Facing Your Dungeon

From that first booster pack, I became a fan of Pokemon TCG. But with the release of new sets, I became Pokemon obsessed. I was afraid of missing out and my passion led to intrusive thoughts. My mind was always on ways to buy and collect Pokemon cards. But I needed to learn how to deal with obsessive thoughts. Here are practical tips on what I learned in my journey in how to overcome obsession.

Whether it’s in a game or in real life, stress happens from the unexpected and things outside of our control. But when faced with difficult situations in RL, we can’t turn it off and walk away. What can we learn from video games and TTRPGs like D&D about stress management and dealing with anxiety in a crisis? Here are 14 techniques to reduce anxiety and stress management for geeks and gamers.

Gaming has been blamed for a variety of negative impacts with studies showing a correlation between gaming and mental health issues. But as a gamer myself dealing with anxiety and depression, I’ve always felt that gaming made me feel better, not worse. More recent studies have shown that while there may be a connection between gamers and higher levels of anxiety, it is not necessarily causation. And in fact, gaming has been shown to be beneficial and help symptoms of anxiety and depression in many people.

I can’t see dice.

I can’t see grid maps.

I can’t read spell cards or manuals.

I can’t operate a character sheet.

When I was first invited into a game I certainly didn’t expect to face my worst fear. I absolutely never expected to overcome it.

Self-sabotage is a vicious cycle where we attack ourselves and limit our abilities to create our best future. How do we define self-sabotaging behavior and why do we do it? Are the signs of self-sabotaging and most importantly, how do we stop ourselves from doing it so that we can become successful and live a better life?

Can Dungeons and Dragons help us to trust others? Faced with a mysterious NPC, many of us immediately become suspicious and wary. What are the reasons we don’t trust others and can we learn how to trust someone? And what if they as suspicious of us, are we seen as trustworthy in their eyes? The question of can RPGs help us trust others is yes, if we are willing to learn how to trust others, including ourselves.

How to stop procrastinating and get things done? We’ve all been there. A big project and the deadlines are looming, but we’re dragging our feet. We know we need to get to work but the struggle to get motivated and started feels like trying to walk through quicksand. Here are 10 ways to overcome procrastination to help you get unstuck and back on track.