Topic: Does your anxiety affect how you play videogames?

I suffer from anxiety and depression and was wondering about this.

To give one example, I was playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe last year, and having a really great time with it, but eventually I stopped playing for a really stupid reason... I was feeling anxious going into battle mode because my ranking points had grown steadily higher, and the prospect of losing those made me nervous.

One of my most played games on the Switch is this very simple puzzle game, Levels+, which relaxes me a great deal. I just go for a new high score and it doesn't matter if I fail, I just try again, there's nothing lost.

Do you ever have the sense that your anxiety is getting in the way of you enjoying videogames?

i used to have a really hard time talking on the chat in many ps4 and xbox one games. now i dont have issues but thats probably because i got used to it.

It's absolutely normal to feel butterflys in your stomach when you feel like something is on the line (in this case your ranking).

I live with generalized anxiety disorder. I can't deal with single-player games that thrive on masochistic difficulty levels (such as any rouge-like game, Souls-like game, or any intentionally tough platformer). the difficulty puts me in a cycle of repetition, and I shut down and give up on the game completely.

I also live with major depressive disorder. whenever that kicks in, it just keeps me away from all video games (and other medias that bring me enjoyment). last year was a period of about five months where I just could not touch a controller or portable system.

Think about this, in Fortnite everyone wants to win but 99% of the players lose the match. I enjoy Fornite when I am having a good time, it doesn't matter if I lose, it's just a game. The important thing is if you're having fun. I don't have any disorder but I've been through difficult times in the past, like many people. In those moments there were games that helped me, like Viva Piñata, the best gaming therapy I can recommend. It somehow made me happier and helped me seeing the peace within me. I also recommend going outside, doing any sport, listening to music, talking to people in real life and finding other hobbies that are not technology-related. Those things will make you and anyone happier.

I'm not going to speak on behalf of bixente, but I will weigh in on my own experience.
when you're diagnosed with clinical depression, sometimes getting out of bed is the hardest thing in the world, let alone getting outside or doing anything enjoyable. if it's particularly advanced (such as mine), it drains you dry until you lose the drive to do anything.
it is, unfortunately, not that easy.

I know and you are right, it happened to me when my father died quite young. You can start with little things. A little thing can be a song or a nice game (for me it was Viva Piñata), a walk alone or fixing something in your house. Little things like that. Step by step. The most difficult thing is start doing something. People telling you that everything's going to be alright doesn't help much, I know.

Before I allowed LEGO CITY Undercover Wii U version & 3DS version, I have NO idea if the game had similarity with a rated 18+ game I HATE most. I was angry and disbelief to realize Nintendo and Tt Fushion could allowed such a thing like that, because I CANNOT steal the Car purposely, I CANNOT do Criminal things even in the games. I tends to play something nice, be a Good guy, not a Bad guy. But I realized if LEGO CITY undercover was a game about Police, a Hero to safe the town from criminals and have to disguise as criminals to catch the most wanted one. And I trust Nintendo will not lost their mind to ruin the innocence of LEGO games. After long deliberation, I bought those games but I still REFUSE to do a Car theft. Just Hell No !

Also, Shooting games are the most TABOO genre for me. I cannot stand to shoot in First person view or Third person view, even just Water gun like on Go Vacation or Splat gun on Splatoon. It just only remind me to All rated 18+ shooting games I HATE most. And that's why Splatoon series, Fortnite, any kid friendly shooting games are not allowed in my gaming area.

I had a lung transplant ten years ago and the medication I take has a lot of side effects. The hospital I go to, The Alfred, gave me an antidepressant after I told them I was having suicidal thoughts. This helped a lot really, also a change in my epilepsy medication.

Two years ago my family moved from Melbourne to Bendigo which is a small city in the country here. The change has been good for me. Especially because I enrolled in a writing course at the local TAFE. I was doing well last year, unfortunately during the break after the first semester had concluded, my motivation just drained in an instant and I didn't go back. Since July I've rarely been out of the house. I really need to change my routine and get back out there.

Fortnite was just an example of how to overcome frustration. I think that the Pikmin games are a good recommendation for anyone for the themes and gameplay. I have a friend that played them in a way that no Pikmin was ever killed, otherwise he would reload the game. That is a real challenge, in between.

@bixente
the right medication can make a major difference.
I can understand not being able to get outside. it's hard sometimes, and that's okay. just remember to give yourself credit for small things. sometimes getting out of bed to eat something can be a big accomplishment, and you deserve to recognize those things.

@BlueOcean I'm really very sorry for your loss. I hope you've had better days since then.

That's very nice of you, thanks. My world fell apart and I couldn't picture life without him. We have to deal with the pain for some time, learn what we can and live our own lives as we are destined to do. Do things step by step, don't be hard on you and you will find your way. That's what I want for you and the others.

I don't have any genuine anxiety disorders or anything like that (as far as i know! lol), but as a somewhat related point, i know that for my own mental well-being i am cautious sometimes with when i play certain games — specifically, while i absolutely love the Life is Strange games, i knew that if i was in a bad or depressed mood that it was not a good idea to play them. Which i guess speaks a lot to the power of their storytelling for me more than anything else.

trust that instinct.
while I love Life Is Strange, it's a hard recommend for someone who's dealing with a bout of mental illness. it has some very sensitive content.

I have bad anxiety but video games rarely affect it, I figured horror games would, though. But I never play those.

I have clinical generalized anxiety, and it only kicks in on horror type games. I try playing some of the bigger names, but usually can’t finish because the stress gets to me and I start not progressing at all. I didn’t even leave the tutorial in ZombiU. I can’t play Dead Rising once it’s “night time” because the zombies get fast and I just hole up in a room. Mass Effect and the Husks and Banshees threw me for a loop, but I managed. (In multiplayer I would still run frantically when I heard a Banshee enter the play field)

This only skirts around the topic really, but if I go on a winning streak when playing an online game, particularly if its a 1v1 game like FIFA, the pressure I start putting on myself to maintain the streak does impact my enjoyment sometimes.

But I do find playing games like Mario Kart 8 online really help with this. There's so much chaos and random stuff going on, that it's just not realistic to expect to win all the time, so you must accept it and get on with the fun of it.

...Actually, it has, but not always in the way you'd think. I've never been formally diagnosed with anything (Currently working on that). If I were to guess based on symptoms, I'd say general depression and/or anxiety with a possible hint of paranoia. Some days I'm fine, other days I just want to stay in bed and let the world tear itself apart outside my bedroom.

I tend to stay away from games that are known to be punishingly difficult, such as the Dark Souls series or otherwise decent games like 1001 Spikes. I don't mind a challenge, but I tend to get really frustrated and upset at such games when I don't seem to be making any progress and am dying constantly. Then any skill and planning that I have with said game often goes down the drain. I've actually had a couple of...would you call them anxiety or rage attacks?...in those situations. If I wanted to willingly punish myself and raise my stress meter up to 11, I'd go to New York City and drive through rush hour traffic. (Yes, I live in the sticks. Normal driving occasionally stresses me out. City driving much more so.)

For the record, I've never really thrown any devices or controllers but have definitely had the urge....Well, other than bouncing a Wii remote on a recliner a few years ago.

This may seem stupid, but sometimes the sheer fact that I have a game backlog stresses me out. I know it's not nearly as extensive as the backlogs of many others and that it's my own fault that I got to this point. I want to destroy the list that I have to keep track of everything and likely will soon as it has been shrinking anyway; it's an occasional source of stress. Sometimes my thoughts are "I have all these cool games to play!" Other times they're "Aargh! You caved to that sale! You've already spent your gaming budget for this month!"

Finally, there was a period around the time I moved into my current place where my anxiety was on overdrive. I only had handhelds for gaming at the time but probably didn't touch my 3DS for 2-3 months. Why, you might ask? I was afraid that I'd do something to break it and was obsessing over every little thing that seemed wrong with it (A button clicking weirdly, occasional circle pad scraping, stuff like that). That stuff seems silly in hindsight. From my teenage years onward, I've tried to be really careful with my handheld devices. I suppose that's just what my anxious mind clamped down on to help me cope.

There's actually quite a bit more to that last paragraph, but that's the gist of everything. XD

I'm not diagnosed with anything, but I get antsy when playing strategy games. That gets me the most anxious when playing them since I need to plan multiple steps ahead.