Are there any games that you play to help you stay well?

romantic_thi3f · ‎15-10-2015

Hi all,

I've been reading a lot lately about games for mental health (mainly anxiety and depression) and how gaming can help a lot - both for people struggling with illness but also in recovery.

One of my favourites is SuperBetter which is an app that helps you 'level up' with different everyday tasks - even simple things like going for a walk or texting a friend. It's free too - on Android and IOS.

Is there any games that you really enjoy? Any that you find helps you switch off or feel like yourself again?

JessF · ‎16-10-2015

I expect I'm well out of date but I love Bejewelled. And a little game called Pet Rescue.

Guest_9466 · ‎16-10-2015

I play online scrabble and has recently taken up with colouring. Surprisingly, I find it enjoyable. At least, it stops me from reading the less than positive news, we are being constantly exposed to.

Ladyhawke · ‎16-10-2015

Hi. I find any word puzzles very therapeutic, particularly cryptic crosswords where I can "lose" myself for hours. I also have caught the colouring bug and have become hooked.

LH

Kiten · ‎09-11-2015

I find colouring in helpful aswell. I find I can turn off my thoughts even if it's just for a little bit.

I found puzzle games helpful as they give me a sense of achievement.

Joycey83 · ‎10-08-2019

Ok what you are about to hear actually happened to me and i am still recovering from it. About 5 months ago now i was really depressed and i thought it would be a great idea to try and find some games that are more on the peaceful side, i found a lot of games that were like this and yes they did help me so i thought i could try and find some more. That is when i came across a game called Life Is Strange, it is a pretty old game but i never got the chance to play it back when it was released. It's a story-driven Interative drama game where the main character Max Caulfield discovers she has the ability to rewind time and throughout the game you make decisions that change the way the game plays out and if you don't like certain outcomes you can rewind to change them. Life Is Strange turned out to be the most emotional video game experience i have ever had. After i finished it i was depressed, sad, i felt so empty inside, i could not believe what i had just experienced, it was unlike anything i have ever played before. This game effected me in ways i never thought possible. It made me look at my own life and all the mistakes and wrong choices i made, this game brought me to tears and i could not stop thinking about it. This game hit me really hard, i wasn't prepared for the impact this game was going to have on me. After i had played the game i found out that it effected a lot of people and there was even support groups for it.

romantic_thi3f · ‎14-08-2019

Hi Joycey83,

Thank you for your post - I'd completely forgotten that I made this post ha! It's great of you to revive it and let us know your experiences.

While I have heard about Life is strange, I haven't brought myself to play it because I've heard so much feedback from people such as yourself about how much it's impacted them. Looking at it now, do you think that is was a good idea to play - did reflecting on your own life help you?

romantic_thi3f · ‎14-08-2019

Hi,

Thanks to Joycey83 who revived this thread I thought I'd share another resource that I found about gaming for mental health just in case anyone is interested or wants to find out more. I think this stuff is even more important to talk about now given the misconceptions with how gaming has a negative impact.

The resource is here if you'd like to have a look -

https://checkpointorg.com/games-for-health/

white knight · ‎14-08-2019

Hi rt

Ive used "mood gym" once. Its used by adhd patients.

TonyWK

Doolhof · ‎16-08-2019

Hi Romantic_thi3f and All,

There used to be some very basic games like card games I would play on the computer.

Sometimes I would take board games out of the cupboard and play them against myself and my husband would walk past and shake his head. Ha. Ha.

One day I will ask my niece what games I can play on my phone and how to do that.

Sudoku puzzle keeps me occupied for a while as well.

Monopoly was one board game that always seems to cause fights and arguments!

Colouring can be calming.

Cheers all from Dools