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Do Video Games Cause Anxiety? After a long, stressful day, you may end up in the evening with your gaming console to relieve stress. Video games help people remove their attention from the current issues and focus deeply on playing. But do video games cause anxiety? The relationship between video games and the mental problem has been a long-term discussion. Gaming companies are offering playtest services to improve the overall quality of games they bring in the market. However, no evidence shows a cause-and-effect relationship between the anxiety and gaming. Therefore, we can conclude that the two correlate to each other. Some factors contributing to this correlation are type of anxiety and traits of the gamer. Personal Traits Correlating to Gaming Addiction There are a few personal traits that are associated with gaming addiction, including: Neuroticism People who have neuroticism or are anxious in the real world have a high chance of gaming addiction. However, this does not mean that all anxious people are gamers. It means that high anxiety can encourage a person to get addicted to playing video games to escape reality. Video games help by giving people something else to focus deeply on, since they have to concentrate on the game. It is a good distraction, thus relieving their anxiety. Social Anxiety Gaming addiction can lead to social anxiety, and social anxiety can encourage excessive gaming. Socially anxious people would rather spend the day playing video games than interact with others. When they play, even with other people, they do not have to interact with these people physically. The more they escape into this visual world, their social anxiety increases. And their interaction with the real world reduces. Therefore, although video games do not directly cause anxiety, the correlation is quite evident. The more people use video games to escape their anxiety, the more they gravitate to it. Can Video Games Relieve Anxiety? Playing video games can reduce anxiety in the short term since you will be focusing on the game. It is an easy way to escape your current problems, without solving its root cause. After playing the game, the issue causing anxiety will still be there for you to handle. Sadly, this would be the cause of gaming addiction as you'll spend more and more time playing games. What Should I Do When Anxious Instead of gaming to escape anxiety. Here are some activities you can do to reduce anxiety: Try New Hobbies New hobbies will challenge you and give you other things to focus on that build your mental capacity. You may even end up loving these new adventures. Our brain thrives when we challenge it with new activities. Meditation Meditation helps in calming the mind and keeping you grounded. There is no better way to live than being mindful and staying more connected with the present moment instead of worrying about the future. Meditation will help you manage your thoughts and feelings, thus reducing your anxiety. Therapy Talking to a therapist about things that make you anxious can also help you find solutions to your anxiety. A therapist will be patient and listen to you as you express your thoughts and feelings. Final Thoughts Gaming does not directly cause anxiety, however, gaming increases anxiety on people who are already anxious. When you find yourself escaping your anxiety by getting more involved in gaming, then it is time to ask for help to avoid gaming addiction.
