Who doesn’t like winding down the day with a round of video games? It’s a compelling idea to some, but not everyone thinks of it. There are likely many reasons for this, but the main one is that many view video games as a waste of time and something that drives people to be sedentary.
But video games have a lot to offer. Some even promote physical activity! And best of all, they can actually be considered a valid treatment for your anxiety. So if you suffer from an anxiety disorder, you may have found at least one treatment that could be considered both entertaining and healthy.
Video games provide a number of cognitive advantages against anxiety
Having an anxiety disorder can cause a number of problems, including:
- Concentration difficulties
- Stress
- Having a feeling of impending doom
But luckily, video games are uniquely suited to help resolve some of these issues! As you play video games, you gain a number of health benefits that can counter the symptoms anxiety causes:
- A better ability to focus — some researchers indicate that playing video games regularly can improve your ability to filter out distractions. This may also help you tune out the constant worries that can come from an anxiety disorder.
- Stress reduction — if you choose to play games that don’t require a lot of time or complex thought, you may find that they can help improve your mood and lower your anxiety.
- Improved problem-solving skills — when you have a feeling of impending doom, it’s hard to stop focusing on it, but playing video games can improve how good you are at flexible thinking, planning, and organization. As a result, you may find it easier to break out of that feeling and get some mental relief.
They can even help you create a supportive network.
If you deal with social anxiety disorder or just have a hard time socializing, video games can offer you one more enormously helpful benefit. They make excellent social spaces within the safety of your own home! After all, many video games offer you ways to play with others online, and there’s no pressure for you to respond to these people right away or even at all. Instead, video games offer an area where you can choose to socialize at your own pace. You’ll be able to make friends, interact with them at any time either of you likes, and maintain a positive social network that you can enjoy being around without the usual stress of socializing.
Don’t rely solely on video games for help, though
While fun, video games aren’t the only treatment you should be using for your anxiety. You can only play so many video games throughout the day. Eventually, your time is needed elsewhere. When that happens, you need to consider treatments that will help you cope in such situations.
There are a number of treatments out there, but to determine what the most effective one for you is, check with your family doctor. Knowing all of your medical history and health conditions, your family doctor will likely have a thorough understanding of what treatment you should look into. And they may even just conclude that you should consider prescription medication for anxiety like buspirone.
You can avoid any stress of thinking about the cost of this type of treatment by ordering online. Generally, prescription medication in the United States is extravagantly expensive. But when you order your medication from an international or Canadian pharmacy referral service like Rx Connected, you can connect to licensed pharmacies from outside the United States that offer prescription medications at affordable rates.
But after you’ve found your medication for a decent price, don’t forget that you can always plan a gaming session to make de-stressing that much more fun.
