Mental Health

This is the place where you can conflab about all the other stuff besides videogames
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Flabyo
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Flabyo »

The hurdle I had to get over was that speaking to my GP about anxiety issues wasn’t wasting his time that he could be spending helping someone *actually* sick. Growing up I had an aunt who had mental health issues, and the wider family tended to mock her about it behind her back all the time, and I think that sank in as ‘if you talk about it, people will laugh at you’. (I still don’t really talk to my parents about it because I suspect they’d react that way)

My GP said “even if you turn up saying you’re ill and I find nothing wrong, I’ve still made you feel better by saying that, so I’m still doing my job. It’s *never* a waste of my time”.

I just wish my area wasn’t so chronically understaffed as getting appointments for anything that isn’t urgent takes weeks.
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duskvstweak
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Re: Mental Health

Post by duskvstweak »

I'm not doing so hot these days. I've tried to remove a lot of negativity in my life, deleting my Facebook, clearing up my Twitter, took a job dog walking. But, it also feels like a time where I should both be blocking out the news from my life and also be paying a ton of attention to it. I try not to doom scroll, but, at the same time, it feels very historical these days. I've gone to protests and donated where I can, but I feel extremely helpless these days. I keep thinking I wish we could move to another country, but the whole world is bonkers these days, so where would we go that's not going to be swallowed up by the ocean anyway? Really miss being able to go to concerts, game stores, movies or have people over for any reason, I could use the escapism. And, I know I have it pretty easy. For the most part, I'm just watching a lot of this fall apart from my phone. But, Yoda's not wrong. Fear does lead to anger, which leads to hate, which leads to suffering. The gun nuts, the alt-right (a lot less alt these days), the bigots and even the basic internet trolls are killing my spirit. It's getting hard to make long term goals, "Should I edit my book and send it out to a publisher? What's the point, it's all gonna burn down tomorrow."

I guess, this is all to say, I haven't been to a therapist since we moved and it's time to find a new one.
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Alex79
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Alex79 »

I know where you're coming from mate, it's very easy to get sucked in at the moment and spend too much time trying to fight battles that are either pointless or you can't win. Hope you're feeling more positive soon though, but I totally understand it's not easy to focus on much that's good at the moment. I spend a lot of time wondering what the point is. I mean, of everything. Like, it's all so futile, ultimately. What difference does it make if I go now or in 40 years, really, to the universe. None at all. It's not a good way to think. You have to look after yourself and your family before you can start looking out for anyone else at the moment, I think.
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Angry_Kurt
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Angry_Kurt »

I think it's totally natural to feel negative in the current situation, I'd be gobsmacked if anyone has been full of postivity these past few months due to the restrictions we have placed on us all around the world. When I see and hear about people doing stupid things on the news and social media, I just remind myself that these people are probably the most vocal and that bad news and controvorsy is what drives the clicks and that has always been the case, irrespective of Covid. So with that in mind I just remind myself that there are good people out there and just focus on that. I also know that whether it's tomorrow, next week, 6 months or 2 years, a return to normality will return one day and it will be a truly special time. I think it will hit me when I can go to a full football stadium again and go abroad with no worries about being on a plane, it will almost certainly be quite emotional.
I live on my own and in a new area, I was only in current job 7 months before we got sent to work from home, so I haven't really made any close friends in the area yet, so places like this and my Twitter friends have been a god send in these times.
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Alex79
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Alex79 »

Ah mate, that must be tough. It's stuff like that which makes you genuinely appreciate places like this forum, and as you say, social media (as long as its not dragging you down the other way!).
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Michiel K
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Michiel K »

So sorry to hear that, dusk. What's been keeping me sane is my work with Cane and Rinse, our Video Wizards project and the game me and a good friend have been developing, which is all sorts of exciting. Sometimes that gets so absorbing that I forget about the state of the world and that's probably not a good thing, but it's been keeping me going all the same.
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Alex79
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Alex79 »

Times are hard, the state of the world, money, life, it's all complete shit. Nothing really seems to be getting better. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact I don't want my children to grow up without a dad I'd be long gone by now. I just don't really see the point in any of it. I mean really, looking at the bigger picture.
Marlew
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Marlew »

I am physically, mentally, and emotionally pretty fucked at this point, but also kind of OK with it in a strange way. I'm running on fumes but also strangely happy. I more or less have no expectations of anything any more and just live day to day, because I've kind of given up trying to think about the bigger picture. I have basically no hope for the human race but where that upset me several months ago, now I don't really care. That sounds depressing but it feels more like clarity. I don't feel that people are inherently bad on an individual level, quite the opposite, but I feel that our way of life is coming to an end as people scrabble for the same ever dwindling pile of crumbs and the culture war disintegrates what little community we have left. I've been reading the Aeneid recently and when King Priam's palace is besieged and ransacked to fuck by some cunts, he starts to put on the ill-fitting armour of his youth across his trembling shoulders. His wife basically says 'what are you doing, you daft sod?' and beckons him to come and sit down with her and their daughters, huddled beneath the shadow of a laurel tree in peace, waiting for death.

That's kind of my vibe right now, except I'm also trying to have a laugh while I wait.

I'm very lucky to still get paid, albeit on the basis that I've been working non-stop since last Christmas and throughout lockdown as a key worker, as has my wife. We've hardly seen friends or family for a good seven months and the night away we booked a few months ago has now been cunted into oblivion by the restrictions. Been PPE'd up to the tits since about April and now I basically just have a lovely time with my wife at home and then go to work. In a way, it's kind of strengthened our relationship or reinforced what a strong relationship we already had. We have a lot of laughs together, albeit we share a a pretty black sense of humour which has got us through some shit. There's a slight irony that I'm too fucking spent to contribute anything more to the Mental Health Gaming website at the moment, but that's been really enjoyable and rewarding over the less intense summer months.

I find gaming physically and mentally exhausting nowadays but I have massively got into photography and back into cinema and music and I really love them. They used to be a really big part of my life before I got heavily into games, and it's been fucking brilliant when my wife conks out at like 8 o' clock, I will watch an hour of a movie or listen to a couple of albums on my headphones and just become absorbed in another world. It's a real heightened pleasure for me and I look forward to it an awful lot. Of course, I know that this longing for escapism is entirely symptomatic of a total fuckdown, but in the same way that songs often hit hardest and deepest during a break-up, I'm finding my emotional and intellectual state so wide open to these experiences right now.

I also take immense comfort from talking to my friends in Wuhan and Shanghai and Oz and NZ who send me photos and videos and keep in touch with images of the familiar, of normality, of relatively functional societies - albeit with their own problems. It's an important reminder that human civilisation extends far far beyond the dogshit isles.

I hope everyone here is hanging in there. We'll need you good fucking people on the other side so if anyone needs anything or is struggling, please get in touch, use this place, and we'll look out for each other.
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Michiel K
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Michiel K »

I see where you're coming from Marlew.

I don't know what it is, but this article cheered me up immensely. All hope for humanity is not lost!
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Mental Health

Post by ratsoalbion »

I very much recommend following Future Crunch for a generally much more positive look at world events, many of which go ignored by the regular doom and gloom news cycle:

https://futurecrun.ch/

There are positive, encouraging things happening all over the world, all the time.
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Michiel K
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Michiel K »

Nice one, followed them on Twitter.
Marlew
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Marlew »

Cheers, Leon. That's the kind of stuff that makes me tick these days. Even if the trajectory is the bin, there's still plenty to celebrate and enjoy along the way.
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KissMammal
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Re: Mental Health

Post by KissMammal »

My anxiety has been gradually getting worse for the last few years, and really spiked at the start of the lockdown when it really felt like everything was getting really out of control. I felt like I was losing my mind, and it was getting to the point where I felt like I was in the midst of a near-constant low level panic attack - my heart and brain were constantly racing, I had trouble concentrating or sleeping through the night without waking up in a state of panic and despair, and any piece of vaguely troubling or negative news would send me spiraling for days. I was drinking more booze in an attempt to shut down that nagging, worrying part of my brain, but in the long run this was itself just leading to increased anxiety.

It was at this point that I bit the bullet and decided to get anxiety medication - something I’d avoided for years.

After about a week of taking the pills I noticed a profound change in my state of mind. Its hard to describe, but the sudden absence of heart palpitations felt weird, almost unnatural - as if someone or something was physically restraining my heart.

I still have a few off days where I feel down, but it feels so much more manageable now. The medication I am on - a form of Zoloft I believe - has a few weird side effects. Most notably; it makes me a little lazier and more lethargic, I have a significantly reduced libido and increased appetite - especially for sugary things - and it seems to make me perspire more so I have to be really fastidious with personal hygiene, but it’s totally worth it for the overall feeling of balance and relative peace it’s brought me. Another strange side effect is that I’m having the most vivd, detailed dreams I’ve ever had in my life, but they are no longer panic-inducing or stressful, and if I do wake up in the night it’s no longer in a state of abject panic and fear, and I have almost no problems getting back to sleep again.

So my experience with medication has been overwhelmingly positive - perhaps something to look into for others experiencing similar symptoms?

I can provide more details if anyone is interested, feel free to DM me.

Please try to stay strong everyone - I know its little consolation, but there's a hell of a lot of people in the same boat. Exercise can also be a really great antidote to depression, but I know that first step is really tough.
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Alex79
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Alex79 »

cindy7 wrote: October 31st, 2020, 2:49 pm Does playing video games effect your mental health?
That's quite a wide question. Are you asking whether playing games can cause mental health issues? Well, not sure. Possibly they could contribute towards poor mental health if a person is spending time playing games at the exclusion of anything else, but then I'd suggest that the excessive game playing is a symptom of something rather than the actual problem.

But then perhaps you're asking whether games can help with mental health issues. And I'd say yes, undoubtedly. There have been times where I've felt really low and got lost in a game world and it's just helped having somewhere outside of reality to be for a while.

I can't really answer for anyone else, but I would expect a lot of people might answer similarily.
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duskvstweak
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Re: Mental Health

Post by duskvstweak »

There aren't tons of video games that I would say get me out of a hole, but they can help. If my brain is so fried and I'm so emotionally exhausted I can't pick up a book or want to watch a movie, if I can just motor around in Burnout or plow through Dynasty Warriors, it can get me through a day. And Civilization is often my game of choice when I just have nothing to give, it can be as mindless or as intense as I want, at whatever speed, with whatever music, ect.

DDR/Stepmania is one of the only games I've played that I've noticed it can get me out of a funk and I'm 100% certain that's because of the physical nature of it, combined with music. Probably makes the case that I should exercise on a regular basis...
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Alex79
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Alex79 »

Ah, I have the feeling our friend Cindy may have been something of a bot or advertising spammer!
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duskvstweak
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Re: Mental Health

Post by duskvstweak »

Alex79uk wrote: November 1st, 2020, 9:44 am Ah, I have the feeling our friend Cindy may have been something of a bot or advertising spammer!
But I thought they were interested in MY THOUGHTS!!! :? :?
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Alex79
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Alex79 »

Tell you what I'm sick of; being treated like I'm a fucking child killer or something because going out and getting shitfaced isn't my idea of a relaxing good time. I work all week, literally dashing around from one place to the next, it's incredibly stressful, I probably have a lunch break once a week or less, and I work at least an hour late at least three or four times a week. Often later. So at the weekend, I want to rest and chill at home. But some people just don't seem to understand, or don't even try to understand that the enjoyment they get from getting absolutely wasted is the same enjoyment I get from being on my own, doing what I want. It's draining.
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Alex79
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Re: Mental Health

Post by Alex79 »

Sorry, I just wanted to rant and there's nowhere else to post it where it won't just cause more hassle.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Mental Health

Post by ratsoalbion »

Good vent!

I used to go drinking all the time, now I don't. Your choice, man.
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