I read an interesting post on Reddit some time back about how a girl with mild autism was using Minecraft as a tool to help with overwhelm. It struck me that I had begun to utilise Minecraft in a similar way for anxiety management.
My first foray into Minecraft was some years back when my workplace was running Minecraft sessions for kids. I loved playing games like Civilization, Settlers, and Age of Empires but hadn't really looked too deeply into Minecraft. With the workplace sessions becoming popular I thought it a good idea to get an understanding of the game, so I bought an account and began exploring.
My first impressions were a little mixed. The blocky graphics took me back to my teenage years, spending hours roaming through Wolfenstein, and later on Doom and Quake. The gameplay was fantastic though. Roaming around exploring, hitting sheep with my little wooden sword, hiding from zombies in hastily built houses. It was fast, and it was fun.
Then I discovered building. Block by block, creating houses and taverns and castles and bridges. A slower, steadier side to Minecraft. I was hooked. Being able to create these lovely, symmetrical shapes. Mindlessly stacking blocks. Playing with colours and textures and orientations. It wasn't long before I was using a short Minecraft building session to unwind after a busy work day or popping onto Minecraft to relax between study sessions.
I still didn't really see Minecraft as a helpful tool at this point, I just felt like I was goofing off or enjoying some downtime. It wasn't until I viewed the previously mentioned Reddit post that I made the connection between the calming effect of placing blocks and my anxiety levels. Now that I am aware of this I use Minecraft regularly as part of my coping techniques. My building creations are nothing spectacular, but it's the act of creating them that I enjoy and benefits me most.
I should mention that there are many, many ways to play Minecraft and when I'm using it to de-stress I'm spending my time building, not out exploring caverns and hunting down / being chased by Zombies. One of my favourite play modes is SkyBlock. I love the challenge of starting with nothing and having to build your sky island into something impressive (or at least something that ensures your character won't starve!)
Do you find that you get similar benefits from playing Minecraft (or perhaps another computer game)?
[The Reddit post that started me thinking down this path: https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/3nefdq/my_sister_has_mild_autism_and_uses_minecraft_to/]
