The Therapeutic Benefits Of Video Games

Too much of anything can be a bad thing, or at least worth some red flags. There was a point in time, I was very depressed. I lost my daughter, and all my relationships were failing which felt like a wound being festered. Each toxic fallout with a new person I tried to introduce to my life was a handful of salt thrown into a deep faithless wound. I could only take so much and after the final straw, I isolated myself.

My life was in a chapter of absolute social seclusion, and it has lasted for quite some time. I work then I come home, and that is it. My pass time was video games and I wasn't happy with this lifestyle. I wasn't happy with this chapter, but I needed it. I needed to rebound, and in order to do that, I had to socially pull myself away from the world to work on myself.

When someone says that there just might be a therapeutic benefit to video games, my first thought is about all the Karens that would disagree, and the stigma about video games revolving around grown adults, overweight eating chips off their chest while trying to keep a Playstation controller in the grips of their greasy fingers, or the envy revolving around kids who are making thousands of dollars from video game tournaments or have careers based around their streaming channels.

I believe there are many positive attributes to gaming that are quite commonly overlooked. One being the therapeutic benefits. Personally, I would not have even been aware of this if it weren't for my own struggles and the downfalls I had in life that pushed me into gaming as a coping mechanism.

I was born in 1994, so throughout my entire life, I have been witnessing the advancements of the gaming industry and throughout my childhood had always been interested in gaming. Growing up, my family home(s) were constantly upgrading to the newest generation consoles.

When I told my therapist about my self-disappointment with my gaming habit, he brought up a valid point that I hold true to this day, and it is for this point, I am even able to write this.

He said that, I was upset for all the things in life that were entirely out of my control. I use video games as a healing aid, because it is a world in which I have 100% control over, and I needed to feel this control so that I can begin to apply these concepts into the real world. Instead of appealing to the world and being in this constant position of life where I need to uphold expectations, and I feel controlled by my environment, I had a space where I controlled the situation, I could take charge and do my own, and nobody could tell me otherwise.

Personally, I really prefer open world games as they allow for more freedom and creativity which is what I desire. The vast city of Los Santos, State of San Andreas is a nostalgic place for me. I spent many many hours of my childhood in this world during the first game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I played this game along side my childhood best friend Atom. His passing has been hard, so being in the same world we once used to be in together, gives me comfort.

Up on the hills in Los Santos, tall white letters stand on the hillside to spell out VINEWOOD, a play on Los Angeles's HOLLYWOOD. Atom would swear up and down that it was pronounced "Vinny-wood" and I always argued with him, "No, it's pronounced Vine-wood." He was so wrong but he firmly believed that he was right, so much so that it was actually hilarious.

When I am driving or flying by those hills in GTA V Online and I just happen to catch a glimpse of the Vinewood sign, I am reminded of the time I got to spend with my best friend. It brings joy to my heart and keeps his spirit and memory alive. The nostalgia I feel in those kind of moments bring me great comfort.

There are times when you can get back up on the horse. Other times, you must make camp and rest until you can heal. You cannot go into battle sick, just as you cannot go forward with life while still bearing the weight of your woes.

Gaming is a mechanism used by some, to mentally regain their health and I believe that it works. Taking our focus away from life and focusing our minds on the game, it's like a drug that numbs the pain.

Video games have a way of distracting us from our problems while also providing a way for us to wait for our problems to pass. Sometimes, our problems are greater than ourselves. They are not always in our control. We are forced to live with things that we cannot control and video games then become a method of coping. We can sometimes become reliant on video games, because we need the distraction in order to free ourselves from the problems in which we have no control.

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