Gaming, friendships and mental health - share your stories

[HundredProofSam]

Hey guys,

 

I don't think we already have a thread about this so I thought it might help, especially given the global scenario we're in.

 

I also thought of starting this thread because an ex-colleague is working on a story around how online gaming and gaming communities have helped people deal with mental health issues, and also helped people make friends.

 

There's a lot of evidence out there that gaming can help people dealing with conditions like anxiety, depression and autism. I personally know a couple of people who, through IVG and the people they met here, were able to over come their mental health troubles. So it would be great to hear some stories of how gaming has helped you or someone you know. You don't have to if its too personal, but sharing your story might help someone else. 

 

---------------------------------------

 

Sharing below a message from Anu, who is looking for inputs for her story:

 

I am an independent journalist based in Mumbai and I've written for Huffington Post, India Today, Scroll, Mumbai Mirror, National Geographic Traveller and so on. Please find more information about me and my work here: anuprabhakar.contently.com.

 

I am now hoping to write an article on how the gaming community can be a source of support and comfort for those battling anxiety, depression and other mental health issues in India, where seeking help for mental health is still largely considered taboo (although things are changing, slowly). I am looking for people who have made friends through gaming - I believe multiplayer games are very popular for this reason as well - and think of the gaming community as a safe space where they can share their struggles. I would love to get in touch with gamers who would like to participate in my article and share their story. Members can remain anonymous in the article. My email id is anuprabhakar2016@gmail.com. If this article interests you at all, please do reach out and I would love to take this forward. Thank you. 

[Rosh]

I’ve been on IVG for over 10 years now.

I can proudly say I’ve met and become friends with many users from varying backgrounds, age groups and cities even.

A few of them are very close friends of mine now, I’m extremely grateful to IVG for the same.

 

People can’t believe that I’ve made friends over the Internet.

 

Ivg <3 

[him2anshu]

I am an introvert and since the lockdown began last year, I haven’t stepped out of the house except for the essential shopping. Due to work from home, I have been working 7 days almost every week and my social life took a big hit. I am not a fan of doing group calls or video calls, so, my primary source of communication is now through texts only. Since, being stuck at home and fond of gaming and movies etc, IVG game me a perfect platform to interact with the fellow people having similar interests. I have been an irregular member since 2013 but became an active member in 2020. Over the years, IVG has helped in my purchasing decisions, in selling games without ever coming in contact with anyone and in recommending media stuff. I am thankful for this platform which has played a part in keeping me sane throughout the last year. I might not be sharing cooking pics but I do take inspirations from the Cooking thread. I listen to each song shared in Random Song of the Day thread. I check It’s Free thread for all the free stuff and keep an eye on the deals that are shared. I try to avoid clashes in Movie and TV thread but most of my posts are related to those topics. I can say that I won’t function well if something ever happened to IVG. 

[GunnerY2J]

Souls games gives me anxiety (with relief) which is actually great for countering the real life ones, one gets easily lost in these worlds.

And also a sense of achievement missing in life.

Souls games are difficult but still very accessible games for everyone.

 

These games really helped me for a year or two when I had a bad low back injury.

 

[Walker]

I've been a member here since about 2009, but I didn't really post much till much later. In 2013 my wife, kid and I moved to Goa, leaving all our friends, from our adult lives behind. We had family here, but no one to actually hang out with. To top it all, most of our savings were locked up, whatever was liquid was depleted in an unusually difficult couple of years plagued by extended sickness and hospitalization and death of close family in quick succession. To say it was probably the worst time of our lives would be an understatement.

 

The one thing that got me through most of it was the awesome bunch of guys who bonded over our shared love for a most unloved little handheld called the Vita. While most have moved on and I don't nearly spend as much time gaming anymore, those days really kept me from going insane. It was my little get away from the darkness that was my life back then. I'd put my daughter to bed, message in the whatsapp group and a bunch of 4-5 guys at least would be ready and waiting with their Vitas to tackle some new co-op session or just chat about stuff in general. Those sessions were more important to me than anyone of them could know. It kept me afloat and helped me tackle one day at a time. 

[gecko89]

Been on IVG for 5 years now, so quite new compared to some of the oldies above.

However, been a gamer for almost 20+ Years now. Joined IVG solely for the Trade section  , and eventually became an active member, mostly thanks to the lockdown. Gaming to me has been a lot of things over time, from plain source of fun, to earning challenging trophies, to help with personal issues, to making friends online, to reminding me to not take life too seriously.

 

Around 2013, new to a job, away from home and an event in life pretty much broke me, no interest in work, paranoia and insomnia. Was away from gaming since I was in a new city and barely making enough for rent and other expenses. That particular event kept ringing in my head all the time, this state of weakness went on for almost a year, which led to loss of weight, being 6'2" and weighing 68kilos after losing about 25kilos. Eventually, decided I can't live like this and that I should keep myself occupied, make sure my mind doesn't go to dark places, drank 2 liters of fatty milk every day for couple of months and started working out, gained weight quickly, fat as well as a little muscle  I reached my weight goals, took on more work, but every time I was idle my mind would easily slip into all sorts of negative thoughts. Next time I went home, grabbed my PS3 and bought a decent monitor, and it helped . . . like a lott. Got my sleep time back, but the sleep schedule got f**ked up thanks to late night gaming  Made a couple of friends online too. And just like that, I stopped having these thoughts, especially the kind that creeps on you when you go to sleep and when you wake up. Some time later, I was out there meeting new people and even if I reminisced the reasons for those dark times, it never bothered me, like a scar that no longer hurts.

 

I knew maybe one person who enjoyed gaming a much as I do before IVG, he moved to Japan and we connect once in a while. So nobody to talk to or discuss gaming, until IVG forums.

From being a lurker to just a trader to being an active member in IVG . . .

[harjas]

IVG is where I truly discovered gaming, it all started with a TP post where a PS3 was being sold for a decent price, with that I started lurking around the forum and then eventually ended signing up. I was still in school when I joined the forum and seeing that most of the people here were older than me I started calling everyone bhaiya's (some exceptions like Alpha and all as he specifically asked me not to ) I am sure a lot of people shall remember this.
Slowly and steadily IVG became a huge part of my life, I was already and introvert and this forum helped me in gaining new friends, sure most of em were older than me but we were connected via a common ground and that was gaming, then from lurking at forums at around 2-3 AM at night to taking part in Delhi IVG meetups and then hosting a few and meeting some of the incredible IVGians I have had the honor to meet in real life like @abhi90 @Blueelvis_RoXXX @DishuBOSS @Rashmeet @ALPHA17 @sagarjalvi @Sackboy Rishi, @HundredProofSam, @nash and many more (sorry if I forgot to tag you  ) to having some great BF3 days with @kold_war @piper to continue keeping touch with much of the IVGians an playing with em ( I am looking at you @Snake @spindoctor forscience, @Big Boss @Tyler @rAgHaV @Sach4life @dylanjosh @Keyofx @KJD  and all others from our IVG Group  ) to last but not the least building my first Gaming PC, there are just a  lot of great memories that I can never forget  and it is all thanks to IVG

While things may have changed, that bhaiya calling kid may have grown up, the fact of the matter is that those days will never be forgotten and shall stay with me forever 

[Snake]

7 minutes ago, harjas said:

IVG is where I truly discovered gaming, it all started with a TP post where a PS3 was being sold for a decent price, with that I started lurking around the forum and then eventually ended signing up. I was still in school when I joined the forum and seeing that most of the people here were older than me I started calling everyone bhaiya's (some exceptions like Alpha and all as he specifically asked me not to ) I am sure a lot of people shall remember this.
Slowly and steadily IVG became a huge part of my life, I was already and introvert and this forum helped me in gaining new friends, sure most of em were older than me but we were connected via a common ground and that was gaming, then from lurking at forums at around 2-3 AM at night to taking part in Delhi IVG meetups and then hosting a few and meeting some of the incredible IVGians I have had the honor to meet in real life like @abhi90 @Blueelvis_RoXXX @DishuBOSS @Rashmeet @ALPHA17 @sagarjalvi @Sackboy Rishi, @HundredProofSam, @nash and many more (sorry if I forgot to tag you  ) to having some great BF3 days with @kold_war @piper to continue keeping touch with much of the IVGians an playing with em ( I am looking at you @Snake @spindoctor forscience, @Big Boss @Tyler @rAgHaV @Sach4life @dylanjosh @Keyofx @KJD  and all others from our IVG Group  ) to last but not the least building my first Gaming PC, there are just a  lot of great memories that I can never forget  and it is all thanks to IVG

While things may have changed, that bhaiya calling kid may have grown up, the fact of the matter is that those days will never be forgotten and shall stay with me forever 

 

[silv3rgunn3r]

12 hours ago, harjas said:

IVG is where I truly discovered gaming, it all started with a TP post where a PS3 was being sold for a decent price, with that I started lurking around the forum and then eventually ended signing up. I was still in school when I joined the forum and seeing that most of the people here were older than me I started calling everyone bhaiya's (some exceptions like Alpha and all as he specifically asked me not to ) I am sure a lot of people shall remember this.
Slowly and steadily IVG became a huge part of my life, I was already and introvert and this forum helped me in gaining new friends, sure most of em were older than me but we were connected via a common ground and that was gaming, then from lurking at forums at around 2-3 AM at night to taking part in Delhi IVG meetups and then hosting a few and meeting some of the incredible IVGians I have had the honor to meet in real life like @abhi90 @Blueelvis_RoXXX @DishuBOSS @Rashmeet @ALPHA17 @sagarjalvi @Sackboy Rishi, @HundredProofSam, @nash and many more (sorry if I forgot to tag you  ) to having some great BF3 days with @kold_war @piper to continue keeping touch with much of the IVGians an playing with em ( I am looking at you @Snake @spindoctor forscience, @Big Boss @Tyler @rAgHaV @Sach4life @dylanjosh @Keyofx @KJD  and all others from our IVG Group  ) to last but not the least building my first Gaming PC, there are just a  lot of great memories that I can never forget  and it is all thanks to IVG

While things may have changed, that bhaiya calling kid may have grown up, the fact of the matter is that those days will never be forgotten and shall stay with me forever 

 

Nostalgic post

Good old BF3 days ftw bro

[harjas]

8 hours ago, kold_war said:

 

 

Nostalgic post

Good old BF3 days ftw bro

Yes  

Waiting for Bf6 to come and we can hopefully we can recreate that same hype and fun again  

[silv3rgunn3r]

1 hour ago, harjas said:

Yes  

Waiting for Bf6 to come and we can hopefully we can recreate that same hype and fun again  

Definitely

[sagarjalvi]

I remember IVG being the first forums I started browsing back when i was still in high school in Delhi only for the trade section and grabbed lots of PS3 games. Time went by and I shifted to Jaipur and then there was an IVG meetup in BBQ Nation in CP, Delhi.

 

Specially went Delhi to meet IVG peeps like @harjas and few more I don't remember anyone else sadly. Made some really nice friends and met them like @ACIDICBRAT @godspeed4476 and i remember meeting @Bird Bird Bird once when he came Jaipur  Sleepless BFBC2 nights with the IVG clan. Good old days 

[Bauji]

Joined IVG almost a decade ago.(time flies!!) Was just lurking around for the first few years and not much active again now after having a kid. But IVG is my main source of gaming info. My go to place to share my impressions of the (age-old)games I am playing and have lost count of the great deals I was able to grab because of the online deals thread.
Other than the occasional discussions, dint have much interaction with IVGians as I am not into online MP games and havnt met any IVGian personally. But one incident related to this forum will remain forever with me. In Dec 2016, I faced a medical condition which was vision threatening. It was just a normal day, I was sitting in the office and then within a couple of minutes, I lost vision in my right eye because of it. Visited hospital next day and was told that the same can happen to left eye anytime which would have made me blind, at-least temporarily till I undergo a surgery(which wasn't a guaranteed solution too). Obviously, feeling very low, depressed and scared about the uncertain future, I came back home. Few hours later received this from my Secret Santa.

 

 

This brought a smile to my face and I can't express in words what it meant for me on that dark day. Its a reminder that what can happen if I ignore my health and also a symbol of hope that no matter how bad it looks, that phase will pass. And most importantly, it taught me a life lesson, that even though you might not realise it, a simplest of gesture can mean a lot to a person in certain circumstances. This card is like a treasure to me and I am going to keep it safe with me as long as I can @Mr.Copyright©

[AtheK]

IVG been second home on Internet for me too.

 

13+ years now, so many memories so many friends, it's been such a ride. So many friends lost who don't visit IVG anymore, but still speak a lot on whatsapp and we still meet. It would be a crime to name a few and miss a few, so not calling out anyone, but you guys know.

 

True fact: I dumped my then girl friend as she thought i was spending too much time on IVG then with her  No regrets!!

[dante77]

IVG been second home on Internet for me too.
 
13+ years now, so many memories so many friends, it's been such a ride. So many friends lost who don't visit IVG anymore, but still speak a lot on whatsapp and we still meet. It would be a crime to name a few and miss a few, so not calling out anyone, but you guys know.
 
True fact: I dumped my then girl friend as she thought i was spending too much time on IVG then with her [emoji38] No regrets!!

Lol