I came across this on the BBC's website, it piqued my interest and I think it will be interesting to others on here. [quote]Many of the headlines around video games tend to be about violence, addiction and spending too much time glued to a screen. But could some help to make you feel better? A recent report from the American Psychological Association (APA) described it as an area that's been "largely untapped" and holds "great potential". Recently a number of games have been developed to raise awareness of mental health conditions and treat them.[/quote]I would cut/paste more from the article but unfortunately it has pictures that are relevant to each game description so it's best if you view the page in it's original form. What I will add is an excerpt from the article where they interviewed a therapist on it.[quote]Lindsay Dobson helps young people deal with bereavement and terminal illness at East Cheshire Hospice. She's convinced of the benefits of gaming and uses it in her sessions. "If they're feeling angry they might come in and go onto a game that's violent. If they're feeling really boxed in they might go onto Minecraft and build a tiny room and lock themselves in it," she says. "They might say they've been on Second Life or World of Warcraft and they'll talk to me about what they've been doing on there. "We explore the character they've chosen and why they've chosen to be that character." Lindsay admits some parents and other therapists are still very suspicious of the benefits of playing video games. "It's never going to replace an actual real person sat with you listening to you, but it can help," she adds.[/quote] Obviously you can discuss the article, but I'd like to see if anyone else has had a similar experience or is presently using video games to help cope with any difficulties, whether it's something like Anxiety or Depression or just milder things like worrying too much or shyness. I can't name a specific game, but in general video gaming has helped keep me sane (Or close enough) for the last few years. If I didn't have a violent/gorey outlet for my temper (Particularly a year or so ago, when I was infinitely worse than I am now) I might have ended up doing something horrific in the real world. Which is one of the reasons why people spouting off about 'Violent games cause real life violence' pisses me off (Almost to the point of real life violence <.<) because of how the exact opposite to their faulty logic applied to me. 'Violent video games prevented real life violence) Anyways, I'd love to hear any of your stories on this or just some general discussion!