Depression and gaming

[Murderer]

I am not sure if anyone else deals with this. But I thought I would lay it all out there to see if there were others like me or others who wanted to support a cause for those like us that may have troubles with gaming due to anxiety.

I know it sounds crazy, because it really is, but some of us who at one time in our lives gaming was a sincere passion but have hard times returning to it, rather it be from wartime PTSD or life PTSD; I believe both exist.

Personally there were days where I coudn't be pulled away from playing a game and loved every minute of it, though as of recently, I have found myself challenged to escape playing a game myself to enjoy someone else playing it elsewhere via youtube or twitch. Games for me have always been a social endeavor as multiplayer used to only involve people in your home. I will admit I was pulled in by the UO and EQ phenomenon but since then, unfortunately, my love for games hasn't declined, just my will to play.

My submission is to find more like minded individuals that somewhat cower away from engaging games these days and reseek former glory as a united front.

PTU hit nicely lately, and i would like to extend to those willing, let's explore the current build get some great keymapping and voyage together from there.

Help an old man

 

[Grimbli]

I suffer from this as well at times. Open a game and play for 10 minutes before shutting it down. There are times I'll stare at my Steam library of 100+ games and not do anything for 20 minutes.

I'm not sure what exactly it is, but I think gaming with others and being social would probably help. I just have trouble coordinating with others to hop into a game we can all play cooperatively.

 

[HeadClot]

Hey,
I suffer from depression myself and no it does not sound crazy from what you have said.

That is my thoughts on it.

I suffer from this as well at times. Open a game and play for 10 minutes before shutting it down. There are times I'll stare at my Steam library of 100+ games and not do anything for 20 minutes.

I have literally not touched my steam game library in literally a few months.

As for the PTU and Star Citizen in general I literally cannot play it due to my GPU. Otherwise I totally would. I have not played it since Arena Commander 1.0 launched. I am waiting for the RX480 to come out since those are priced very modestly compared to Current Nvidia Cards.

Anyway back on topic -

I'm not sure what exactly it is, but I think gaming with others and being social would probably help. I just have trouble coordinating with others to hop into a game we can all play cooperatively.

I can confirm that playing with others and talking does help allot.

That is my 2 cents.

- HeadClot

 

[Blind Owl]

I am not sure if anyone else deals with this. But I thought I would lay it all out there to see if there were others like me or others who wanted to support a cause for those like us that may have troubles with gaming due to anxiety.

I know it sounds crazy, because it really is, but some of us who at one time in our lives gaming was a sincere passion but have hard times returning to it, rather it be from wartime PTSD or life PTSD; I believe both exist.

Personally there were days where I coudn't be pulled away from playing a game and loved every minute of it, though as of recently, I have found myself challenged to escape playing a game myself to enjoy someone else playing it elsewhere via youtube or twitch. Games for me have always been a social endeavor as multiplayer used to only involve people in your home. I will admit I was pulled in by the UO and EQ phenomenon but since then, unfortunately, my love for games hasn't declined, just my will to play.

My submission is to find more like minded individuals that somewhat cower away from engaging games these days and reseek former glory as a united front.

PTU hit nicely lately, and i would like to extend to those willing, let's explore the current build get some great keymapping and voyage together from there.

Help an old man

I completely understand. And I agree with your thoughts on life PTSD.

For me, it's fairly fresh. The circumstances surrounding my son's birth 10 months ago, and the subsequent fight for his life, left me reeling. Being helpless to help him as he lay in that hospital bassinet, all those IVs and nodes and sensors and catheter attached to him, both pre- and post open heart surgery: it was terrifying.

I didn't understand how much it had affected me until months later, when it all came flooding back, causing a breakdown the likes of which I'd never experienced. That was just this past January.

The weeks following that were a struggle of recognizing, acknowledging, coping, healing, and rebuilding.

Needless to say, there are times when that snake rears it's ugly head again. And when those times hit, I find it hard to engage in almost anything. Gaming is one of my loves as a pastime. And I find myself struggling to engage.

Of course, being in the military, I have plenty of mental health resources available. And the first place I always turn when I need help is my wife. My wife and my family. She is my rock.

So, there's my story. I've never been ashamed of telling it, I see no reason to hide what we went through as a family.

That all being said, I would love to join you, friend @Murderer. My only hold backs will be finding the time, as I'm sure you'll soon find with your little one due any second.

I'm with you brother.

 

[HeadClot]

@Blind Owl - That sounds terrifying what you had to go through. I would not wish that upon anyone even my enemies. :(

 

[Blind Owl]

I'm not sure what exactly it is, but I think gaming with others and being social would probably help. I just have trouble coordinating with others to hop into a game we can all play cooperatively.

All the replies while I was typing out my wall of text. :)

This is precisely what I do too Grimbli. So freaking weird.

I'm glad that there's a few of us on the same page, dealing with the same sort of issues.

 

[Blind Owl]

@Blind Owl - That sounds terrifying what you had to go through. I would not wish that upon anyone even my enemies. :(

Thank you for that.

It was the single most terrifying time of my life, of my wife's life, and of my family's life.

But our little man is home, he's safe, and he's growing like the little wolf that he is. It's amazing watching him grow and learn and discover. It's the greatest feeling in the world.

His Daddy just had to acknowledge what had happened to him, and deal with the subsequent fallout from that period of time.

 

[HeadClot]

It was the single most terrifying time of my life, of my wife's life, and of my family's life.

I bet it was terrifying not only you or your wife but for your son as well. I cannot imagine going through something like that.

But our little man is home, he's safe, and he's growing like the little wolf that he is. It's amazing watching him grow and learn and discover. It's the greatest feeling in the world.

That is awesome to hear.

 

[EpilepticCricket]

I am not sure if anyone else deals with this. But I thought I would lay it all out there to see if there were others like me or others who wanted to support a cause for those like us that may have troubles with gaming due to anxiety.

I know it sounds crazy, because it really is, but some of us who at one time in our lives gaming was a sincere passion but have hard times returning to it, rather it be from wartime PTSD or life PTSD; I believe both exist.

Personally there were days where I coudn't be pulled away from playing a game and loved every minute of it, though as of recently, I have found myself challenged to escape playing a game myself to enjoy someone else playing it elsewhere via youtube or twitch. Games for me have always been a social endeavor as multiplayer used to only involve people in your home. I will admit I was pulled in by the UO and EQ phenomenon but since then, unfortunately, my love for games hasn't declined, just my will to play.

My submission is to find more like minded individuals that somewhat cower away from engaging games these days and reseek former glory as a united front.

PTU hit nicely lately, and i would like to extend to those willing, let's explore the current build get some great keymapping and voyage together from there.

Help an old man

I'm definitely in a similar boat. I don't believe I suffer from any form of PTSD, but I've fought depression for years (and thankfully have control of it most of the time, but it's always there).

At this point, it feels like I prefer the *IDEA* of playing a game far more than actually playing. I've bought plenty of new games and only played for a night or two (looking at you, Witcher 1, 2, and 3....). I'm not going to make any promises that I'll have time to play much of anything right now, but I would love to some time :)

 

[Blind Owl]

Last August:

Now:

 

[Blind Owl]

At this point, it feels like I prefer the *IDEA* of playing a game far more than actually playing. I've bought plenty of new games and only played for a night or two (looking at you, Witcher 1, 2, and 3....). I'm not going to make any promises that I'll have time to play much of anything right now, but I would love to some time

I think you're me. Right down to the same games named - Witcher games. Haha.
I've stopped buying new ones, as I just keep banking them. I have so many stellar games I've never even played. It's ridiculous.

 

[HeadClot]

@Blind Owl -

He looks really happy in the last two images.

Glad that he is OK now. :)

 

[Blind Owl]

@Blind Owl -

He looks really happy in the last two images.

Glad that he is OK now. :)

Thanks. He's the happiest baby alive now. Happiest baby I know, anyways.

Edit: @Murderer. Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack your thread brother.

 

[CosmicTrader]

I'm with you brother.

We are all with you.

 

[DcTrojan72]

i hear ya! theres some days where i have just enough motivation to get up and get to work.. maybe get food.. then hope i got people to game with for a few hours before calling it a day.

 

[Blind Owl]

We are all with you.

Amen to that.

 

[thanatos73]

Hey guys, I completely understand where you guys are coming from. I've been there. Both my boys were in the NICU, one for 2 months, and the other for 6 months. But back on topic, @GameFleek has a great stream that I try to join him on as regularly as possible. Through Discord, we have great comms, and can usually get into a fair amount of trouble. I don't know if his streaming schedule will work for you, but we(well at least I would) would love to have some more TESTies join us in our antics across the 'Verse.

I am usually on Discord, at least my phone is, even when I'm at work. If you want some more info just hit me or GameFleek up.

Oh, because I'm an ID10T, and forgot to post it, here is his channel....

https://www.twitch.tv/gamefleek

 

[Devil Doge]

as a tranny, depression is life. but i do smoke lethal amounts of pot so that helps (its legal here)

 

[HeadClot]

We are all with you.

^ This! ^

 

[EpilepticCricket]

We are all with you.

Hear! Hear!