Video Games = Depression?

NatewlieThat can be the case for any hobby. Anything that someone likes as a hobby can get addicting, say, like knitting or some shit.

Except my nan doesn't cower in a corner or stay in bed waiting for someone to litterally drag you out of your comfy bed to keep you busy....that was in my younger years (before 15 yrs of age), all i need is something to keep my mind going, $100 of comics (mostly alien), $300 on model kits (which I need to complete) and $200 on music, with $350 on dvd movies as my emergancy back up.If there is no power I go for a long 5 hour walk...looking at games shops...or the odd comic book/hobby shop along the way.If it's at night I'll ether use my rarly used mobie for a browse on the net or I'll go to sleep until one little red light comes back on (hopefully it'll be my stereo first-I need the subs to get the full experience of alien vs predator :( )

Hypnos, just so you're aware, nobody really gives a damn about your personal life. To be quite honest, you going on about depression, addiction, "woe is me my eyes are damaged"-esque stuff is tiresome for those of us who actually read posts before posting. You're capable of a coherent, reasonable, accurate reply - it just gets so bogged down in boring shit that people don't care.

rpgirlLOL, so okay, we need to tell this to some docs as they are saying too much games are making us ill..I simply don't like the way they put us down like that....but gamers do have life, it's just that they stick to friends that share the same interests.....about being anti social..well I dunno, maybe it's the society that looks towards gamers as a set of reclusive nerds.....LOL, maybe it's being too harsh as saying playing games link to depressive disorder...I'd rather spend time playing games at home than spending $$ outside doing nothing...or spending it on clothes....:P

As much as I hate to admit it, psychologists are more believed than a de facto representation of serious gamers. They'll be believed. We won't.Depression (even mild) is usually the cost of the sacrifice of a healthy social life for other purposes (like video gaming), due to the subconscious knowing there's something missing. Conversely, there is also a certain kind of person for whom both depression and video game addiction are high risks, wherein the depression is the pre-existing condition (inb4 Hpnos saying he was depressed, then he realised videogames were his outlet/only friends - I don't want to hear it) and videogame addiction is simply a risk for them. So really, depending on the person, there may be a variety of links between depression and videogame addiction, or there may be none at all. If you actually read this entire post and take it seriously, tell me in your next post that I'm mad or that you love me. Any non-social hobby (like making model cars for instance) can be correlated with depression if you study those people obsessed with it. It's just that video games are easy to get addicted to and easily accessible, hence resulting in a larger group of people, hence resulting in a larger number of people who can be used to link depression and video games through what is essentially circumstantial evidence.tl;dr Any test is flawed, correlation doesn't necessarily imply causation, and only three people are going to read this post and take me seriously.

It may sound crazy, but I'm with you on that. Leaving out all the fancy terms that might just confuse other people, the subconscious [i]does[i/] relate to depression, which may or may not be actual depression. Now a gamer may feel that a part of him is missing if he has not completed a mission on a game...not depression, simply dissatisfaction.I also think video games [i]may[i/] cause depression if the gamers are "addicted" to them and get separated from them over a long period of time.In other words, having your head "full of a game" is actually one of the purposes of gaming in the first place. Crush the high score and you are one happy psycho. Bottom line, people who play games are [i]not[i/] necessarily associated with depression. And, like Suiseiseki said, the psychologists will be believed in comparison to as, but there is always that freedom of expression - I think. Nice topic, rpggirl.

Well, if you are too depressed, you can't do a thing either...cause depressed people are either too sad or too preocuppied with well..being sad, they won't have any interests at all. So when the mind is active (playing games, doing other things), it won't have time to get depressed...right? About being anti social well it's not so much towards depression it's just a way of lifestyle. We have to agree that there are people from all walks of life with so many different personalities....not everyone can be a chatterbox....The point is we all need to have an open mind about things....:)

Replying to #24

Not really. Plenty of depressives have interests that they pursue, and they're capable of functioning in a manner approaching normal in society. It's more an underlying mental condition that manifests in uncertainty in public and crippling feelings (usually of inadequacy) in private.

MessoMessoI'd like someone to explain to me just how the fuck Cooking Mama can lead to major depressive disorder.

Because the game contains a woman that is playing the role of a mother that cooks for you and teaches you how to cook, this then causes children to realize that their own mother is horrible and then leads to them becoming depressed because their mother is a stupid whore that feeds McDonalds to their children every night.My mother on the other hand is a great cook so this game doesnt affect me in any way other than me wanting to break my DS cause the game sucks so much assAlso there are way too many 'Depression' topics popping up now, this shit needs to stop

Suiseiseki, I love you (in non-homo way of course.) That was the most intelligent post I have ever read so far in this topic.And Littlekill, your post made me laugh. What you said in the first paragraph is the truth.

Actually, I've been so depressed before I couldn't bother getting myself out of bed. Several times. One, when my dad forced me to camp with the entire extended family, and then there was that time when I was nine, and then after what happened when I was twelve, and then after that incident last year, and last month...

Replying to #28

God damn family making you do stuff with them to help you build a stronger foundation in life and family, Damn them to hell!

well i play FAllensword
where most people go to when their depressed lol
you should try it out
link in my sig

Littlekill · #29God damn family making you do stuff with them to help you build a stronger foundation in life and family, Damn them to hell!

You don't understand. They're fundies. Fundies, got it? FUNDIES!

I don't quite got it.

Video games keep me sane (they suck at there job =D)

rpgirl · #24Well, if you are too depressed, you can't do a thing either...cause depressed people are either too sad or too preocuppied with well..being sad, they won't have any interests at all. So when the mind is active (playing games, doing other things), it won't have time to get depressed...right? About being anti social well it's not so much towards depression it's just a way of lifestyle. We have to agree that there are people from all walks of life with so many different personalities....not everyone can be a chatterbox....The point is we all need to have an open mind about things....:)

Just to add on Suis' point, the people who seem the 'happiest' in life are probably the depressed people. Depressive people are good actors in these cases. From my personal experiences anyway.

Replying to #34

Indeed. The person who doesn't smile, is usually the happiest. I never smile, and I enjoy my life.

Video games are awesome...Don't You Forget That

Look, is anyone here depressed? I don't think so!!!
And if someone is we can help and give you good moods and stuff.We are a community of gamers and this is a nice counterthingy...Phoenix and Miles would cry by that statement: OBJECTION!

Durr hurr hurr. You said "Phoenix and Miles." Slash fiction WHOOOOOOP! GUMSHOOOOE! PHOENIX AND I ARE GAY LOVERS!Someone who plays video games to escape life, and someone who can't differentiate between reality and fantasy, had issues before they started playing... Of course, no one cares about this. :p

Replying to #38

This don't equals a depression?
FOr me it is a way to loosen my stress!

Jonez001 · #37Look, is anyone here depressed? I don't think so!!!
And if someone is we can help and give you good moods and stuff.

You don't seem to understand depression. I'm suffering from it, isn't that nice? It isn't a disease that you can just 'cure' by putting them in a 'better mood'. It involves extensive psychiatry and drugs, even by that point the person has to take anti-depressants that probably don't work. This is all if it's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain,it's alot more than just being sad.

MessoMesso · #38Durr hurr hurr. You said "Phoenix and Miles." Slash fiction WHOOOOOOP! GUMSHOOOOE! PHOENIX AND I ARE GAY LOVERS!Someone who plays video games to escape life, and someone who can't differentiate between reality and fantasy, had issues before they started playing... Of course, no one cares about this. :p

I do!!!11