Video Games - Fun Or A Trigger?

[Sweet_E]

What I do know is that video games increase brain plasticity and can help develop new neural pathways...

What is MMORPG?

I have also read that Tetris is helpful for people with PTSD.

 

[Fadeaway]

@Sweet_E mmorpg stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. The most well known being World of Warcraft.
I had completely forgot until after I posted this that they have shown to reduce nightmares. One of my final papers I wrote for college was based the benefits of video games.

 

[The Albatross]

Yup... I have the same experiences with gaming and undertook it as a goal/challenge. I looked in options for the games that gave me and issue and played, but with the sound off. Slowly and gradually I unmuted but altered the volume until I could play the games at normal volume. The one I started with was Collapse, but I also did it for some others. I don't really game much but in my multiplayer game, I play with the sound off still as I don't like to hear all my troops dying.

 

[The Albatross]

Tetris .... yeah that was really helpful for me and PTSD. That was my first game, but I didn't have too much issue sensory wise with it. Years ago I read that it was being used to help the military with PTSD symptoms and tried it myself with some good results and consistent play. Just one article but with a google search there are a variety: Tetris blocks traumatic flashbacks even after the memory is fixed | New Scientist

 

[Naoru]

Tetris! One of the rare games I can play! :cool:

Any game with potential death? Nope. Anxiety skyrockets and well, game over.

 

[8888]

I like causal video games such as Animal Crossing. I don't mind video games with fantasy violence but those types of games tend not be my favorite just because they are just not my cup of tea. I refuse to play any realistically violent games or anything M rated. Sometimes I don't like T rated games either. I stick to E and E10+ ratings.

 

[Friday]

This is a really fun TED Talk on the subject of gaming by one of my fav people :D Not PTSD specific. f*cking fascinating, though!

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world | TED Talk | TED.com

 

[Amethyst]

I love video games, but I really only play "cute" games where there are no violent themes and you can move at your own pace. My current favorite is Animal Crossing. You get to run your own little town and you control everything about it and it's basically a virtual safe space.

 

[Keming]

Tetris! One of the rare games I can play! :cool:

Any game with potential death? Nope. Anxiety skyrockets...

might i recommend 'Fez' ? An adventure-exploration-puzzle game without death or negative consequences. No monsters that I've found. If the character falls off a ledge - poof, he's back where he was, no problem.

 

[Fadeaway]

@Friday I absolutely adore her. There is a thread somewhere about using Super Better.

I actually tried to contact her once based on an idea my husband and I have about using a similar concept in education. I never heard back from her. Actually the concept is already there you just have to approach how you explain the whole grade system differently.

 

[zeeko13]

That's kinda funny. I really like the idea of open sandbox games like the sims and animal crossing, but when I actually sit down to play them, I find myself stressed out! I really need at least a vague goal to complete. I can play FPS but only for short bursts at a time, otherwise my general jumpiness gets too exhausting.

Games I like best are strategy, puzzle and exploration games. It's great when you play in a beautiful/interesting world where you start role playing without even realizing it. Fallout: New Vegas is my favorite game, and it definitely helped me work out some of my feelings. The game is literally post-apocalyptic, somehow it felt fitting. (Maybe because I had control over all of my actions?)