A smart insurance company has the saying, “Life comes at your fast.” It definitely does. One day you are a teenager staying up late playing Mario 64 and trying to grab all of the stars to meet Yoshi, and before you know it you are all grown up, wondering why you have to pay money still when you go to the doctor even though you have insurance. What is a co-pay anyway? Stresses can definitely add up as you continue to grow older. But Minecraft Book fortunately, it has been proven that video games can help to relieve your stress. It is definitely the best medication I can think of. Ever since you were a little kid, your parents told you that your brain would rot from playing too many video games. However, according to a number of studies, not only do video games not rot your brain (Mom, I told you so!), but they actually can help you develop critical thinking skills, concentrate, and remove some anxiety symptoms as well.
Focuses Your Attention Elsewhere
Not all video games are identical, of course, or have the same effects on everybody. Each person responds in a different way. The best video games that help people with anxiety work on the basis of “The Theory of Attention.” It is a fairly simple explanation. Anxiety often arises due to the fact that people spend a lot of time worrying about things that could potentially go wrong, whether the actual worrying turns into a problem. Video games help to combat that through replacing this fixation with something else. For example, when I am playing Fallout4 and become deeply immersed, wondering what I can do to save Graygarden for the 8th time in the past ten days from some Synths, I don’t have much time to worry about the terrible day that I just had.
So when you are building guard towers and turrets, we are so focused on our game that we don’t have a lot of time to worry about other factors that are beyond our control. Of course, to experience these effects it isn’t necessary to play Fallout. It has been shown that different games help with different aspects. It has been proven that Tetris helps individuals who have been diagnosed with PTSD. This is a game that involves blocks falling on other blocks. Just think if a simple game like that can help to fight something as difficult and complex PTSD, then what could more layered and intricate games that we love possibly achieve?
Video Games For Relieving Anxiety
As a basic disclaimer, we are noting saying you have to become completely immersed in video games. However, we want to share with the public a unique outlet for coping with harmful levels of anxiety. Anxiety disorders, after all, are experienced by 18% of the American population and are the most common forms of mental illness in the U.S.
We are all affected by stress, even the happiest among us. Ask any individual why they play video games, and after telling you how awesome Batman is they will most likely tell you that it’s a great way to blow off steam. Medical research is proving that this is correct. Games have known from the very beginning that playing video games helps to relieve stress, whether it’s just relaxing playing Candy Crush for a few minutes on your break at work or mercilessly defeating someone on Madden. According to a study conducted by the University of Central Florida, individuals who play video games while at work reported lower stress, high cognitive performance levels, and more energy. That doesn’t mean dragging your dual monitors to work is a good idea, but it does show how helpful video games can be in high-stress situations.
It would be great if you could get your doctor to write a prescription for you to play your favorite video game for 10 hours, but it doesn’t appear that you even need to play that much to see beneficial results from gaming. A majority of stress relief and video game studies show that Cookie Puns as few as 15 minutes of playing video games is sufficient to raise energy levels and improve concentration. While 15 minutes worthy of play might not make much of a dent in a Skyrim session, playing a handheld game like Snake, Clash Royale, or Angry Birds for a couple of minutes, can give your overall mood a boost.
Motivation is key to help overcome anxiety and video games are able to provide just the right outlet. Studies have shown that players who were geared up to defeat the final level or take on one final boss showed sharp decreases in overall anxiety and negative thoughts. This has been taken to heart by some video game developers, and several games have been designed with depressed or anxious people in mind. Games like Personal Zen, Prune, and Sparx all have been tested and shown that simply by playing them, that anxiety and stress levels were significantly reduced. Games such as Pokemon Go also result in stress reduction in a completely different way through getting the users interacting and moving in the world, which is a proven method for reducing stress hormones and increasing the release of such feel-good hormones as adrenaline and cortisol.
So although your parents might have meant well when they told you how dangerous video games were, as it turns out, they might have been wrong. There are many health benefits associated with video games, such as reason and motor skills. You can now add anxiety and stress relief to this list. So, Dad, I’m sorry but I need to play another hour’s worth of Call of Duty now. It’s for my own good. Let us know what your favorite games that help you relax and unwind.