Topic: Gaming and Depression

Kinda weird question but was wondering if anyone else have used gaming as a way to cope with depression..... I've been depressed for about 6 years now... I grew up gaming but had been out of it for a good while (my last console was the PSONe) I'm 31 now and last year got back into games seriously after getting first a 3DS, then a Vita then a PS3....... gaming is one of the few things I really enjoy now and help me keeps my sanity (kinda wish i had more time to play or could get a vacation just to play games for a week or so) . Although I'm still depressed gaming (and associated stuff like being in the forums and checking the news online) really helps distract my mind and allows me to get excited about things in a way I hadn't in years.

It's great that games can do that for you, but this isn't the place to come to talk about depression.

I'm guessing almost no one here is adequately trained to speak about mental issues.

Gaming didn't help with my depression, medication did. I've suffered from depression from 2008 - March 2014. Thanks to Venlafaxine I can proudly say that I'm a different man now.

Naww not asking for advice was just wondering if I was the only one who had found relief in gaming

Well, i'm a similar age to you dualwielding...and i've suffered from depression and anxiety for most of my adult life. I've also been assaulted and stalked (seperate incidents) in that time which certainly hasn't helped.

To those people who say this isn't a forum for discussing depression... i just have to say that depression doesn't make one a mutant freak. The OP wasn't requesting therapy, just to see whether others could find comfort/solace in playing games when they're struggling....

To that I say, yeah absolutely. One of the big reasons I've gravitated back to Nintendo (From the N64 era) is Nintendo's focus on creating 'fun' experiences with an emphasis on infusing as many colours as possible into each game.. They're whimsical, very well designed and laser focused on providing pure gameplay experiences. So much of the AAA landscape these days is just relentlessly depressing, ultra-violent and boringly self-serious to me...besides the fact that a lot of it is dumbed down to appeal to people who would rather go to the cinemas than hone their gaming skills...

Games like Pikmin, DK: Country Returns, Pushmo, Mario Kart, Wind Waker and Super Mario 3D World are a great antidote to depression for me. They bring you back to that state of child-like wonder at the open-ended possibilities for 'play'. They win you over to an optimistic state of mind. I think this is a key goal for Nintendo in everything they do.

Often i've found myself too depressed and tired to even think about playing video games, but when I do...it's Nintendo games that are able to lift me out of the mire with their blend of optimism, broad colour palette, inherent weirdness, and laser-like focus on 'pure' gameplay.

Never said it did.

I do know the problems of unqualified discussions about depression. The best person to talk to about this is a professional. Nobody here is one.

I take medicine for my depression and it doesn't effect me one bit.

Depression is a serious illness which is becoming very common especially with each new generation.

Many people with depression don't even know they have it because they pass it off as just life getting them down, and many regular people can't deal with it because do not understand it at all. Lucky them.

Have you heard of mild depression. What about mild cancer. Get my point.

Some other shocking things. Nobody knows what causes depression let alone curing it. Drugs work no better than placebo for moderate and mild forms of depression, and they have side effects.

My suggestion is see a pyschologist for starters, and visit the site of Dr Stephen Ilardi.

http://psych.ku.edu/people/faculty/ilardi_stephen.shtml

Stephen Ilardi TedX talk about depression - 22 mins

Longer version - 1hr 20min - skip first 8 mins

Good luck

I know they know almost nothing about it - they cannot even determine whether the cause is chemical or due to environment. Or that just happens as a side effect of something else.

They know how to talk about it in a way that can prevent further harm.

Yeah, lets cut the advice for depression here. We're not doctors, and shouldn't be giving out advice. This is a serious issue, and not one for armchair analysts.

I am also on Venlafexine, but only diagnosed with clinical depression a few months ago. So, I'm still finding my way. For me, gaming is helpful. Any activity that can help lower stress and anxiety is always a good tool. Frankly, it sounds like you have found a great tool to help cope.

I swear we've had this exact same topic before and it didn't go down well. I'm with the others, this topic is simply too serious for a public forum. Hell, I have enough trouble talking to my therapist about my issues...

This thread's fine. I think it's cruel to just sweep all the depressed people under the carpet and pretend they don't exist. Like that would help! No one needs to give OP any therapeutical advice, he's just asking if anyone else uses the same method to ease depression.

See no problem with the thread, it's gaming related sheesh
And yes I do feel gaming helps with depression I wasn't depressed ever but I do have moments, if I'm upset I go and beat the hell out of people in smash if I'm sad I actually like playing Kirby as I feel the series is so adorably cute it cheers me up :3

Well, it's true probably no one here is a therapist, but to be fair, this is the place to talk about it, as the description for this forum section states 'Life and everything in it'.

Anyway I myself have personally struggled with sadness I guess you could call it a few years ago, but it wasn't ever diagnosed as depression or anything, I would just get really sad and develop a pessimist attitude for no reason. That being said I'm a much happier person now, having moved past that all now, whatever 'that' was, I'm not trying to say I understand depression or I understand what depressed people are going through, I'm just saying where I'm coming from on this topic

Video games have always made me happy, it's just something about them I think is amazing, no one I've met physically feels the same however, though I have had the fortune to meet some people here who share my passion.

I myself believe video games could bring someone out of depression, sort of a specialized treatment, if it works for you, then good for you, I wish you well.

Also I just wanted to post this here, on the off chance it might help someone:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Phone Number
1-800-273-8255

I have never been diagnosed with depression but I do have an anxiety disorder. I haven't really used gaming to deal with it but I have use games to connect better with family members. When I was little, my father had bipolar disorder and was self medicating with hardcore drugs. I was adopted by my grandparents because he couldn't handle me, my stepmother and his drug problem at the same time. I would visit him in the summers and we would play the N64 together, it made me feel close to him and that he still cared. I am a huge Star Fox fan because of him. I also used to play Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 with my grandmother who I was already close to but I think it made us even closer. We still talk about those games and how much fun they were. As I got older, I used a lot of games as some sort of escape but I never went overboard with it. I honestly believe this is the reason why I hold games and the industry so dear. It has made me happy in my darkest times.

thanks to all I wasn't looking for advice or anything, is just comforting to know that you are not the only one that uses video games to cope

I have pretty bad depression and playing video games keeps me "numb" so to speak from toying around with suicide. I've also played video games to get me through physical pain. In fact, I remember when I was passing my first kidney stone I was playing Majora's Mask on the zelda collection for the gcn. Didn't take away the pain, but it was at least a bit of a distraction. Frankly I'm glad smash bros is gonna be on the 3ds because that will certainly help numb me, especially with some recent bumps in the road for me, the timing is perfect.

To be honest, I think it's pretty common It's just always good to be looking for other (more productive things) to make you happy as well. There's nothing wrong with a healthy dose of gaming to lift your spirits! And heck, I look and many of my friends who turn to drugs, alcohol, etc. to fill the depression and I realize gaming actually a pretty good alternative ...in most cases...