Video Gaming – An Opinion Piece

Article, Game, Opinion Piece

Why I play Video Games

Many people play games for a number of reasons, some play competitively, E-Sports and such and they can actually earn a living from being good at games! Some people play to reduce stress, you can count me in that category, other people play for fun, if it’s catching Pokemon or fighting gods! And some people play as a hobby and prefer strategy games like resource management and turn based games.

I play a variety of games, from violent fighting/shooting games like Doom to causal, ridiculous to explain games like House Flipper, a game where you clean and renovate houses to sell them to other people. (mostly it’s ridiculous when you explain to someone whether they’re a gamer or not!)


What I play tends to depend on my mood and what kind of day I’ve had. Doom is for the bad days when I need to get some anger out of my system and just let loose. House flipper is a game I play to just kill some time or chill for an hour or so. I play minecraft to build kingdoms and villages and towers and to be creative.

Honestly, the running theme of games I play is stress relief. Maybe more people need to play games, less stress, less office shootings, less fights because you’re all too busy mining for diamond to argue about anything needless.


That’s no to say that games dominate my every thought and every second of my life. I still vacuum and mop, still do the dishes daily and the washing on the weekend, still spend time with my friends on free weekends.

For me, games really helped when I reached a low point in my life and mental health, they served as a distraction from the negative thoughts that kept dominating my thoughts and allowed my mind time to rest and not worry.


When I’m focused on a game, be it beating a tough boss fight or creating another farm plot in Stardew Valley, they help me feel better, happier and have a more positive outlook on my day to day life.

There are of course extreme cases, you’ve probably seen them in the media lately, children so caught up in games they pee themselves and attack parents, but I really want to reiterate that this isn’t the norm, this isn’t every gamer!


Games have been proven to help people with PTSD to recover from the traumatic event in a same environment without putting them in real danger. Games can be used to educate children and adults alike. They’ve even been used to help children with ADHD and autism to focus and adapt to life in the real world by giving them coping mechanisms to use when they’re having a rough day.

And that’s why I play games, to relax, to cope with my anxiety and depression, to help focus and unwind. Next time you’ve had a bad day, try a healthy dose of Doom or House flipper to help unwind!



Crafty craft!

Business, Colour, Design

Been getting my hands (and face!) dirty with a good bit of DIY crafting lately. Praise the almighty Pinterest! For without Pinterest I would never know I am terrible at hand making books both soft and hard cover. I’d like to try again though now I kind of know what I’m doing… Lots of fun though!