I cannot play a video game without losing the night

Dear Delyara, I am thirty-six, married, and hide inside online games until sunrise. I tell my wife I am finishing work after she goes to bed. Instead, I put on headphones and enter a world where tasks are clear, progress is visible, and failure can be restarted. In real life, my company may restructure, my father is ill, and my wife wants a child I am not sure I am ready to raise. In the game, I know what to do next. Last month, I missed my father’s hospital call because I was in a tournament. Yesterday, my wife found the pay statements showing how much I spent on upgrades and virtual items. She asked whether there was another woman because the secrecy looked like an affair. I told her the truth. She looked almost more confused. Tonight, she is sleeping at her sister’s apartment. I have deleted the game twice and installed it twice. The login screen is open now. Addiction is difficult to explain when the thing destroying your life looks like bright colours and a harmless button marked Play.