Having played lots of strategic and competitive games in the course of my life, I definitely spent a lot of time on it, and also experienced everything you said and more.<p>Nowadays, in order to keep my focus on more productive tasks, I tend to force myself not to play, and also not to start playing any new game, because once I get started, it is hard to stop.<p>Although the compulsiveness level might vary largely between individuals, I believe that this kind of compulsive behavior is specially true among MMO players. The social factor that MMOs bring is just too addictive, even for the least competitive and compulsive person.<p>I have to say that games brought a lot of good things to my life, such as starting me in programming, friends, a lot of brain activity,  great moments and raw fun, but there is a dark side, yes there is, and sometimes I wonder if it is worth it. It might depend on the situation of the individual.