize and empower people's lives. MMOs can make wonderful outlets for disabled players, who find online camaraderie and 24-hour access amenable to their unique needs. Kalzedhan Hurenfal of Feathermoon-A US not only games "around" his limitations but in fact focuses his crosshairs dead on them: he's a tank with a diagnosed panic disorder.

Kalzedhan suffers from a handful of debilitating mental disorders that keep him socially paralyzed, homebound and unable to function in a productive work environment. Yet through WoW, Kalzedhan not only has been able to re-engage in relationships and personal achievements – he does it in the hotseat as a tanking Warrior.

Filed under: Features, Raiding, Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

Wednesday Night Live!

by Adam Holisky Mar 12th 2008 at 7:50PM

Blizzard is at it again and so are we! We'll be live blogging the stress test event part deux tonight, on the scene with both Alliance and Horde characters. Be sure to give a /wave to any "Insider" you see walking around. We'll be trying to stay where the action is – be it in arena's attempting to best our own 8-1 record, or watching the GMs hand out more 'phat lewts'.

Right now the server is up and running, quite smoothly actually. Keep an eye out here and we'll keep you updated with the latest!

Check out after the break for all the action.

Filed under: Realm News, Patches, Events, Realm Status, PvP

Breakfast Topic: Relieving stress

by David Bowers Jan 8th 2008 at 8:01AM

Usually we think of WoW as a way to relieve stress that we acquire in real life. Yet sometimes stressful things happen in WoW, and we need to find ways in real life to relieve them. I find that whenever something like this happens in the game, from battleground whining and insulting, to trouble finding good roleplayers, it does me a world of good to write about it on WoW Insider in some constructive manner. Not only do I address the problem in myself this way, resolving my own attitude towards it, but I do something that, I hope, helps other people who are experiencing the same problem in their own gaming as well. Many WoW players have blogs of their own, and I presume writing there has a similar effect.

What do you do in real life to relieve stress from WoW-related problems?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

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