Cyber-psychologist Berni Goode talking about Flow on Charlie Brooker’s How Videogames Changed the World.
Flow is extremely important. So, so important.
It’s what keeps some people sane. It’s what drives the world’s most skilled and accomplished athletes, the most intense gamers, the hardcore hobbyists, even many of the most talented artists, musicians and actors - flow is what you get when unstoppable drive meets an unflinching will and unlimited dedication.
Flow is being utterly, truly “in the zone”. And it’s one of the most amazing feelings there is.
This is why finding a sport, or a hobby, or a martial art, or a handicraft, or a new video game, or any skill-based activity that uses focus and requires practice and repetition is so beneficial for things like depression and anxiety and overall mental/physical well-being.
I find it very interesting and relevant to me that Tetris specifically is mentioned, because even though my depression at the time was not low level at all, at my worst I played tetris for up to 6 hours a day. Other games played a similar role. Video games probably saved my life.
Somehow I think that a lot of us with mental health issues know about this, and that’s why we do what we do. (At the very least, I play video games because I feel less shitty when I’m single-handedly depopulating Hyrule.)
i’m halfway through reading Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better And How They Can Change The World, which talks a lot about this and seems to be getting at trying to harness/apply video game flow to “broken” or un-flowing parts of our lives. definitely important self-care for me in dealing with mental illness.
