some help please

[richy1991]

hey all

i have been suffering from anxiety for about half a year now
recently i have been discharged from my theropist as i had made alot of progress
the last two weeks that have past have been really good, i felt 100% myself again, which for someone with anxiety is an awesome thing :)

however this week hasnt been so awesome, i have had feelings of anxiety and sadness again

i have had a think about what may have increased my stress levels to make me start feeling anxious again
all i can think of is a video game
over the last week i have been playing a new video game
its been awesome as a distratcion and have kept me ocupied for hours
however it is a very competitive game and i get very stressed out over it when i lose

could this be the reason? as its all i can think of
cheers
richy

[Gladys]

Dear Richy

I'm glad you've recovered from your bad bout of anxiety. However, as many of us on the forum have already found, anxious episodes can come back at any time.

You think that a video game may be the reason for your anxiety, and I'd be inclined to say that you probably know what the triggers for your worry and depression are.

Take a look at the article on video game effects http://wikipedia.org/wiki/video_game_effects and decide if a video game can really have an adverse effect on you.

Best wishes

[Anxi]

Hey Richy. I have been an avid gamer on and off over my life. While gaming for me did not cause panic attacks per se, the stress and competition of online gaming did trigger irregular heartbeats. If I game to close to bed time I have a very hard time getting to sleep or staying asleep.

My solution, cut back the gaming to no more than an hour or so a day, if I play at all, and no gaming 3 hours before bed. I miss it sometimes and it can be an good distraction but it does have the power to suck me in and obsess.