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So far I've discovered that 1) Mages can't handle being meleed even for a 'short' time (I must get out of my sloppy druid ways where accidentally aggroing mobs really isn't an issue) 2) Due to this, any small mistake means my death and 3) I die a lot.
It definitely is an adjustment from virtually any other class, in that as a mage you cannot take damage. As a druid, even a balance druid, you can cast away and then finish the mob with a whack or two of your staff, or go feral to finish things, if you like, without losing much. As a mage, you just simply never, ever, ever want to melee. You have to learn to be very good at kiting so that it becomes intuitive for you to be able to kite without aggroing anything you do not want to aggro.
What it takes is just getting used to using the tools that the class gives you. Use your frost spells to slow the mobs, use frost nova when they are on you, strafe away and turn quickly and take them down, or AOE multiples. It's about changing your mindset towards one where your primary goal is to control the battlefield at all times. It takes some getting used to, primarily because, as you now know, the margin for error is very thin if you push the envelope instead of staying focused on control. If you are able to convert your mind to being focused on control, however, you will find that your margin for error becomes a lot bigger, simply because you are in fundamental control of virtually every situation, and simply do not place yourself in situations where you cannot exercise that degree of control.
The AOE playstyle really becomes more feasible in the 40s, when you have a mount and just better spells and skills. But even an AOE mage needs to be able to play the non-AOE kiting type mage for non-AOE situations (of which there are many in the game).