For many, gaming is both a sanctuary and a struggle, a place where healing and battle can coalesce.
It’s where we seek escape, but also, in some cases, where we must face those things from which we cannot escape.
Gaming and Mental Health: Video Game Therapy
When reality’s noise is too loud, the glow of a screen, in the stillness of the night, is another kind of warmth.
The world outside becomes an echoing void, as struggles fade into the background, and games become a refuge, where the outside world doesn’t hold sway, where one’s challenges can be put on hold, and inner peace can be found, if only for an instant.
Video games have been shown to alleviate stress, help with anxiety, and improve mental health, making them a necessary escape for many.
For some, it’s the meditative cycle of tending a farm in Stardew Valley, the soothing repetition of fishing in Animal Crossing, or the rhythmic salve of puzzle-solving in Tetris.
These games require little of us, no life-altering choices, no punishing failures, only a space to breathe, to be, to feel OK for a time.
And there are the worlds where you have agency over what happens in a life that often feels out of control, games where the player is the hero, where perseverance is rewarded, where you can climb to the peaks of mountains, vanquish your foes, and survive the impossible.
For people having difficulty with mental health, it can be a lesson with deep meaning that failure isn’t forever, that every fall is merely another milestone.
Gaming and When It Feels Like a War
But not every gaming session is a refuge of stability.
At times, the burden of exhaustion or anxiety or depression makes the most cherished game feel like something too far away, too unattainable.
What was once familiar is now a burden.
Online spaces, which can be lifelines of connection, can also overwhelm.
Formulas become repetitive, making gaming toxicity, competitive pressure, and burnout extract energy rather than replenish it.
No matter how solitary, even single-player games can feel daunting when you don’t have the motivation to slog through one more virtual adventure.
The list of unfinished titles grows, and gaming ceases to be an escape and becomes yet another thing we’re failing at.
For people who used to find solace in gaming but now find themselves unable to do so with the same pleasure, there’s an added layer of guilt:
Why can’t I just play?
What once brought pleasure is now a source of annoyance or apathy. This is the paradox of mental health, how it bends and contorts the things we love so that even the simplest pleasures seem unattainable.
Healing with Video Games and Emotional Landslide
There’s no “right” way to interact with gaming when mental health is tenuous.
Some days, entering a familiar game world can feel comforting.
On other days, it feels like such a stretch.
And that’s okay.
Mental health, and video games, are deeply intertwined, with evidence of how such gaming can aid depression, PTSD, and social anxiety.
The gaming industry is also beginning to incorporate mental health narratives, with the likes of Celeste and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice providing powerful representations of internal battles.
Games will wait for us.
There’s no hurry, no deadline, no obligation to catch up with every new release.
The industry can move quickly, but we can be slow, gentle, forgiving with our relationship with games.
It’s OK to play only what offers comfort.
It is okay to pause.
If playing feels too hard, it’s perfectly fine to take pleasure in watching others play.
And perhaps most importantly, it’s OK to reach out, to talk to someone, to find support, to know the burden we bear doesn’t have to be borne alone.
A Gentle Reminder for Gamers
Gaming, like life, has its highs and lows.
Some days, clicking on “Start” will feel like a win.
On other days, we won’t even have the strength to reach for the controller.
And that’s all part of the journey.
What counts is knowing that when we’re ready, the worlds we love will be there waiting for us, patiently, like an old friend.
At Exscape, we believe in the healing, connecting, and inspiring power of gaming.
If you are looking for somewhere to escape to, a world to discover, a community that understands, you are welcome here.
👉 exscape.io 👉 https://t.me/exscapeio
Let’s build a world where gaming is not just an escape but a support system, a restorative space, a place where everyone fits in.
