Video Games - Fun Or A Trigger?

[Sweet_E]

I gave my husband that new mini nintendo for his birthday. I grew up playing Super Mario Brothers and always found it very fun. Now when I started playing again, I noticed that some of the boards give me real, full blown anxiety! That never happened before. It's mostly the boards where there is more of a sense of urgency, where you can't avoid an enemy if you want, or if you are trapped in a room with the enemy and can't move on until you beat it. The boards where you can take your time somewhat and explore different things, I find very enjoyable. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[hodge]

I used to find these games fun, but they started causing more anxiety for me, too. So I just stopped playing them. I don't need more anxiety in my life!

 

[shimmerz]

I played Wii tennis for quite some time and got triggered big time over some of the courts that could be selected. One, believe it or not, was a man walking a dog in the background (that was almost subliminal in nature) that completely took me down. So am wondering if there could be visual things as well as anxiety in some of these games.

 

[Lucycat]

Anything that causes adrenaline to flow will cause stress. Sure some people like that feeling - like those who love roller coasters. For me I don't want adrenaline, so I play computer games that are repetitive and my husband would say - boring. I like challenging puzzles not things that make your heart race.

 

[Sweet_E]

Anything that causes adrenaline to flow will cause stress. Sure some people like that feeling - like tho...

yeah, I like the games that use problem solving and exploration.

 

[Friday]

Depends on the game. Most of them? Nope! Battlefield4 seriously tripped me out, though. It was little stuff. Like moving down a hallway in the correct formation, and some of the radio chatter, a contact-contact-contact! had me wired for days, while an affronted & pissed off it was a 3 hour course! about had me piss myself laughing. Mostly, games are just so much BS. Including that one. But there were just enough things that were real in that one that I found myself jacked into a live wire on a regular basis. And FPS are usually soothing in a way I can't explain, will sort out a certain kind of headache in no time flat. So it was especially trippy.

 

[Jordash]

While reading this thread I've come to the conclusion that I'm addicted to anxiety. I began playing video games while my trauma was full swing and it was the only time I could escape the torture. I guess i like games that are very intense and cause me insane amounts of anxiety. It's strange I just noticed!?

 

[Shortie]

For me i use games to make me think about surviving. So, i like surviving games.

I dont like horror games.

What i actually find the worst is the new, people talking about abused on tv and then work colleagues or friends talking about it. I just dont want to know about that stuff as ive been through it and cant cope with hearing it.

Games are different if they make me think. X

 

[Fadeaway]

What I do know is that video games increase brain plasticity and can help develop new neural pathways that work around damaged parts of the brain. MMORPGs have proven to be beneficial for PTSD. FPS have been proven to help TMI, help with certain types of vision issues such as far farsightedness and night blindness; and may even help with MS and Parkinson. Puzzle and memories games have been proven to slow down and even reverse the progresses of Alzheimer. Students who play Tetris 30 minutes prior to an exam have lower rates of test anxiety and and consistently score higher than they do if the last time they played was 3 days or or longer.

Yup, I have the research to back it up. No, I don't have access to it as I don't have access to my hard drive atm. :arghh;

 

[lostforgottensoul]

When it comes to video games, the trick (for me) is to find the ones where I can get absoultely lost in it. Which is very hard to do and have gone through at least 100 games on my phone.

I am a puzzle game person (and 8 ball poll but pool is about geometry anyway) so I don't normally have the "fighting an enemy" sort of ones anyway, as I avoid them.

 

[MysticSkyes]

I can't play shooters but I can play open game sandbox - crusader kings II, sims 3 & sims 4 were always a favorite of mine. Ones where there is no expected goals usually are ones I find the least stressful.

 

[Keming]

Monsters I can see: fine. Violence: fine.
Monsters I can't see, such as random encounters in old Final Fantasy (or PA Adventures 3): redline terrifying. Can't move. Can't breathe. Fumble for ctrl-alt-del, hard boot the computer if necessary, get me out.