Gaming as therapy

What better way is there to kick Anxiety, Depression or just plain old boredom right in the stink hole? So many of us have played Video Games for years now, for some, it's that one hobby that no matter what bullshit you're dealing with, all it takes is firing up one of your favorite games to feel a sense of relief and happiness. While the games that provide that cathartic release for me,  may not be the same as the ones that work for you, they all share many common denominators. So many are still kicking dirt on the tired old "Video Games are bad, and cause horrific violence" fake controversy bullshit, that it seems like the perfect time to talk about the real positive aspects of gaming. 

I could go on about how gaming can connect us with others, how it teaches us critical thinking, how to work as a team, or really any of the practical & positive attributes of gaming. But the one that simply does not get enough airtime, is just how therapeutic gaming can be. Gaming as a means of therapy can benefit just about anyone, and a lot of us are already getting the benefits without really even knowing. Take the gamer who comes home after a rough day of work or school, and mows down enemy after enemy in Doom or any other violent FPS. Instead of supposedly inducing and programming violent behavior, the gamer is actually blowing off steam and releasing the tension, anger, stress, or any other mental fatigue with a cathartic release of fun. So many Parents observe their kids enjoying a brutal & violent game, and assume it's teaching them to become brutal killers, but that is so far from the truth it's almost funny, but mostly, it's just a gross misunderstanding of what playing a game is really like. Then again, maybe if more parents spent time understanding their children's hobbies, maybe, fewer schools would turn into Postal The Home Game, but I digress.

It is believed that seeing violent actions on screen, teaches you to enjoy that kind of action in real-life, but in reality, the reason an exploding head or severed limb is enjoyable in a game, can be traced to why smashing a pinata is fun. Why do we smash pinatas? To get the candy, even if we don't really care to eat it, the reward for your smacky whacky efforts is candy bursting into the air. A gamer is not really hooked on the blood and guts, so much as the reward for his efforts, in combat based games the reward is seeing an enemy vanquished in a bloody pulpy mess.

It's about expectations, when you bash the crap out of a pinata, what is your expectation? You expect a colorful mess, and then you get to take the goodies, a doubly rewarding feeling. Think of games like Godfall and Borderlands, not only are you rewarded with the satisfaction of obliterating your enemies, but you get loot for doing so. When you see loot fly out of corpses in Borderlands, you feel a sense of satisfaction, the same that comes with breaking a Pinata open like a cop busting a protesters skull apart.

Mentally these actions are less about the violence or even the blood and guts, mentally it's all about the satisfaction of popping a fool's head like a bad pimple. So I know by now you all are screaming "Get On With It!", and I will. The point is, every game is in effect a puzzle, no matter if it is combat-based or some other type, it is the satisfaction of beating a challenge. This explains why once we have found a game that suits us, not only is it fun, but we feel something else too. Movies are fun, books are fun, but video games offer something more than fun.

Games give us the chance to be someone else, to take full control of a situation, to feel effortless, to feel like a superhero, you name it, video games will fulfill the fantasy. More or less, I mean we still don't have great sex games that offer that same level of satisfaction, but I truly believe one day, we will be banging it out on a sweet-ass HoloDeck.  Anyway... Living as a superhero, fighting the bad guys, or breaking the law in a game is satisfying because it's all about feeling in control of your world.

The reason why games are such great therapy is based upon what they do by their very design, they to teach us how to persevere, and how to improve ourselves, best of all we do it without even giving it a single thought. Think of games with trial and error gameplay, we may throw ourselves over a cliff a few times before we see that off in the distance, there's a bloody lever that controls the mother-fucking bridge you could not fucking see. Yet crossing that bridge, always feels wonderful, like a good orgasm.

That my friends is how we not only learn that repeating the same action achieves no new result, but also how to persevere through frustration, thus learning how to control anxiety. Sometimes putting these skills to use in life, is not always as intuitive as a quick three-button combo, still, it gives most a baseline for comparison, and when you realize you can use your gaming skills in the real world, you're reaching a whole other level. What can I say, I adore Puns, they tickle my asshole in a very pleasing way.

There is a simple but often ignored fact that playing any game, is kind of akin to recharging your controller's batteries. I know, I know, you want to hit me, I get it, but hear me out before you impulsively knock my teeth out. A game's fun, that satisfaction from taking control of your gaming world, creates a wonderful melody to blow the day's tension away like dust in the wind. I know you really want to hit me for enjoying the stick I keep raming in and out of my ass, but why else do you partake in a fun activity like gaming, if not to float away to another plane to find peace and tranquility that only pure joy can bring. Gaming is very special for that reason, there are of course people that cannot connect with gaming in that way, but then again, not every therapy works for everyone. 

Gaming may not melt away your frustrations the way it does for so many others, while the mechanics will offer the same kind of problem-solving skills, not everyone will feel relief while learning them. Through time and perseverance, I think many can eventually reach those same levels, if you have been a gamer for years, then not only are the skills more inherit, but you have more happy memories associated with that pass time. Oh, yea, that stick feels so fucking good, right there, I think we're almost there... Those gaming memories can be a powerful ally, recapturing them in new ways, or experiencing the same games all over again, are great ways to rekindle your sense of joy that some may lose due to life being set on hard-as-balls mode. Games offer far more benefits than we realize, simply playing one can realize a great many of those benefits, but when you discover certain routines, skills, and tactics inspired by your gaming, once you apply them to the real world, you'll feel like you really did level up and I can attest to that stuffy, hoity-toity statement. I do not think every game should be forcibly made to bring these helpful attributes to the surface, after all, games are kinda like sex, anytime you try to force that shit, well, it just causes more problems than it's fucking worth. But, I do think a new genre will emerge that teaches problem-solving, how to persevere through adversity, and how to have an epic mother-fucking time while doing it. Yes, Yes, Yes, we're spent...