Ways Gaming Can Help When Dealing with Depression

When people feel down and depressed, there are many things they flock to to make themselves feel better. And most of us gamers, well, we go to what we love: Video games. And with the holidays upon us, many of us find ourselves feeling down in the dumps instead of happy and joyous. So this time of year seems like the perfect time to talk about what games one could play to uplift their spirits a bit.

Now everyone is different and everyone copes with depression differently than others, and that also rings true for gamers. Some of us play a game that we know through and through as that calms us, others prefer to take the violent route with hack n' slash types and fighting types, while there are also those of us who go to our sandbox-type of games, such as Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and The Sims. So with this knowledge, we have compiled a nice little list of possible games to play when you may be feeling down, that includes a little bit of everything for everyone.

First up let's take the violent-game route! Violent games help some release their frustrations, being able to unleash chaos in a game that, well, would just be illegal to do in the real world. Games that some may want to play when taking this route could be titles such as Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row, or hack n' slash titles such as Devil May Cry and God of War, or fighters like Mortal Kombat and Tekken. Playing games like this immerse you in a world where you can do as you want, and take out your frustrations on who (or what) ever you want. Recent games that you may want to use for this route includes Bloodborne and Mortal Kombat X.

The next type of gaming that one could use to help give them that boost from depression would be sandbox-type games. In these types of games, we literally control pretty much everything around us, which gives us a sense of control in our very hectic lives where we have control over very little. Games in this genre could include Minecraft (Creative Mode), Animal Crossing, The Sims, and technically even Disney Infinity. Being in control and playing a god-like role in the game, uplifts us, making us feel like we're doing something rather constructive in some way, all while having [almost] absolute control on this little world you've created. Some games to play when going this route would be Animal Crossing: New Leaf, The Sims 3 or 4, and of course, Minecraft.

A couple of other ways to cope with feeling down and being depressed are to play games you are familiar with, and games with vast worlds that you can just lose yourself in. Playing a game that you have perhaps beaten countless amounts of times or a game you held dear as a child can make you feel at ease. Since you know the game like the back of your hand, there is zero guess-work involved, and little to know thinking. It's also a nice way to relax when being stressed out. And with titles we cherished as a child, it reminds us of the simpler times in our lives, and that in itself can bring one comfort.

Another way is by playing open-world games with tons of terrain to wander through all while taking on side-quests or main missions, it's really up to you! Games that come to mind for this one would be games such as The Witcher III, Skyrim, The Reckoning: Kingdoms of Amalur, and even RPGs such as the Final Fantasy and Tales of franchises. Not only is it a whole new world for you to explore, but you also get to experience a great story along the way (that is until you get side-tracked by multiple side-quests...). I can't tell you how many times just wandering through the land of Skyrim helped improve my mood.

Just know that if you are feeling down, and are dealing with depression, you're not alone, especially during this holiday season. So if you're a gamer, grab a controller, pop in your favorite game, and relax. It'll get better. So what are some games that you use to help you when you're feeling down? Sound off in the comments below!

10/26/15: Anxiety & Depression at its Finest

I tend to make blogs, then be really bad about keeping up with them. And it's not so much that I don't have the time, but due to other factors, it just seems so hard to do. The point of this blog in particular was to talk about the daily struggles we all deal with as people who suffer from various mental handicaps, such as anxiety and depression, and many others. I have severe anxiety with depression, and those two things right there is what keeps me from writing daily in my blogs. My anxiety affects it in the way of "what if"... "What if I word things wrong?", "What if I ramble and don't get my point across?", "What if people think I'm weird for my way of thinking?"... stuff like that. And as for how my depression affects it is the fact that when you're depressed, you have a severe lack of motivation and feel like it all just isn't worth it. Any one reading this with depression knows what I mean. Be it writing, artwork, cleaning, work, etc., some of us just can't bring ourselves to do certain tasks because of our anxiety and depression. People who have never dealt with any of this will have a hard time understanding why we act the way we do or do the things we do. I've been with my husband for 10 years, and he's still learning to understand my many quirks and qualms.
To those who know how I feel, and are the same as me... just know you're not alone, and we all have harder times than others.
Let's use a recent event in my life to illustrate how my depression is affecting me...
For about the past year or so, I've been the managing editor for a video game website. The job opportunity came at a time when money was needed, so it was not only very welcomed, but a necessity. Well, this past Friday I was informed I would no longer be receiving any income from the website as traffic is next to nothing on the website. Granted, I was only getting paid $600 per month, but that paid a nice chunk of my rent and water.And now that's gone. I'm still the managing editor title, and can still do my gaming journalism as I've always wanted, but now upon my shoulders I have that stress of being down on $600 per month. In my head, I think, "I can't give this up now...I've wanted to make my living as a journalist in the video game industry... I can write more, work harder, and the site will regain its traffic and I'll receive some sort of income again!", but in reality the stress of that monthly lack of money is crushing me, consuming me. It's all I can think of... and it's causing my depression to spiral downwards so much more than normal, and making my anxiety pretty out of hand. Hence, I am hitting a writing-block on my site... I have zero motivation at this point. Even though I'm trying to be positive in thinking that I can still make this website succeed, I feel sad and worthless, and like its failure is my fault (I tend to blame myself whenever anything goes wrong in my life, even if it's out of my hands).
At this point I really don't know what to do with myself, other than take this opportunity to write in this blog and give some insight into the anxiety and depression I am facing right now. I feel hopeless, but deep down I know better. I know I can do this... it'll just take me some time to get back into my groove of feeling like I can accomplish anything... I just need to process through this sludge called 'depression' first...
If you take anything from this, take away the fact that no matter how low you feel and how hopeless life seems... there is always light at the end of the tunnel and a silver lining to that dark cloud. No matter the situation, everything gets better in time. I always stick to the line "Everything happens for a reason", I'm just struggling to figure out why this happened... maybe to light a fire under me to reach out and seek more freelance jobs? Maybe I'll get a better opportunity elsewhere because of it? It's hard to say right now... so I'll just sit in solace and wait for that calm that is promised after the storm.