Mental health illnesses have increased dramatically in the UK. It may be due to it being recognised by health services and pharmaceuticals. Additionally, more people are seeking help for mental health illnesses which could also contribute to the rise.

However, I think a huge part of it is down to daily grind, insecurity in social situations, pressure whether financial or otherwise and anxieties in many forms.

Despite this, I believe there’s still a stigma attached to mental health. People are more willing to talk about heart surgery than psychosis.

Linking all that back to gaming, I believe that we have quite a high number of people who have or are suffering with mental health problems.

For the record I believe people with mental illness seek out games rather than games contributing to the problem.

So, I’d like to hear from anyone who:
1) Suffers from any form of mental illness and is willing to be open about it in a forum (and whether gaming helps them)

2) Anyone who knows someone with mental illness (and if they are “gamers”).

3) If you’re uncomfortable with openness but you want to contribute; just post something like “Yes I know/am (YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPECIFY WHICH) someone with an illness”

Thanks for reading. Even if I don’t receive any replies, I hope it provides food-for-thought.

I'm on Prozac if that matters.

I have been diagnosed with OCD for about 30 years now. The kind induced by a serotonin imbalance. There is a significant genetic component for anxiety disorders in my family as well. At my worst I was a virtual Howard Hughes type shut-in, crippled by the compulsion to perform ritual behaviours.

Tried several different medications in the early days with various levels of success, until my doctor put me into the cohort that was part of the approval process for Prozac to be sold in America. It worked far better than any other drug on my condition, and I remain on it to this day. I have occasionally tried other, newer drugs, but none yet matches the positive response from Prozac.

Didn't mean for this to become an endorsement, but just bringing you up to speed on it. I am far better now and basically as functional as anyone else, with just some personal quirks. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a higher incidence rate among gamers, at least for specific kinds of mental disorder. Games activate a number of reward and release circuits in the brain, so there is no reason that they couldn't fulfill a "self-medicating" role for some folks.

I do believe as well that some of the increases in mental illness diagnoses are due to the pharmaceutical industry looking to find problems to attach their new drugs too. I also believe we continue to create a more toxic environment, literally and socially, every year, and that we are seeing the fallout of that in the systemic disassociation people display more and more frequently.

OCD-having (purely obsessional OCD, though) and bipolar II person here. Serotonin imbalance. On Abilify and Klonopin.

I find games let me feel like I have control over stuff--satisfies my OCD, and I don't have to be out in the 'real world' to set off my anxiety when I can't 'fix' stuff. However, playing games with some degree of randomness (see 'FTL') or choice-based storytelling (see 'Fallout' series) actually helps my anxiety--it trains me to let go of things I can't really control.

Strictly linear experiences do great things if I feel the need to complete something quickly, but the more random, the more fun I've been having lately. I hate to say it but I've been playing games to complete them, and not necessarily to enjoy the experience, but I'm happy to say those days are coming back.

Good diet helps, and getting out and socializing helps. For me, games aren't necessarily therapy, but they have therapeutic qualities.

Alright, I've revised this post like 11 times... I can't get it right.

I am 25, and have been suffering from mental illness since the age of 9. OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and severe depression. I believe that it is almost entirely due to genetics, and that the chemicals in my brain were predisposed to be fucked up from the very start.

I have had a ridiculously hard time living a "normal" life. I dropped out of school 9 times as a teenager because of my mental illnesses. I have seen countless therapists, been on approximately 30 medications, and even had electro-convulsive therapy a few years ago. Today, I am confined to my house, afraid to leave, afraid to use the phone, and as of last week - afraid to look out the windows. It is a massive pile of shit that I've had to deal with just about every day for 15 years.

Our family has always had video games in our house. My first memory is when my dad brought home F-Zero, and we all played it. But gaming had always just been a small hobby for me when I was a kid.

When I was 13, during one of my worst points, I discovered that playing video games was a great distraction, and a great relief from the shit that I was feeling literally every waking minute of my life. Being constantly mentally engaged in a game kinda pushes everything into the background. All I have to worry about is what is on the screen in front of me. Of course, this has lost its effectiveness over time, and my depression usually prevents me from wanting to play a game in the first place.

So for me, I don't think it is therapeutic. It is just a good distraction. It might not seem healthy to just distract myself, instead of trying to deal with the problems head on... But frankly, I don't give a shit. I have spent a ridiculous amount of time and energy trying to fix myself, and so far, I have had no good results. I still try of course, but in the meantime, if I can't fix myself, I think distracting myself is the next best thing.

edit - because I edit almost every post ever multiple times due to my stupid OCD.

I am a supervisor at an adult psychiatric outpatient clinic and a registered Licensed Professional Counselor able to diagnosis "mental illness." Although it might be fun to speculate about the causes and correlations associated with mental illness unless there is emprical research to methodically explore connections then nothing can be conclusive. Often psychiatric issues are randomly associated with certain music, movies, video games, or other hobbies as part of a pop culture stereotype so I would caution against making such a link. The reason being is that psychaitric care is a complicated and multi-faceted issue requiring professional oversight. In most cases mental illness is treatable with medication and counseling. If you suspect you or a loved one are experiencing any mood or psychotic disorder please seek professional help and know that you don't have to handle it alone.

I think it's important to overcome the stimga attached to psychiatric care but speculating about a connection between health conditions and video games is not likely the best solution. If anything this might magnify those untruths about psychiatric illness. As a psychiatric professional with years of experience in the field I can say there is no known association between video gaming and psychiatric diagnosis. Most patients at my workplace can not afford to be gamers. Classically what you will see with persistent mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder is a lack of interest in hobbies or with schizophrenia (psychosis) disorganization and inability to concentrate, both unlikely to encourage gaming when symptomatic. Video games offer a nice sense of good old fashioned escapism and as with any hobby can service as a coping strategy to "blow off steam" but nothing more. Individuals who can maintain a lifestyle to play video games are likely functioning at a level within normal limits (mental illness is gauged in part on ability to function).

My brother has some anxiety issues due to a mix of financial issues, trying to stay in top condition for college soccer, and being told he'll have to stay two extra years in college due to dropping/failing so many classes. He currently is on medication (don't know what), but his main method of coping is by taking care of fish (he has a 35 gallon tank and a 50 gallon) and playing video games. Literally any time he gets stressed, he logs into skyrim, cod, or battlefield and plays for hours.

My 5 yr old little brother has either autism or OCD (we've gotten different responses for different doctors) and is on Abilify. He loves to play games that have collection features, as well as manageable inventories. I can't really say if it helps him or not though.

As for me, my doctor has said that I could have been considered a mild case of Asperger's, but they apparently don't diagnose that anymore (instead they just classify everything as Autistic Spectral Disorder. Either way, I don't think that's my issue. I think I just prefer silence to groups, in which case games do actually harm me. I spent 3 months last year only leaving my dorm building for classes and food, and most of the food was instant dinners or buffalo wings to-go. So by American standards, I'm just antisocial, but I think the Japanese would probably say I'm borderline Hikikomori.

I know someone with a mental illness that plays a lot. As much gaming is a good place to evolve and "express" oneself going online (MMOs in that case) has led that person to fairly depressing situations because, he couldn't stomach as a "stable" person the usual rudeness and personality conflicts and took it way too personally at the point it became a nightmare for him, hopefully he made the descision to simply leave, wich was probably for the best. You'll tell me, a lot of non-diseased people behave like that, but to be honest I don't know where's the line between emotional over-sensitivity and mental-illness.

It's pretty well documented on the forum in various threads that I suffer from depression and anxiety issues. This place has actually helped me quite a bit since I started posting about it.

As for if gaming helps...I'm not sure. It can but does it help me in everyday life deal with my depression? Not so sure.

I should add, type-2 bipolar here as well. Seems to be serotonin linked, like classic OCD.

I believe games can offer anxiety abatement in certain circumstances, but beyond that it takes more research to separate the anecdotal from the empirical. And as undeadcow so rightly points out, all instances need to be evaluated on an individual basis.

I take your points and of course, respect your opinion. I'm in no position to doubt or challenge you.

It was not my intention to provide a medical link between gaming and mental health issues. However, as you mentioned, each case is individual and that's what prompted my post....to hear individuals views and experiences if they wish to share them.

Edit: and trust me, it's not intended as a "fun" experiment.

Confirm Complete!

Im on much more than you or anyone on this forum if that counts. It just sucks but I do it because I have to and it works. I feel that I would rather deal with the frustrations than make myself a danger to society.

Fearing that drugs take away from the misery that is creativity I'm always asking myself if I wasn't on this stuff would I be in the midst of composing the next great novel or symphony or philosophy but I'm cut short when I realize if I wasn't on it I probably wouldn't be doing any of that stuff because I'd be dead.