This can happen if you turn to video games as a form of escapism. It can, however, worsen it in some cases. For many people, this happens because of school exams, job interviews, or simply before attending an important event. Does Gaming Cause Anxiety?Īnxiety is a feeling of unease and fear that many people get because of their inability to predict what will happen in the future.Įveryone gets anxious from time to time. You don’t get to have adventures that you might have in your life, you don’t meet new people, and even if you do, the relationships online may not be as genuine as they are in real life. If you rely on video games and online platforms for socializing, you lose out on the many benefits of having friends in real life. And when they do that, they start neglecting real-life relationships, worsening their existing social anxiety. Games offer them an escape from real life plus, they can socialize with people online with little to no risk. Many people turn to video games because they are socially anxious and struggle with physical world friendships. If you think about it, it makes sense – the more you play video games, the more you lose contact with your real-life friends, which can, in turn, lead to experiencing more social anxiety.īut the same can be said about social anxiety as can be told about depression. Social anxiety is another common comorbidity to video game addiction, so video games might be responsible for your social anxiety. If you want to learn more about video games and depression, read our article about this topic. Most studies that we have so far show us that excessive gaming can lead to depression and a clear link between the two. They turn to gaming as an escape and way to cope with their depression, but in the end, the gaming starts to worsen their depression, not fix it. We also have many cases where gamers use video games to alleviate their symptoms of depression. For example, they don’t have as many social relationships and ignore healthy habits such as exercise and diet.Īll of that can make you depressed or worsen existing depression. As they start playing video games more and more, they begin to neglect other aspects of their lives. Many gamers we work with develop depression because of their gaming habits. One of the main questions we have regarding video games and depression is: does gaming cause depression, or are video games the coping mechanism for depression, exacerbating the original mental health problem? This study found up to 89% of problem gamers are also diagnosed with depression in addition to video game addiction. Video Games and Depressionĭepression is one of the most common comorbidities that gamers have, according to Gonzalez-Bueso et al. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the most common effects of gaming on mental health. Furthermore, the negative effects of excessive video gaming on mental health are supported by hundreds of anecdotal stories from our members who have suffered from gaming addiction. And this also means that the more your mental well-being is going to suffer. The more you play, the more you may neglect other aspects of your life.
They play other, more addictive games that are also more toxic, and many gamers play for more than four hours a day. The truth is that the gaming habits of most addicted gamers are much different. However, one key thing to note here is an isolated study where gamers played the prosocial game Animal Crossing for four hours a day.
Some people might find the results of this study surprising, especially considering that many prior studies have linked gaming with negative effects on mental health. In moderation, playing video games may not have strong negative effects on mental health.Ī study by Oxford University shows that gaming in moderation and a controlled environment may improve one’s mental well-being. When we talk about video games and mental health, you must know that we primarily consider the mental health effects of excessive gaming. Effects of Video Games on Your Mental Health This article analyzes the effects of video games on your mental health and offers suggestions on where you can get help if gaming is impacting your health.
On the other hand, some studies show that video games can improve your mental health if you play in moderation – the keyword here is gaming in moderation. But only in the past 15 years have people started to pay attention to the correlation between video games and mental health.Įxcessive gaming is connected to mental health problems such as: Video games have been around for more than 30 years.
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