Games help me get through difficult times

I think we all have moments in our lives where things aren't going so well. Something happened that makes you depressed or just fills your heart with sadness. It's easy to get lost in those negative emotions and it makes it that much harder to find a way out of these emotions. Some people seek help, others surround themselves with family and friends, then there are those that try to hide the pain by keeping themselves busy and there are people that try to get through on their own. I'm definitely someone that tries to do things on my own, to heal and to move on without the help of others. Not a healthy thing to do but it's what makes me the person I am. But I do get some help, I play games that make me feel comfortable and help me get through these dark moments in my life.

Games help you feel better?

I wouldn't say that every game can do that, but sometimes there are certain games that just offer you something that can make you feel better. But this depends on what kind of games you like and what makes you happy. For me it's the big solo adventures in big open world games. For example Skyrim or Fallout 4. To go on an adventure in these games means that I can lose myself in that game world and get my mind off the negative things that plague my mind. This might not seem like a healthy thing, I guess in a way it's a kind of running away from your problems tactic, but for me it's a way of handling my negative emotions. When I feel so much negativity in my life I don't want to go outside and I don't want to talk to anyone. But a game can help me connect with people again, ok sure these are NPCs and not real people but it's a first step to letting other people back into your life. I go on adventures in the game, see the world and do things while in fact I'm still in my house. This also gives me the strength to step outside again and to be a part of the real world. But it all starts with the game, the game where I find peace and comfort. A place where I can heal and find the strength to move forward.

Different games for different people?

I wouldn't say that every game would work, I know for a fact that I wouldn't feel better playing online competitive games. That just puts pressure and stress into my life and I don't need that when I'm not feeling so good. But games can be so much more than just one type of experience. You can go on an adventure, explore, make friends in an online world or blow off some steam in a virtual destructable world. There are moments where I need the big open world experience, but there are also moments where I prefer to sneak around and do missions or go back to my 'old' platforming days and relive old memories. I think we all have our own type of game that makes us feel better, the type of game we keep going back to when we're not feeling that well. A game that gives comfort and makes you feel better. Of course I would never say that games are better than family and friends, but sometimes it's difficult to let other people in and games can help you with that. They can create an opening for others to get in touch with you. I don't know if this works for everyone but I know that in difficult times I have found a lot of comfort and strength in games. Wether it was the story, the characters, the music or just a moment in the game that really meant a lot to me, I can say for certain that games are important to me and have helped me through some difficult times.