How COVID-19 Made Playing Video Games a Mental-Health Practice

With the exception of a short Wii Tennis Phase Circle 2007, I've never been a gamer for the most part.  Until recently, when months of price hikes took me deeper into the world of avatars, levels, and rewards - and I wasn't alone.  According to a market research report, between March 16 and March 22 alone, video game sales increased by 63%.  The corona virus epidemic is still rampant and is one of the best suggested strategies to prevent its spread from home, with many people devoting themselves to computer games and escape.  And the good news, according to research and experts, is that gaming can serve as an exercise in promoting mental health.

A recent survey by the Caesar Family Foundation (KFF), a nonprofit health policy organization, found that half (45%) of adults in the United States report stress and anxiety around COVID-19. Has had a negative effect on their mental health. And clinical psychologist Aimee Darmus, PSYD, who has been researching the mental benefits of video games for years with other mental health experts - believes that video games, especially Animal Crossing and the Valley of Stardow Valley, Ready to help us deal with popular topics like the epidemic of epidemic stress.

"People are using video games to combat loneliness, depression, anxiety, and even potential addiction."SShe says, Using video games can take the hassle out of you.

“Video games take up so much of your attention that they can push your anxieties away for a while. They can give you a break from it.” —psychologist Aimee Daramus, PsyD

Of course, not everyone sees video games as a tool of anxiety.  Like any kind of media that can play a role of escape - be it television, audiobooks, podcasts or much more aming there is a wide range of gaming available here that can be taken seriously.  Taxes lead to meditation to total violence.

  Although many video games, such as Animal Crossing and Flower (in which the player acts like the wind and moves flower petals through the air), Dr. Daramus points out that violent video games such as Thrill or Thrill  Tend to  The coverage of the mainstream media, the way it is taught, is linking them to aggression.  As another example, a 2018 study of 17,000 children linked violent gameplay to aggression, and a year later, as a result of two mass shootings in Dayton, El Paso, Texas, and Ohio, President Trump  Blamed video games for violent behavior in US

  Of course, as a society, it is our responsibility to consider these tragic consequences before acknowledging any kind of gaming practice. It is also true that we are not seeing the whole story.  For many years, researchers have been combining the beneficial effects of video gameplay.  For example, video games are found to improve mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and institute a state of calm down - which is especially noticeable in an epidemic situation, when many people have low mood, terrible anxiety and psychological distress.  Fighting unrest.

Leaving aside the legitimate concerns and scientific findings about the impact of video games on safety, Dr. Daramus says it would be wise for us to consider how this activity can be used in a positive mental health way. "We need to rethink how people use gaming and get away with the idea that gaming goes bad on its own," she says. "Let's see how we're using gaming, and how we can use it in other ways so it's really doing something good." Right now, several people are being quarantined.

Why video games may boost your mental-health right now

Released on March 20, Animal Crossing New Horizon sold more than any other Animal Crossing or Nintendo Switch title in its first three days in history. And that's great, doubling up the game primarily as a digital meditation. The color palette is rich, calm and welcome. And research shows that anthropomorphized animals, like animals that appear in sports, may have increased levels of empathy.

  Dr. Daramus says that video games can also provide relief from anxiety, as they force you to draw from your brain to the physical emotions around you, which is like a psychological process. "The point is, get out of your head and move on to something else," says Dr. Daramus. "Video games are especially good at getting you out of your head, because they demand a lot of your attention."

“A world of your own making, that’s absent of any pandemics, allows you take back control of what you’re recording [in your memory].” —Dr. Daramus

In addition to providing a quick and welcome break from your brain, some sports can actually improve our mood in a lasting way.  With games that specifically ask users to build a world in which COVID-19 does not exist, such as the Sims 4, sports games can help people recreate what is called "working memory."  How does his mind record this time by subduing something?  "Working memory is everything you're thinking about at the moment. And if your brain is full of feelings of anxiety and depression, you need to get away from it. One thing.  What we do to accomplish this is to replenish your working memory, which can hold many things at once with anything other than your thoughts or feelings. "The world of your own creation.  , Which is free of epidemics, allows you to control your recordings. "

Many sports also offer a means of developing society and cultivating new connections, whether in existing relationships, through sports with strangers themselves, or in third party discussion groups such as Reddit. "Even adults who don't usually play find it fun to spend time with friends or family members, or even with people who They don't live in the same house. "

 

I don’t have friends that play or care when I talk about this game, posting for the group that does care lol my island hit 5 stars today! Hot damn! from r/AnimalCrossing

And for those who are mostly playing video games with strangers, a communications scholar, James Ivory, PhD, who focuses on video games, says you can still be public with others. Feeling we have 'Run out of gas' emotionally. "You see a lot of other conversations that people see changing their normal social activities, such as zoom meetings, which are relatively intense, direct, face-to-face conversations and can be tiring." That said, it's not necessarily a great alternative to your regular walk. "In some ways, video games in particular can be better because you feel like you're around people. ۔ People are in the same virtual space as you, but you don't have to be very intense, blindfolded to talk to each other. "

How to choose a video game that’s beneficial for your mental health

Dr. Darams does not challenge the fact that some gameplay has been linked to aggression, with the American Psychiatric Association even issuing a confirmed statement in March. But he believes that the variations in sports and the personal experiences of the gamers are too extensive to give a meaningful general picture of what games result. To be sure, there are plenty of gray areas here, and when it comes to your own mental well-being, you have to decide which flavor of the game will be harmed and which Will be damaged.

"If you have a particular mental health problem such as depression or anxiety, you should take a look at the games designed for them."  "Check the Heart Mate View with Heart Mate for anxiety.  It comes with a sensor that reads your heart rate and other stress markers and very short video games to help you train for less stress and more.

  If you need a brainstorming session, Dr. Daramus quickly suggests something that will get your attention like MySims agents.  If you're having trouble, try a meditation game like Flower, and if you want to control something, create a new world using a game like Avon Colony or Pocket City.  To join friends, hip up to Wii Friends and play some tennis, like I did in 2007.

  As far as how much time you spend in front of screen gaming, Dr. Daramus says that while she was willing to limit the time of the first screen, she asks people to listen to her mental health signals.  "Before CoVID-19, I used to think differently about reducing people's playing time and finding other ways to connect with the world and deal with it. Nowadays, I just want to say,  "Monitor how you feel during sports. How are Games affecting your life?"

If the answer for you is: "I enjoy playing video games for an hour a day, and they play a vital role in my mental health," then Dr. Dramas has two words: Play On!