Misconceptions exist regarding video games and their effects on mental health. The reality is that playing video games can help you learn how to solve complex problems and even encourage social connection through internet gaming. Playing video games can keep your mind sharp and improve your mental health.
Video games may be the cure for depression, which is the disease.
More than 26% of adults in the US experience depression. By 2020, depression is expected to be the second leading cause of disability, so it looks like this number will only go up. According to studies, people of all ages can effectively heal their sadness by playing video games.
What Your Brain Thinks About Video Games
When a person plays a video game, they always use two parts of their brain. The first is the reward pathway, which most people call the part of the brain that deals with goals and motivation. The brain region of the hippocampus, which is in charge of memory and learning, is the other.
When you play, you focus on one goal and are motivated to do what you need to do to reach it, whether to solve a puzzle, beat an enemy, or find a hidden treasure. The reward pathways in the brain become more active as you get closer to your objective—those two regions of the brain decrease in size when a person is depressed. Games can help keep these brain parts active and healthy by stimulating them.
Best Benefits Of Playing Video Games
Playing consciously has been shown to help people deal with sadness, gain confidence, and learn valuable skills for everyday life. In this way, unlawful conduct declines.
Some mental illnesses, like depression and ADHD, can be helped by playing video games.
A few examples of mental health issues that impact 26% of American adults each year include anxiety, melancholy, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
While the majority of video games can improve brain and emotional function, depression was the primary motivation behind the development of SPARX. Even though the player didn’t realize it at first, the fantasy game had parts of cognitive behavioral therapy.
The game’s goal is to have GNATs, which stand for “gloomy, negative, automatic thoughts.” Players make their avatars. Through the destruction of these animals, the players discover that these ideas aren’t valid or necessary to live with—that they may be destroyed.
Impressive findings were obtained in the study conducted by the game’s New Zealand-based academics. Comparatively, compared to 26% of patients receiving treatment, almost 44% of SPARX participants recovered from depression. In addition, 66% of the gaming group experienced a 30% or more decrease in symptoms, as opposed to 58% of the patients receiving treatment.
Games help in skill-building and getting over depression
Keep your goals in mind to get the most out of games. Here are some ways that games might help with skill-building and getting over depression:
