I have a couple of reservations about the research supposedly debunking the commonly-held belief that video games are bad for you. First, the statement debunking this belief does not indicate in what way playing video games is purportedly “bad” for a person. Spending a great deal of time playing video games, the commonly-held belief holds, results in lower social interaction skills, an insensitivity to violence, an inability to concentrate on data that does not actively present itself to the subject but must be decoded through the initiative and effort of the subject (e.g. reading a text), and a lack of application of gaming skill to real-life situations (though a good argument can be made for certain video games enhancing one’s problem-solving skills)–but frankly, most do not.

I am sure that research shows that video-game players process information more rapidly (what information? what of the quality of the information being processed?–the bad guy is quickly recognized and dispatched of?)and that multi-tasking and mental alertness is displayed. But are these “skills” readily transferred from the gaming situation to real-life? Or, does the brain prefer the artificial stimulation provided by virtual reality?
Curmudgeonly Yours,
markhw2002

very true, but I don’t think you can blame them – depression is such an abnormal state that I find it very difficult to understand *my own* behavior when I am/was depressed! I mean, looking back on what I thought and what I did during episodes of depression, I can’t understand it. It just seems so silly. And yet at the time it was the only thing I felt I could do. It’s like being drunk or on drugs – your entire mind works differently. That’s what people who haven’t been depressed don’t get but it’s impossible to really understand that state, even if you’ve experienced it, unless you’re actually currently it.

I would be interested to know what percentage of “well” people, people who have never experienced major depression, or even people who have, but for short periods and have become well again…

…What percentage in this group believes depression is the person’s fault or is a lack of the depressed person not trying hard enough?, or, as so many people I seem to know, are people who believe it is normal for people to feel up and down like this?(completely missing the point that clinical depression is beyond normal experience and is more painful than any non-majorly depressed person can even comprehend).

In my experience ther are very few non-depressed people who understand the pain and destruction depression causes the depressed person. I would even go so far as to suggest that many clinicians (drs, nurses, etc,) have no concept of how depression destroys a person’s will to even keep trying.

I definately know some do, like my pdoc and yourself, but you would not believe how many tries and years it took for me to get help for my depression. So many Drs simply dismissed my symptoms. In my life, so many close to me go on and on about how everyone has problems/depression like me. I feel really angry that people think I’m just not as tough as I need to be, or they keep telling me to just get over it.
…aqua