Video gaming has often been linked with effects on mental health, both negative and positive. While there are many myths and misconceptions about how video games can impact your mental wellbeing, there is also plenty of scientific evidence to suggest that they can offer a range of benefits for the mind, from developing problem-solving skills to fostering social engagement through online chat rooms and forums.
A growing body of literature on the subject notes that video games can provide the ideal tools through which to stimulate your cognitive function, relax during times of stress, address trauma and mental health challenges, and ultimately improve your mental health in a number of key ways.
In this article, we will explore the benefits of video gaming for mental health to help you power up your mind with quality, stimulating gameplay.
The Benefits of Gaming Explored
Video games are now considered to be far more than a simple electronic pastime enjoyed by players around the world. It seems that there is a plethora of mental health benefits associated with all types of games, including the benefit of stress relief through novel mental stimulation.
According to WebMD, gaming provides valuable mental stimulation for different parts of the brain, enabling you to achieve high-level thinking and to develop essential cognitive skills like critical analysis, strategy development, and pattern recognition.
Fostering a Sense of Accomplishment
Reaching certain goals and new levels in your games of choice can also boost your mental wellbeing by providing you with a sense of accomplishment. Achieving a new record or high score in a game can bring you a unique sense of satisfaction, which can further enhance your gaming experience and your wellbeing as a result.
Working towards reaching new achievements will also motivate you to learn new moves, controller combinations, and skills, helping to incentivize you in a low-pressure and entertaining environment.
Mental Health and Trauma Recovery
There is also some data that suggests that video games could play an important role in mental health recovery. Playing games may assist with recovery from trauma by distracting you from pain, triggering memories, and psychological traumas.
Video games may also be able to improve mental health in people with conditions like anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by providing a positive focus for the brain and fostering mental health-boosting skills like problem-solving, determination, and perseverance.
A growing body of evidence shows that video games can be used successfully to treat mental health disorders and improve wellbeing in patients with trauma. A 2021 study published in JMIR Serious Games notes that commercial video games have been shown to offer cognitive benefits like mental flexibility, improved information processing, and better attention control in regular players. The researchers also assessed available evidence and concluded that video games show promise as an accessible, cost-effective, and widely available way to mitigate mental health issues when used alone or alongside classic therapies for conditions like depression and anxiety.
Emotional Benefits
Emotional strength and resilience are key characteristics often seen in people with good mental health. Gaming may help to foster emotional resilience by teaching players how to deal with failure to reach a new level or achieve a certain goal. When this happens, players must continue to try until they reach the next level or chapter – a vital tool and process for developing healthy mental resilience skills and teaching people of all ages to persevere towards their desired goals without becoming discouraged or frustrated.
An Australasian Psychiatry study found that 88.4% of its participants reported experiencing emotional benefits from video gaming. Younger players noted stronger benefits across all the categories assessed, and the genres most closely linked with psychological and emotional benefits included survival horror games, musical games, and role-playing games.
Social Connection
Video gaming can also help to promote more social interaction among players. As the world has become increasingly more reliant on technology and the internet, so too have rates of loneliness increased on a global scale. Loneliness and social isolation are clearly linked to mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety, but online and multiplayer games could help to bridge this gap and provide valuable social connection through digital platforms.
Multiplayer games encourage social cooperation between players and allow players to chat to each other using voice and messaging services. This provides an approachable and natural way to build new relationships online while at the same time supporting your fellow players as they work towards achieving their own in-game goals.
Research from the University of Oxford on gaming industry data and playing time for popular games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville found that players’ experiences of social connection with others contributes towards increased feelings of positive wellbeing. The researchers concluded that video games are positively correlated with mental wellbeing and enhanced rates of motivation in players of all ages.
Nurture Your Mental Health with Responsible Gaming
Enjoying video games offers scientifically proven benefits for mood regulation, emotional resilience, and mental health. Certain genres like the strategic card games that you can find at Big Dollar online casino and role-playing games also provide additional benefits, like honing problem-solving skills and even supporting cognitive function and development.
While the potential risks of video gaming are generally minimal, it’s important to enjoy gaming responsibly in order to maximize the benefits it can offer you. Choose games that encourage critical thinking and decision making and set limits to ensure that your gaming time does not infringe on other important areas of your life, such as work, fitness, or making time for in-person socializing with family and friends.
It’s also recommended that you play your games of choice with friends to help you foster new levels of social connection with the people in your life, manage stress, and relax and unwind. Playing with your friends is a great way to reap the many mental benefits of gaming without losing out on social fun!
