I went full-blown gamer after my car crash in 2006, with a major spinal injury and no certainty of returning to work.
I bought an Xbox 360 purely to socialise with my mates - my self confidence had taken a real hit and adjusting to life in a wheelchair was tough enough, without seeing the looks on their faces (before we would go sailing, downhill mountain biking, compete in jui jitsui tournaments, etc).
I was already into PC gaming, but sitting in my wheelchair for long periods caused pressure sores and it was a long time to find a suitable office chair that could support me, so I moved to the sofa and hooked the pc up to the TV.
I slowly managed to pick up the pieces of my life and learned to walk (for short distances), then as my self confidence grew, I was able to socialise more.
I can't say I've ever been addicted to gaming (3 years of heavy morphine use took care of that), but it definitely helped escape the reality of my situation (I was an optician, but went back to uni to study law - the crash was 18 months into my first salaried job after I qualified).
The company I worked for were awesome, taking care of my Bupa bills, relocating me closer to my family, (plus 85% pay for 9 years helped). It allowed me to focus on my rehabilitation and What's Next.
Medical retirement at 36 wasn't my goal as a newly qualified corporate lawyer, but after getting married and having three kids with my amazing wife (we originally dated in our teens, then went separate ways for 10 years), who knows me at my best and my worst, I've started to pick up the bug with my 7 year old Autistic boy.
I'm currently building him his first gaming rig and look forward to hearing my wife complain how much time we're staring at a screen...