![]() Even if you don’t dislike your job, you’re probably not getting all the mental health vitamins, so to speak, out of your job. “These are things that are crucial to mental wellbeing in general, but they’re not things that we get a lot of in our daily activities. “We know that games are exceptionally good at helping us feel like our decisions matter, and that we can have power over the world around us and that we can have a sense of accomplishment,” says Dunlap, who is based in Rockville, Maryland. Kelli Dunlap, a clinical psychologist who has a master’s in game design, says video games can help people living with mental illness by providing a way to relax, connect with others and feel competent. Kelli Dunlap (Photo courtesy of Kelli Dunlap) Those include Hellblade: Senua’s Journey, whose main character struggles with psychosis Celeste, about the quest of a girl who has anxiety to climb a mountain and Psychonauts, about a boy who projects himself into other people’s mental worlds and helps them fight their demons. But even before the pandemic, researchers have cited the benefits of gaming on mental health, and game creators have in recent years begun portraying mental illness in games in more thoughtful and less stigmatizing ways than in the past. Those findings are particularly resonant as people worldwide mark Mental Health Awareness Month this May, some 16 months into the pandemic. The study found that 84% of respondents agreed gaming has positively impacted their mental health over the past year, while 71% said gaming helped them feel less isolated. A recent Microsoft study within the Xbox Research Accessibility Community Feedback Program, a group made up of players with disabilities, looked at gaming and mental health during the pandemic. Like many people worldwide, Kieswetter has turned to gaming to cope with the isolation and anxiety of the past year. They have been there for me, and I’m there for them.” The friends I have made over the years are so incredibly supportive and I consider them family. “Gaming has had a huge impact on me as far as my mental health. ![]() “Gaming gets your mind off things for a little while, and that helps,” says Kieswetter, who lives in Ontario, Canada. Many of them reached out to offer support. When he felt up to it, Kieswetter would play games, and sometimes he’d talk with his gamer friends about what he was going through. ![]() When Kieswetter’s sister died unexpectedly almost a decade ago from complications following a surgery, gaming provided a refuge from his overwhelming grief and sadness. Kieswetter is now an Xbox Ambassador who loves helping other gamers. Gaming was a community, and gamers were his people. He enjoyed playing with friends and meeting new friends through gaming. Kieswetter kept playing into adulthood and became even more passionate about gaming. As a child, John Kieswetter played video games with his younger sister and two cousins who lived nearby as often as he could.
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