[DoctorEldritch]

Hello Legion Gamers!

As some of you may know, this week is Mental Health Awareness Week!

The relationship between games and mental health has been the subject of research and discussion for some time, both in academic research and in public forums. For example, there are studies that suggest that games have a positive impact on helping to cope with depression or anxiety.

And there's more where that came from! Last week, @Blackgem from the Spanish community shared (and translated) an article that discusses this issue in depth and mentioned several therapeutic effects of gaming. There are many examples there that are interesting to think about, like how RPG games adopt the practice of role-playing which has been a psychotherapy element before computers were even invented. Or how games can help to develop social skills through projection.

Thank you for sharing, @Blackgem, it's an interesting read! What I particularly liked about it is that the article also mentioned the games that have a new take on mental health, like Psychonauts and the personification of mental issues this game has, or Hellblade and how its main character is experiencing psychosis. Though I wish they mentioned Josh from WatchDogs 2, his character was an interesting portrayal of an Aspie.

And for those of you who are more into talks than articles, TED's got you covered. Here is a talk about the effects of games on cognitive behavior (with an impressive library of subtitles to boot!). And it even has some exercises that you can do yourselves as you watch to experience the effects firsthand!

It is inspiring to read how games make people feel better and help them in their daily lives. Personally, I find playing video games soothing, and I enjoy the creative element in them, it is inspiring. And by having them as a hobby, I have a common topic of interest with some people (everyone here, for one), and that helps me to be more confident at social gatherings. Those can be stressful otherwise.

What about you, got any story of how playing games makes your life better or easier?

[Saka]

This topic reminded me when the COVID pandemic just started in the West Animal Crossing on Switch gained incredible popularity. It's a very casual game with cheerful vibes. It also helped people get away on their little island, even if just virtually, when they were affected by lockdowns in real life.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Oh yes, the first article (the academic one) mentioned Animal Crossing and the effect it had on people. Personally, I was more into Stardew Valley at that time, which is also very therapeutic, I think, but I can see the appeal of Animal Crossing too.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Ah, I see now. I was replying when in the car on my way to dojo, so I didn't have a convenient way of checking the links on my phone.

And funnily enough, the article says what I had in my mind; mental health treatment is difficult to access in most countries, not only it rarely is covered by insurance, but also the wait times can be horrendous.

Animal Crossing or a similar game, can be grabbed from e.g. Nintendo Store at any time and has a fixed cost that is likely way less than a single therapist session. If it helps coping with the mental health issues, then by all means it's a good investment.

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by Saka

Animal Crossing or a similar game, can be grabbed from e.g. Nintendo Store at any time and has a fixed cost that is likely way less than a single therapist session. If it helps coping with the mental health issues, then by all means it's a good investment.

And if you do not mind replaying games, I guess a single investment can help you continuously. More so in cases of games like WoW or Animal Crossing that can be played...well, indefinitely. So you get even more for your investment in these cases (though in the case of WoW, it would be a monthly subscription?)

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch WoW's montly subscription is 13 euros. So non-subscription games are definitely a better value in the long run.

There are a lot of good free-to-play multiplayer games out there. For example Guild Wars 2, Warframe, etc.

Pretty sure there are good games for every pocket and every type of player. Maybe we should compile a list of these some day. 🤔

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka That is a good idea, it would be nice to start a list like that. More so as some games get on sales or giveaways on occasion (Metro Last Light that @GoLLuM13 posted about today). So even a certain good game in not fit for a budget at one point in time, it will not always be so.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Back to the topic of mental health, I found this interesting list of games that in some way talk about mental illnesses. There are some known titles in there too.

This article is listing games with relaxing soundtracks. You can find Animal Crossing near the bottom!

Whether you are fishing on a summer's morning, or chopping trees late into a winter night there's an appropriate Animal Crossing tune just for you.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Thank you for this, the list was an interesting read. Though, as I was reading it, I somehow got the impression that they are grouping disorders and trauma together. In my view, they are different. There are such things as depression or social anxiety that get represented in the games, and then there are traumatic experiences that people can work through. Those are not approached the same way in psychotherapy, I think, but piled together in the list.

Take, for example, Hellblade and Wolfenstein. In Hellblade, Senua has psychosis, and it is portrayed very well through her experiences and imagery. And then take BJ Blazkowicz who had a traumatic childhood and, per the article, this is what contributed to him becoming a soldier and, eventually, "Terror Billy". That may be true, and Blazkowicz had nightmares as a child and later as a result of PTSD, but I would still say that his mental illness is very different from that of Senuas. But I guess they are all in the spectrum.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch In a way, depression and anxiety and things that need to be worked through as well.

I do agree that there is stuff in the list from different categories, but trauma is a mental health issue, even if its genesis is different. Some personality disorders may also come from trauma, so in a way things can blur a bit.

It's good that there is some representation in the games, sparking conversations. Even if the portrayal is not accurate, it still could lead to better understanding in the society in my opinion. There's still too much stigma and taboo around the topic, albeit that's slowly starting to change. It's the same as disabled people were hidden away from the world until the end of 20th century.