You shouldn’t hang out in places that make you unhealthy.
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Yup! Livid is the word!
It is the darkest secret - most people have absolutely no clue exactly how dark …and men have the highest suicide rate! I’ve watched my brother go through the system, actually the VET system… it fixes them enough just enough to go into the world, but most end up on the street and homeless again. Getting a job and being self-supportive is horrible through these systems, and people wonder why they’re still having issues and on the street!!! Of course there are the one’s that are too far gone and don’t care anymore; addicted to drugs and have only known this way of life since birth or teens. Still, are we supposed to ignore them too?
We can’t control the gov’t opposing sides for help (you have no idea what it’s taking to bite my tongue on that issue!) But we can take care of each other - I can pretty much guarantee that everyone on this forum is touched somehow - either themselves, relative(s) or friend(s). There are books and websites that tell you how to help. You don’t need to hear our horror stories, you probably know of some already - and they are so incredibly sad.
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Sometimes it’s unavoidable, like the game, but on a forum one really has to have learned enough self-awareness to know when one is in no state to read let alone engage. However, it takes years of practice, and that’s after one actually manages to get help to get to that place.
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Good point, very true. To be fair, the person I was responding to has identified that it is indeed disastrous for their mental health.
Something we can all do for ourselves is try to identify the things we out to be avoiding for our own sanity. Unfortunately, that can mean giving up some things we actually like on some level, because it is just not worth it.
We have lost quite a few people in the WoW community to mental health issues, some who were very prominent even.
Seeking help should not be seen as weakness. It takes a lot of guts to even ask - and then the gauntlet you go through (if you can get help at all) is exhausting and often does not result in the right help. It can be years before someone finds the right therapist and/or combo of meds and treatment. I know personally, very personally.
So what can we do in game?
- Be kind.
- Remove yourself from a situation if it gets out of hand. Whether you are having an issue, or someone else is causing you issues. You can’t help everyone and destroying yourself in the process is not required. Sometimes it is best to cool down and think. For everyone.
- If you run into someone in game who is in crisis who you legitimately think is in danger Blizzard does have a special report category. They don’t talk much about it, but you can come to the website here and report for a Real Life Threat https://us.battle.net/support/en/help/product/wow/197/478/solution That is a priority category and Blizz has info based on our accounts to reach out. NEVER use it unless you are really sure it is a real and serious issue. Blizz has taken action that has saved lives in the past, thanks to friends or guild members who reported and sought help.
Future ideas? I find social grouping in WoW to be one of the more challenging things for people, esp learning dungeons and raids. Humans are often not optimal!
I did write a post on the Council forum to address much of that when we first started it. It is not just about solo play, but also about making content more accessible to people with a variety of personal issues or preferences. Further, having a solo mode lets people learn and build confidence.
P.S. I want to say a special thank you to some of my fellow MVPs and especially Vrakthris (forum support agent) who have been so kind, understanding, and supportive over the years. Double thanks to former MVP Lissanna who was instrumental in getting me on the right road to a correct diagnosis after a life time of struggles. The WoW community can also be amazing and deserves credit for that too.
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I am aware of mental health. Thank you.
When it comes to drugs, alcohol and addiction(perhaps social media and news): yes, but when it comes to other things that also might bring relief at the same time isn’t so easy.
For instance suppose one was agoraphobic, bp depression, and had social anxiety. Their kids are coming for Cinco de Mayo and a BIL was coming from out of town to stay. The person should be grocery shopping, cleaning, showering, getting their nails done and generally looking forward to love and laughter, BUT instead they are too scared to move and are starting to panic instead.
That’s just an example. One can’t avoid the world entirely.
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Again, good points. My statement isn’t black-and-white or some cure-all. Specifically, I was talking about a videogame forum…that can easily be avoided.
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I can’t fully quote this whole thing but I remember reading a post one night.
Baby animals tend to be born to quickly do something very important to their survival. Take a baby horse for example. They figure out pretty dang quick how to get up. Sure they waddle like drunk people for a bit but still. It’s quick. Baby dolphins know “Hey I gotta go up there and take a breath”
Whats the first thing a human baby does when they’re born? We cry. We are alerting people that we need help because that’s played such a key part in our survival. Just asking for help.
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All your points are valid, but there is more help than just the traditional view of talk therapy for uppder-middle class.
Clinical social workers are a specific type of therapist that ALSO help vulnerable populations access resources and government help.
Regardless, yes, just talking about your problems is a massive help, even if you are not talking to a trained therapist. If you would like to know why just talking about it to anyone helps so much, I recommend this paper:
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1987-25823-001
Just the abstract should give you an idea, but you can always read the whole thing in google scholar.
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It me! Thankfully my dad cancelled today and will be here tomorrow. I have one more day to cook - going to do chicken caccitore in the slow cooker because all I have to do is cut veggies (onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers), thaw chicken thighs, grab a jar of tomato sauce, grab some spices, assemble everything and hit the button. It sounds simple, but it can take me 2 days to cut the veggies. It is so frustrating. BUT once done all I have to do is make pasta and reheat for a fantastic meal.
I did not even sleep last night so if I manage to get that done, I will let myself have a long nap.
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Well said, all of it, and I know exactly of which you speak. I’m sorry. And Thank You! Also, this part needs to be burned into people who don’t suffers minds. This part is the beginning. This part needs unconditional support. If this works it changes not just the person suffering, but every life he/she touches.
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I’m holding myself from making an obvious joke here.
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Gaming addiction? 
it’s okay … most of us can laugh at ourselves, and laughter is the best medicine 
PS - that was funny 
I don’t think that’s fair. I can walk into a gambling casino and not have a problem, my friend can’t. We all need to learn our red flag situations. You know what though? One needs help and support first. You can’t take the whole world away or blame companies - just the fact that they don’t make the right tools available to help these people.
The joke was “Hey, i didn’t know they had a month for people who stands still in fire.”
If you haven’t heard of Viva La Dirt League, I highly recommend them, especially Epic NPC man.
But they did a few videos on types of issues like depression and they are spot on and wonderful.
I love the one with introverts at parties…really spoke to me:
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I just saw that the other day. It was kind of a fascinating video to tell a story from the PoV of the NPC, who completes a quest - and all his dialogue is the default NPC speech. Yet they told a whole story anyway.
Yup. A friend of mine introduced me to that series years ago and I got hooked. It’s best seen from the beginning, as the later ones sometimes have ‘in jokes’ that reference previous episodes.
During the whole lockdown thing they started a D&D game and I never watch people play a game but they manage to actually entertain while doing so. Got totally hooked on that as well.
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