@hateyourface Well then you haven't been paying attention. Anyone reading my reply can see that my definition of "devil" was a broad one. "whether that devil is malice or what have you" ?? I'm not preaching religion here. History clearly shows us again and again that giving too much power to a single ( or perhaps too few people ) person, that authority begins to corrupt them and they start abusing their given power. Many of those who did hid beneath a mask of deception of some kind. Those people and their abuse of power is the "devil" of which I spoke of. I guess your not familiar with metaphors?
@hateyourface Perhaps, but "lest we forget that the devils greatest deception ( whether that devil is malice or what have you ) is to convince you that he does not exist..."
Forgive me if this has been stated before as I just found out about this, but, I have a sneaking suspicion that this was perhaps planed all along. I don't know if anyone has heard of "shock economics" before but, the idea is that you temporarily implement a high price point for a necessary product ( or in this case a unsavory business model for a popular product ) like fuel for your car, or certain food items, then you basically collect all sorts of statistical data from the consumers reactions to the event and place it into a larger economic data base to be used later. Now they can use this info. and time the same event in the future to boost profits on other products. A simple example would be: raise the cost of gas so more individuals will invest in alternate energy/special fuel efficient vehicles that haven't been selling particularly well lately ( all though, as you can imagine, it gets far more complex than that ). They very well may never have intended to implement those DRM policies in the first place.
Or... ( and i know this is a stretch, but hey! were gamers who get sucked into insane plots in games all the time right? cough *bioshock infinite* cough...)
Someone or someones wanted/wants to know how much consumers are willing to give up in order to get the entertainment that we as a society crave more and more every day. As it turns out we aren't ready to take it up the a** just yet! ;)
Considering all of my experiences as well as close family members who have had to combat severe depression, I am surprised that there hasn’t been more literature published on this subject. I could not begin to calculate how many times I’ve reflected on how much games/gaming have not only helped me cope with severe depression, (among other mental illnesses) but how they have helped me survive as well.
For what it’s worth, all of what I am going to say now is not an exaggeration. In Feb. of 2009 I had a typical fight with my wife that wasn’t half as bad as our worst, but something about it, along with some recent flashbacks of my childhood that were emerging at the time, triggered me into a suicidal state that nearly ended in my death. I don’t want to go into too much details, but I will say that I have been assured by 5 of the 8 professional psychologists/therapists that have helped me over the last 4 years, that I have been through the “worst of the worst” .Now PLEASE!!! Don’t Freak Out. I’m not here to play some “who has had the worst life therefore pity me…” game. There will always be people that doubt me and others (which there are a surprising amount) like me who have gone through similar hardships. To give you an approximation of the intensity of these events would be the Auschwitz concentration camp atrocities (this is usually where people start to vehemently state that such abuse does not exist in suburban society). I’m not the only one either. The abuse started with my father as a victim to his own father’s twisted and very sick, sick mind. There were no video games back then, and at the age of only 10 years old life at home became so unbearable that he went from being called a “goodie, goodie” to taking and becoming completely addicted to heroin, meth, cocaine, and LSD within a 3 month period. I buried him 12 years ago believing he was a dead beat father and a completely brain fried junkie. I was born when he was 18 and his marriage predictably did not last long, and when it did end my grandmother and father (his parents) adopted my brother and I. As I’m sure you can guess my grandfather provided the same “nurturing” parenting as he did his own children. By now 4 uncles and 1 aunt had already suffered through similar torment. When I was adopted my aunt was still young (14 Y.O.) and enjoyed playing games on the Atari that her mother had given to her on her previous birthday. As a side note my grandmother did not abuse her children along with her husband (not directly anyway), but was too afraid of, and financially dependent on him to do anything about it (not a good enough excuse I know, but fear is a very powerful thing). My aunt (having perhaps been hurt the most) was acutely aware of the inevitable trails we would have to face and tried to protect us the best she could, but (and perhaps more importantly)also introduced us into the world of “video games”. I can say with confidence that if I did not have those games to escape into I would either be dead or hopelessly addicted to a cocktail of illegal drugs like my father. Video Games believe it or not also helped to encourage and teach me to read (reading the text in RPG’s ;) ). To this day I can truthfully and proudly state that I have never consumed a single ounce of alcohol, taken any illegal/street drug of any kind, and I did not have sex until I married at the age of 25 (still married). Impossible I know. All the psychologists, therapists, case workers etc. assigned to me after I attempted suicide for the first time at the psychiatric ward did not and would not believe me until they called my wife and my grandmother lol. The point here is that video games account for one of the larger reasons I was able to survive, cope, and be where I am today, (not to say I am some super successful businessman, and making 100k a year, far from it!) and I can’t help wonder if my father would have endured better if he had the same tools as I. I do however know that games can indeed lead to greater social dysfunction and depression when used incorrectly, and I don’t just say that because of the infamous stories we’ve all heard as gamers about so and so who died due to lack of food, water, sleep etc. because they became so addicted to some MMO that they ignored such basic but important tasks. I’m also familiar with this other side of the spectrum because as anyone who has worked with a therapist for any decent amount of time (I hope) knows that often the coping mechanisms that help you survive and endure during difficult times can later turn into hindrances to living a productive and happy life. For example: I continued to play games as often as I did as a kid into my adult life when the danger was no longer there, and the number of hours spent playing began to cut into time that needed to be spend on more important things in life. That does not mean however that you just stop either. The danger of being hurt may (on that level) be gone, but that does not mean that there will not be massive residual symptoms (For me and my aunt, severe depression, PTSD, and DID). I have learned to use gaming to great effect (among many other coping strategies of course) when it comes to bringing myself down from a panic attack, or help me relax when hyper vigilance becomes a problem, or even in some cases preventing dissociation. I use gaming 5-6 days a week (give or take a day) to help me “deal”, but in short bursts that are helpful rather than anti-productive to my happiness.
Now to all who may have strong opinions about the controversy of the DID diagnosis, (whichever side you are on) I ask, PLEASE don’t turn this into a debate about it. I know I have written a perhaps unnecessarily long comment here but there is a reason for it, which is this: The human spirit is indestructible. You can defile, wither, rape, intimidate, even shatter it into pieces………….for a time, but just like all matter it CANNOT be destroyed, and when the suffering passes (AND IT WILL) you will be incalculably stronger for it. The human species would not have survived as long as it has if this was not true.
For those of you who are suffering and are not sure what to do, or have reservations about seeking help, all I can say is find help ASAP and if you are someone having a hard time with the idea of seeking help for one reason or another then all I can say is that you need to find that one powerful, driving force/reason that is personal to you, and will compel you to seek that help. Everyone is different. When you do start seeking help, DON’T GIVE UP, I know how difficult it can be to start talking to a perfect stranger and start telling them things you probably haven’t told your best friend or your closest family member, (if you have one) but stick with it anyway you can, and if it is not working out then find another therapist. I went through 7 of them before I found the right one, but it was worth all the time and effort it took for me to find mine.
I want to state once more that this is not some self-serving “life story/pity trip” I just wanted to show that you can go through ANYTHING and come out stronger and smarter, and that the suffering will pass and you can be happy again if you are willing to find the strength inside yourself (it is in there!) to find help and begin healing. Finding and trusting a therapist with your pain is the hardest part.
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