Games Could Cause Players to Get PTSD, Alzheimers or Schizophrenia

Game Rage is not healthy apparently!

If I was to tell you that games can put a strain on your heart rate or blood pressure you’d probably agree, but not care. Gaming can be stressful after all, particularly those in a competitive setting. I bet though that you didn’t think that gaming could potentially cause PTSD, Alzheimers or schizophrenia.

Well, new research suggests exactly that. It raises the question – Should we be more concerned for our gaming health?

Gaming Health isn’t your characters life bar!

We all can get angry or stressed playing games. I must confess, I occasionally get the desk-flip feels. Your team mates in Overwatch might be idiots. Your players in Fifa might have a mind of their own. You may even be attempting to stop your co-councillors killing you in Friday the 13th.

Beyond game rage, if you consider speed running that is both stressful and highly focussed.

The research, conducted by the University of Montréal has conducted research that would seem to suggest that gaming, particularly on a stressful or face-paced level is no good for your mental health reports PCGamesN.

How did the research make this conclusion?

I’m no expert in the brain or mental health. If you are, you can read the full report here.

The short version is that the researched which parts of the brain were stimulated during game play. In brief, they found that the areas which saw activity were areas in which mental health issues are quite common.

So it isn’t really a matter of game rage or stress. It seems it’s the type of brain and hand-eye coordination required to play them that may be the root of the issue.

In nearly 30 years of playing games, the only voices I’ve ever heard was my parents or my wife telling me I play them too much. I tend to not hear that so often these days, so maybe I am going deaf?

It should be noted, I certainly do not mean to make light of mental health issues and I apologize in advance if the game rage assertion is considered derogative. However, I can’t take research of this type seriously. People have been getting PTSD, Alzheimers and schizophrenia for years, well before games were even a thing.

To give a more upbeat ending here’s some genuinely funny game rage moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc8tG_hYZvY