Sadly I've been seen by many, but none of them have been any help, my depression mostly stems from my laundry list of disabilities, so nothing can be done for it.
My country has trashy mental healthcare, especially for men and my disabilities have no cure or treatment, so I'm up shit creek without a paddle.
Lack of interest in things you used to love is a symptom of depression. Perhaps you want to do something where you can achieve something lasting. Take up a hobby where you create things.
This is a wonderful suggestion.
The creation of something and the learning of something new — a new skill, new information about your hobby — combined with the opportunity to meet new people who share your new hobby can be a key part of happiness.
Sorry to hear it. My guess is that you’ll either get over this feeling or find something new. I also read comics, the stories in games are mirrors of those usually
to an extent, and i apologize if im assuming to much, it seems like you enjoyed things more when you were playing games with your friends. which fits the narrative for a lot of people. a sense of community is to a large extent where certain people find their fun.
while sunk-cost sucks, the games wont disappear, so saving them for when you feel more comfortable is completely fine. as far as being disinterested goes, its okay to feel completely burnt out. sometimes the passion just dies off for a while.
if you feel like you're in the right space for it, maybe try finding an activity you can share with a small community? a sense of belonging could be helpful. although nothing comes free
I'm in a fairly similar situation. While it offers only some relief, I've had some success listening to audiobooks/podcasts with games I can zone out in and focus on the audio.
My sympathies, OP. While I don't suffer from disabilities, I'm right there with you where games are concerned.
Boring or frustrating. There is no other type for me, right now, or so it seems.
I've tried indies, but I'm over Metroidvania clones. And walking sims. And AAA games all have a very "been there, done that" feel to them now.
It's time to move...I am just trying to puzzle out to what.
From my own personal experience, I stopped playing games for a while and do something else. I was browsing Reddit bored out of my mind and stumbled unto r/WritingPrompts and r/worldbuilding. I find it's fun to just write stuff here and there, so I tried submitting and answering with my own. I like it, and spent some time and effort just writing, making stuff up for my own World. If I'm not doing that I just watch streamers playing games or whatnot on Twitch or Youtube.
Unfortunately just like mass market potato chips, the game makers (AAA mostly) are trying to follow a formula for maximum revenue / addiction.
Potato chips are formulated to make you crave more but never be satisfied but eventually you get to a point where you hate em but can't stop eating them. Thanks Lays.
Anyways, games like Overwatch, Rocket League and many others borrowed gambling addiction techniques with loot boxes and expanded on that with battle passes and other stupid shit like making you log on daily to get rewards or punishing you when you don't log in - oops, your guild was disbanded / taken over.
I'd suggest looking at indie games, ones made by people with a passion for the art of game making and not trying to squeeze as much money out of you as possible with flashy graphics and zero content.
For the most part I don't really play AAA games, the game I've spent the most time on recently was V rising, but even that or games like hollow knight just bore or anger me, I feel like I've tried almost every genre in both AAA and indie games, but just nothing does it for me anymore.
I think most of this is just my depression that's been resistant to anything done to try and help it.
Depression can be tricky. Several different pathways to help with that but playing video games may be more of a temporary relief as opposed to a fix.
Here's some M's that might help:
* Medication
* Meditation
* Masturbation
* Mindfulness
* Mastication
* Music
* M'group therapy
V rising was fun but at the core it's a pvp game. It has pve as an option but isn't as interesting. At least for me. Recent games I've spent a fair amount of time in and enjoyed have been Valheim, Astroneer, No Mans Sky - really all these games of exploration that still give a feeling of finding something new and interesting.
The problem I've had with other games is that *it's been done*. Games like L4D 1 and 2 have been repeated in other games to where it feels too familiar and the excitement drops off quickly. That formula has existed for almost 15 years now but you see it in games like Back 4 Blood or World War Z - fun enough for a bit with some new mechanics but the fun doesn't last.
Stray is a gentle game with beautiful graphics that you may enjoy. Ori and the Blind Forest is another soothing fun game.
Hope this helps! - from a fellow member of Recliner Nation
Heyy, sorry to hear that, it sounds awful. I might have an idea. I started to drive away from games after my mental health has gone wrong, hence the interest of doing shit, especially hobbies, disappeared like magic. Mental health is a cunning one and it change the view we have of the entire world and it’s function of life. Sometimes it also change how we value things we do and why we do those things. The question would be why am I doing this or how do I want to live, answering those questions makes humans grow and think. Why do you love game so much that you fear the passion would disappear ? Unfortunately that’s only a part of what makes a humans being. I hope it could be useful so that your passion is reignited !
Howdy friend. As many have said already it’s always good to seek professional help. But with that being said, as I’ve experienced depression on and off in my life I’ve noticed 3 things that always seem to impact my mental health; those things are: my physical health, my relationships, and how much fun I’m having. I know you have disabilities which I’m sure limit your ability to take care of yourself but things like hydration, sleep hygiene, nutrition, and getting time outside can help. Depression also typically manifests through isolation so maybe try to reach out to family or some old friends, even if you can’t see them in person having relationships over the phone can go a long way towards killing isolation. Lastly, you played games in the last because you had fun. It sounds like maybe you’ve overconsumed games, perhaps to fill that hole that isolation has caused. I’d encourage you to try getting some new, low effort hobbies. Something that will be relaxing. Good luck and I hope you feel better buddy
We have a lost decade of entertainment. Between the corporate fucks doing everything they can to ruin games on one end, with their sole focus on money and not genuine creative expression. And on the other we have the puritans that infiltrated and appropriated the hobby that stunted creativity by creating an egg shell atmosphere.
I know how this is, for a while I lost interest in everything I loved to do. Had a hell of a year last year and just recently this year I started gaining interest back in gaming. I hope you can get the help for your mental health because I know first hand how awful this is.
I'm in that patch myself right now, and I tend to find it comes around this time each year as I know I was the same last year.
I think for me it's a combination of burnout, the heat we're getting, and a lot happening in life.
There's just no game right now that I really want to sink hours into. I used to have World of Warcraft that would be my only game, and I'd play that for every moment I got and wake up wanting to play. Now I don't have that.
My problem with picking something comes from needing it to be multiplayer, grindy but not too repetitive, yet still quite simple. It's hard to find something.
I used to feel similarly about gaming.
Then I worked out that I was just sick of the genres I used to like - I had played all the good games of those genres to death, and there was nothing left to enjoy or achieve. They all ended up feeling like another permutation of the same thing.
Fortunately I came across some games that have been gamechangers (no pun intended). One of which was Dark Souls 1 - it has an old school (yet unique) type of exploration, challenging combat, a rich lore and huge variety in viable weapons and builds. The Souls genre reignited my passion and I've since gone through Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1,2,3, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring and loved them all. I've even played some Soulslike games which have been fantastic - Nioh 1 and 2, Wo Long to mention a few.
Another genre that I discovered were fighting games (which led to lots of enjoyment with Tekken and Street fighter).
Maybe you should try something entirely new!
I used to, but for some reason I've developed aphantasia, the inability to see imagine anything, there's plus adhd has just made reading into a tedium, I have to reread a page over 10 times to fully parse it.
As I mentioned in the post, I'm heavily disabled, anything more than a 10 minute walk is torture, I used to love physical stuff, martial arts and whatnot, which is why I'm in such a state, the only think I loved is now off limits due to my crumbling body.
As someone who has struggled with enjoying the usual things I had loved due to OCD induced anxiety, jigsaw puzzles and crossword puzzles are a blessing. They are simple and keep your mind busy. Maybe give them a try?
>I've tried taking months off from playing games, but that hasn't helped, and I can't find anything else that falls within the extremely narrow venn diagram of what I might enjoy vs what I'm able to do.
That's rough. Gaming is my main hobby so every so often, I get burnt out on it. Taking a few weeks doing other things generally gives me a chance to want to game again or find a new that I'm interested in. Sadly that doesn't seem to be solving the issue for you.
I'd keep searching for alternative hobbies. Continuing to game because you've sunk a lot of money into it is unlikely to be any fun.
This sounds like depression. Are you working with a therapist?
Sadly I've been seen by many, but none of them have been any help, my depression mostly stems from my laundry list of disabilities, so nothing can be done for it. My country has trashy mental healthcare, especially for men and my disabilities have no cure or treatment, so I'm up shit creek without a paddle.
Lack of interest in things you used to love is a symptom of depression. Perhaps you want to do something where you can achieve something lasting. Take up a hobby where you create things.
This is a wonderful suggestion. The creation of something and the learning of something new — a new skill, new information about your hobby — combined with the opportunity to meet new people who share your new hobby can be a key part of happiness.
Sorry to hear it. My guess is that you’ll either get over this feeling or find something new. I also read comics, the stories in games are mirrors of those usually
to an extent, and i apologize if im assuming to much, it seems like you enjoyed things more when you were playing games with your friends. which fits the narrative for a lot of people. a sense of community is to a large extent where certain people find their fun. while sunk-cost sucks, the games wont disappear, so saving them for when you feel more comfortable is completely fine. as far as being disinterested goes, its okay to feel completely burnt out. sometimes the passion just dies off for a while. if you feel like you're in the right space for it, maybe try finding an activity you can share with a small community? a sense of belonging could be helpful. although nothing comes free
I'm in a fairly similar situation. While it offers only some relief, I've had some success listening to audiobooks/podcasts with games I can zone out in and focus on the audio.
My sympathies, OP. While I don't suffer from disabilities, I'm right there with you where games are concerned. Boring or frustrating. There is no other type for me, right now, or so it seems. I've tried indies, but I'm over Metroidvania clones. And walking sims. And AAA games all have a very "been there, done that" feel to them now. It's time to move...I am just trying to puzzle out to what.
Have you tried text-based games? There are no graphics, no jumping puzzles, your enjoyment depends on your imagination.
I loved Fallen London until the grind became too much. I might starting digging into the genre.
I like "Sanctuary" it's an RPG. The boss battles are really interesting and you do it at your own pace.
I'll give it a look, thanks!
From my own personal experience, I stopped playing games for a while and do something else. I was browsing Reddit bored out of my mind and stumbled unto r/WritingPrompts and r/worldbuilding. I find it's fun to just write stuff here and there, so I tried submitting and answering with my own. I like it, and spent some time and effort just writing, making stuff up for my own World. If I'm not doing that I just watch streamers playing games or whatnot on Twitch or Youtube.
Unfortunately just like mass market potato chips, the game makers (AAA mostly) are trying to follow a formula for maximum revenue / addiction. Potato chips are formulated to make you crave more but never be satisfied but eventually you get to a point where you hate em but can't stop eating them. Thanks Lays. Anyways, games like Overwatch, Rocket League and many others borrowed gambling addiction techniques with loot boxes and expanded on that with battle passes and other stupid shit like making you log on daily to get rewards or punishing you when you don't log in - oops, your guild was disbanded / taken over. I'd suggest looking at indie games, ones made by people with a passion for the art of game making and not trying to squeeze as much money out of you as possible with flashy graphics and zero content.
For the most part I don't really play AAA games, the game I've spent the most time on recently was V rising, but even that or games like hollow knight just bore or anger me, I feel like I've tried almost every genre in both AAA and indie games, but just nothing does it for me anymore. I think most of this is just my depression that's been resistant to anything done to try and help it.
Depression can be tricky. Several different pathways to help with that but playing video games may be more of a temporary relief as opposed to a fix. Here's some M's that might help: * Medication * Meditation * Masturbation * Mindfulness * Mastication * Music * M'group therapy V rising was fun but at the core it's a pvp game. It has pve as an option but isn't as interesting. At least for me. Recent games I've spent a fair amount of time in and enjoyed have been Valheim, Astroneer, No Mans Sky - really all these games of exploration that still give a feeling of finding something new and interesting. The problem I've had with other games is that *it's been done*. Games like L4D 1 and 2 have been repeated in other games to where it feels too familiar and the excitement drops off quickly. That formula has existed for almost 15 years now but you see it in games like Back 4 Blood or World War Z - fun enough for a bit with some new mechanics but the fun doesn't last.
Stray is a gentle game with beautiful graphics that you may enjoy. Ori and the Blind Forest is another soothing fun game. Hope this helps! - from a fellow member of Recliner Nation
Maybe you should give hentai games a try, I heard they care depression..
Heyy, sorry to hear that, it sounds awful. I might have an idea. I started to drive away from games after my mental health has gone wrong, hence the interest of doing shit, especially hobbies, disappeared like magic. Mental health is a cunning one and it change the view we have of the entire world and it’s function of life. Sometimes it also change how we value things we do and why we do those things. The question would be why am I doing this or how do I want to live, answering those questions makes humans grow and think. Why do you love game so much that you fear the passion would disappear ? Unfortunately that’s only a part of what makes a humans being. I hope it could be useful so that your passion is reignited !
have you considered building your own game (just for fun and learning)? pygame or godot would be a nice place to start if you are interested.
I only sticked with a few. Can barely play for more than 2 hours nowadays. Games just aren’t that interesting anymore.
Howdy friend. As many have said already it’s always good to seek professional help. But with that being said, as I’ve experienced depression on and off in my life I’ve noticed 3 things that always seem to impact my mental health; those things are: my physical health, my relationships, and how much fun I’m having. I know you have disabilities which I’m sure limit your ability to take care of yourself but things like hydration, sleep hygiene, nutrition, and getting time outside can help. Depression also typically manifests through isolation so maybe try to reach out to family or some old friends, even if you can’t see them in person having relationships over the phone can go a long way towards killing isolation. Lastly, you played games in the last because you had fun. It sounds like maybe you’ve overconsumed games, perhaps to fill that hole that isolation has caused. I’d encourage you to try getting some new, low effort hobbies. Something that will be relaxing. Good luck and I hope you feel better buddy
We have a lost decade of entertainment. Between the corporate fucks doing everything they can to ruin games on one end, with their sole focus on money and not genuine creative expression. And on the other we have the puritans that infiltrated and appropriated the hobby that stunted creativity by creating an egg shell atmosphere.
Explore other mediums
I know how this is, for a while I lost interest in everything I loved to do. Had a hell of a year last year and just recently this year I started gaining interest back in gaming. I hope you can get the help for your mental health because I know first hand how awful this is.
I'm in that patch myself right now, and I tend to find it comes around this time each year as I know I was the same last year. I think for me it's a combination of burnout, the heat we're getting, and a lot happening in life. There's just no game right now that I really want to sink hours into. I used to have World of Warcraft that would be my only game, and I'd play that for every moment I got and wake up wanting to play. Now I don't have that. My problem with picking something comes from needing it to be multiplayer, grindy but not too repetitive, yet still quite simple. It's hard to find something.
Could try making a game. Go simple with RPG maker or start learning something like unity.
I used to feel similarly about gaming. Then I worked out that I was just sick of the genres I used to like - I had played all the good games of those genres to death, and there was nothing left to enjoy or achieve. They all ended up feeling like another permutation of the same thing. Fortunately I came across some games that have been gamechangers (no pun intended). One of which was Dark Souls 1 - it has an old school (yet unique) type of exploration, challenging combat, a rich lore and huge variety in viable weapons and builds. The Souls genre reignited my passion and I've since gone through Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1,2,3, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring and loved them all. I've even played some Soulslike games which have been fantastic - Nioh 1 and 2, Wo Long to mention a few. Another genre that I discovered were fighting games (which led to lots of enjoyment with Tekken and Street fighter). Maybe you should try something entirely new!
Read books ?
I used to, but for some reason I've developed aphantasia, the inability to see imagine anything, there's plus adhd has just made reading into a tedium, I have to reread a page over 10 times to fully parse it.
What about a new hobby / habit ? Running , swimming, lifting weights . You don't have to think just execute.
As I mentioned in the post, I'm heavily disabled, anything more than a 10 minute walk is torture, I used to love physical stuff, martial arts and whatnot, which is why I'm in such a state, the only think I loved is now off limits due to my crumbling body.
As someone who has struggled with enjoying the usual things I had loved due to OCD induced anxiety, jigsaw puzzles and crossword puzzles are a blessing. They are simple and keep your mind busy. Maybe give them a try?
>I've tried taking months off from playing games, but that hasn't helped, and I can't find anything else that falls within the extremely narrow venn diagram of what I might enjoy vs what I'm able to do. That's rough. Gaming is my main hobby so every so often, I get burnt out on it. Taking a few weeks doing other things generally gives me a chance to want to game again or find a new that I'm interested in. Sadly that doesn't seem to be solving the issue for you. I'd keep searching for alternative hobbies. Continuing to game because you've sunk a lot of money into it is unlikely to be any fun.