Gaming can be an incredible means of escape, offering us a chance to get away from the stresses of daily life and escape to our favourite virtual worlds. However, online gaming can also be a dangerous place, by increasing our exposure to toxicity. All of which can have a notable effect on our mental health.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at gaming and the effect it can have on our mental health, determining whether it is a therapeutic tool or harmful escape.
Are Games a Harmful Escape?
Whilst our gaming worlds grant us access to a community of like-minded players, they can also expose us to toxic environments, which can quickly turn these worlds from a safe haven into a dangerous space.
Online gaming lacks traditional social barriers. There aren’t the same awkward feelings or embarrassment when you discuss complicated topics. It’s easy to hide behind a virtual persona whilst expressing views or experiences that you’d otherwise hide in person. Platforms such as Discord, Twitch, or YouTube increase our exposure to negativity and opposing views which can slowly begin to affect our mental well-being, by limiting our ability to see the world or even ourselves in a positive light.
Our parents weren’t lying when they warned us about playing too many video games. Whilst it won’t make you go cross-eyed, Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is a real behavioural addiction and can notably affect your real life. Whilst our favourite games provide us with a consistent rush of adrenaline and satisfaction when you secure a win or complete a challenge, this too can soon turn sour, especially if you lack access to a real-world alternative.
IGD limits our ability to distance ourselves from our games, prioritising securing this rush over everything else whether this is our jobs, spending time with loved ones, or making room for other hobbies. Desperately hiding away in these virtual worlds makes pressing the off switch a challenge, with the constant drive for just one more game.
Difficulty drawing your attention away from the screen can also have physical implications. Whilst your avatar may be moving around on screen, you aren’t actively moving. Spending hours in front of your PC every day (no matter how tempting), increases your chances of developing long-term health issues, such as obesity or insomnia. Whilst there are some simple changes you can make to get yourself moving whilst you game, it’s also vital you establish boundaries. Your PC will still be there after those daily walks.
On the days when just about everything seems to be going wrong, our games can be a fantastic form of escapism. Taking a vacation to the likes of Pelican Town makes it all too easy for us to avoid our daily or even long-term challenges, creating a disconnection between us and the real world, feeding into a never-ending negative escape cycle.
Struggles in our daily lives, whether this is with family, friends, that huge pile of chores, coping with our own emotions, or challenges in a new job, a simple trip into our favourite gaming world can seem very tempting. Forget about that ever-growing pile of washing in the corner or expansive list of tasks. Instead, you can equip yourself with powerful armour or weaponry, and harness your trusty keyboard and mouse to take on a roster of deadly bosses or monsters.
However, when the time comes to remove your headset and press the off switch, those problems are still there, waiting for your return. And thus, the cycle starts all over again.
This negative escape cycle can increase your chances of developing a long-term mental health disorder. Becoming reliant on your games to escape your struggles isn’t going to fix them. You run the risk of making the problem worse by disconnecting yourself from the real world and your family or friends.
Ultimately, gaming is a short-term escape, and there are other avenues you should explore first if you feel your mental health declining. This includes reaching out to people you trust, speaking to mental health providers, investing some time in your other hobbies, exercising, or self-care. If you are looking for more information, there are some helpful resources linked at the bottom of this article.
Are Games a Therapeutic Tool?
Whilst there are negatives to gaming, it can also be an incredible therapeutic tool.
There are thousands of games, spanning multiple different genres, each with a dedicated community of players. Regardless of what your favourite game is, whether this be Fallout, The Sims, or Elden Ring, there is a community of players with a space reserved just for you. Discord servers or Twitch chats allow you to build fundamental friendships within these groups, making it easier to organise your weekly gaming sessions or offer a platform for you to vent.
Having access to these large-scale communities or creating your own is the perfect cure for any loneliness. Instead of bottling up your emotions or struggles, you can freely share them with your online friends, with no social barriers or awkwardness. Both of which make it easier to be ourselves and express our feelings, no matter how challenging the topic is.
Gaming is also a positive outlook for you to release any negative feelings. For example, if you are stressed about work, defeating some virtual enemies in an FPS is a great way to release this stress. However, if FPS games aren’t quite your thing, you can also de-stress in cosy farming sims, RPGs, or even sandbox games such as Minecraft.
Minecraft allows you to wave goodbye to any unwanted negativity by expressing your creativity and building your dream structures or complex designs. Simulating a part of your brain to build or solve puzzles and complicated tasks can notably help to take your mind off any difficult thoughts, along with providing you with a sense of accomplishment that you might not achieve elsewhere. What was once a huge stressor playing on your mind, can soon seem small when immersed in your favourite games.
We can’t talk about immersion without giving a little shout-out to VR. VR fully immerses you in incredible virtual worlds, putting you at the centre of the gameplay and allowing you to easily interact with a simulated environment. Just make sure you haven’t gotten anything fragile around you…
VR is becoming increasingly more popular, with classics getting a much-needed update or even standalone adventures being released every month, meaning you’ll never be short of options.
If you are looking to explore the wonderful world of VR, be sure to check out our ultimate guide for more advice, hardware recs, and our fave VR games.
Ultimately, gaming, when used correctly, is a fantastic form of escapism and can provide us with so many benefits. No matter if you enjoy adventuring solo or with your online community, gaming makes it so much easier to de-stress and get away from the hustle and bustle of your daily life.
Harmful vs Therapeutic – Which is It?
So… which is it? Is gaming a harmful escape or a useful therapeutic tool? There is no right or wrong answer here, it all depends on you. With the correct boundaries in place, gaming can be a fantastic way to de-stress and escape from our mundane lives. However, without restrictions and awareness of the dangers of online gaming, it can also become harmful.
It can be an incredible means of escape, bringing you closer to other like-minded players and access to a community in which you can freely be yourself. However, it’s vital you take regular breaks from these communities and your screens. This could be simply taking a walk to get some fresh air, investing time in another hobby, or venturing out with some friends and family. Your computer and community will still be there for your next virtual adventure when you return. However, in the meantime, we truly can’t underestimate the importance of self-care.
What’s more, it’s equally important that you protect yourself whilst online. These communities aren’t always a safe space, exposing us to negativity, and even potential online threats. Platforms like Discord have made it even easier to spread viruses and that’s why it’s crucial you invest in high-quality antivirus and take the time to improve your awareness of computer security before you go online.
We’ve all heard the same warnings about staying safe online such as being wary of who you are talking to or not sharing private information. These aren’t things you should ignore, especially when it comes to the effect this can have on your mental health. It’s so easy to become exposed to toxicity and get caught up in too much negativity without the right protection and boundaries in place. In fact, a recent Unity report showcased that toxic behaviour in gaming has increased from 68% in 2021 to 74% in 2023.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to control how gaming affects you.
If you feel your mental health deteriorating, it’s vital that you take the necessary steps to help this, even if this means turning your PC off every once and a while. Hiding away in virtual worlds won’t make the problems go away. In fact, it might even do the exact opposite and make it 100% times worse. The most important takeaway from this should be to remember that you are not alone. Whether you feel comfortable reaching out to family, mental health providers, or even your gaming community, don’t be afraid to reach out to those you trust.
Helpful Resources
We mentioned earlier that we’d have plenty of helpful resources linked below if you need advice or want to check out some more articles to improve your awareness about mental health.
Important Links
More Resources:
How Has Gaming Helped You?
How has gaming helped you in times of stress? Share your positive experiences of gaming and how it helped your mental health in the comments below.
- 9 min read
Ruth Rowley
Author
Ruth has been with Overclockers UK for over a year and has gone on to write about everything ranging from in-depth hardware guides to monthly game releases.
Outside of writing blog posts, she can be found wrapped in a blanket with her black cat, engrossed in a book or playing life-simulation games such as The Sims, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing.
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