Just thought I might mention the role a video game has played recently toward helping me.

A few weeks ago I was borderline suicidal. The thought of living in pain forever more yada, yada, you all know that dark path I'm sure.

Enter the Elder Scrolls Online game and wow! I'm lost in a world of fighting dragons and saving villages from pirates and monsters. And it's so much fun! So much so that while I'm playing I totally forget the pain.

Just this week, after hubby left for work I took my pills, sat down with a hot chocolate milk, and settled at my computer to play the game. Honestly, before I knew it, what felt like a few hours was the whole day. I turned around to see it dark outside, and to discover my feet hurt!

Immersion is the key. Whether it be a game, a great book, whatever it be. I only wish I could play the game non-stop, for 24/7 pain free existing again.

And I'm in my 50's, games are meant for kids. Ohhhh well, it works for me.

Blasphemy! What's next—comic books and classic WB cartoons are also meant for kids?
"I may be getting older, but I refuse to grow up!"

For me the key is interactive, but maybe that's just semantics. This presented me with a paradox in that watching movies (generally considered a "passive" activity) usually provides me with enough distraction. I was recently wondering why this was, and it occurred to me that not all movies I like or watch work equally well. The ones that work best are those that get me thinking/analyzing/solving while I'm being absorbed into the plot/story—mysteries, capers, etc. Movies I've seen a zillion times—even though they still be enjoyable (e.g. The Big Lebowski, Marx Bros.)—don't work as well.

I used to be a consummate gamer—board, video, RP, skill & action... until my health went to perdition in a purse. The physical stress/tension—joyous as it may have been—is no longer bearable. The back of my neck and shoulders tense up, aggravating the severe arthritis & stenosis, causing pain, nausea & wallbanger headaches. I can still play some board/parlor/card games, but nothing that involves a timer of any kind. I would still play P&P RPGs, but haven't been able to find a group in years (over the age of 30ish).

I miss computer/video games, skill & action games, and many of the parlor games I enjoyed most (e.g. taboo—those that invove timers). [Please don't anyone suggest playing those games without the timer element—to a gamer, that's like changing the rules or playing without all the pieces!].

The same muscular tension problem has stopped/prevented me from playing music as well. I think that's even worse than not being able to play games.

Gee... I didn't start this post out with the intention of it devolving into a bringdown... Sorry about that.

On the upside, the interaction & problem-solving of quilt & embroidery design give me the same kind of, "Whoops—where'd the time go‽" involvement, so it isn't all sour persimmons...

Doc

My husband and I play euros all the time- games like Carcassone, Kingdom Buiider, Dominion, Dominant Species, as well as backgammon and cards. He is a master chess player and plays extremely complicated war games, so nothing too competitive or it isn't any fun and as he also has phenomenal luck I would always lose. The Euros are designed to come out fairly even, there is a strategy element, but also a random one. They are very absorbing, and some, like kingdom builder are very difficult and a good check on whether the drugs have started to kill off my brain cells. I can always beat him at backgammon, but our set came from Syria and he is convinced it favors me, as my grandparents were born there.
My son is always trying to get me to play more complicated video games, but I have trouble coordinating the controls. I do enjoy simple things like bejeweled and Angry Birds. He plays D&D as my husband did when we were teenagers, and we have started playing Arkham Horror as a family.
I agree completely that games are a wonderful distraction from the pain. I find new needlework projects extremely absorbing, but I am afraid that my interest lags after a bit and I finish fewer than I start. Most of the fun is in the planning!

Yes, I think the games can be very helpful and distracting.

I do Angry Birds... I find them very therapeutic. I can blow up things safely...which are pretty abstract and not real--- and try to beat my last high score! My cat Weezie, even loves the music and sound effects. She doesn't meow much but instead makes the Wheeeeeee sound (white bird)! She was doing this as a tiny kitten so we named her Weezie. The free Facebook Angry Birds Easter week is on this week and those games are complex and fun with very high scores possible!

Video games have been used therapeutically mostly with ADHD or aggressive kids. They appear to alter dopamine levels in the brain, and increasing dopamine has a beneficial effect on pain perception. So enjoy enjoy! Whatever floats your boat!

Distraction, in any form, is great for pain relief and to just pass the time.

I play Words With Friends. I try to avoid some of the video games as I get TOO involved and forget that there is a house to clean, dinner to make, etc. Then again, sometimes, it's good to forget those things! LOL

Just missed the edit window by minutes...

Endorphins are another huge factor, and laughter—among other things—stimulates endorphin production.

laughter stimulates endorphins

So I seek out distractions that (can) make me laugh. Movies and games of any genre are good for that, but I think social games (vs. computer/video games) are better for the social interaction. I know people say videogames can be social, but the player's attention is primarily on the machine—not on the other players and their reactions. I get a bigger bang/kick out of playing hairy eyeball to hairy eyeball. YMMV.

Doc

I know that we are an exceptionally nerdy family but in addition to having adult children who argue about grammar and syntax in several languages we also play video games as a spectator sport. The Mario games are endlessly creative and several of us will watch and comment while one plays. My daughter makes fun of me because I will actually get so tense watching her navigate the perils that my feet go into muscle spasms. A distraction for sure.

That's funny, we watch movies as a spectator sport—the home version of MST-3K...

I can relate though. We can get laughing so hard playing parlor games that we can't catch our breath, the tears roll down cheeks, our facial muscles ache, we get stomach cramps....

.. and then the "laugh magnet" (Ol' Furface) gets into the act. He has no clue what's going on, but every dog we've had has been the same way—the harder we laugh, the harder the tails wag, and they're all over us, making us laugh even harder...

Doc

This is precisely what happens to us too. Our dog is a big puppy (1yr old) and it's halarious how he has to get involved in the laughing action. And that makes us laugh all the more.

Thank you all for sharing your gaming stories. It helps me to know I'm not the only big kid around here. lol.

Ohhh, and Dr Smith & Suzanne, it's funny you both mention chess. I teach junior chess, part time. When I used to play, and study it, my mind would be immersed for hours. It was a wonderful distraction. Problem is, I find since taking medications my chess is rubbish! The theory is in my head, but I can't make the tactics play out over the board. Strange!

So glad that others have discovered how games and movies can distract our brains and bring fun to our lives.

Huh? Not me—I'm with Byron (Henry James Byron—not the other one)... "Life's too short for chess."

Doc