Mental Stability Shouldn't be an Office Taboo

I make a habit out of talking about Mental Health - mainly for my own sake- but also because starting those conversations is half the battle against our own preconceived ideas of what Mental Illness looks like.

Who never caught themselves thinking something along the lines of "she/he doesn't look like she/he has depression"? I know I have, and I constantly call myself out on it. Mental illness doesn't have a face and the sooner we internalize that, the faster we will be able to take care and support people around us.

My anxiety is my personal nemesis.

Some days it stops me from doing what I know I'm capable of, some mornings it cripples me in bed, and now and then the idea of going outside is so terrifying I convince myself the world wasn't made for people like me. This constant fear of being inadequate pushed me towards video games -like everything else in my life- virtual worlds where social interactions didn't make me physically ill, or even better, universes where the rules were mine.

Escaping reality and connecting with people from the other side of the world was my coping mechanism growing up. But nowadays I wonder how connected I am with the people across my desk and if I am doing all I can to make them feel comfortable and supported.

My agenda is simple: I want us to talk about our Mental Stability, within our teams, and across all teams!

Let's remind people around us that it's ok not to be ok, and is more common than we think.

As the bubbly and chatty open book I am -you can ask my teammates- I have no problem talking about my personal life, especially after moving to the UK and realising people ask you how you are out of politeness. For everyone's annoyance, I choose to honestly answer that question every time I'm asked.

I truly believe sometimes all it takes is one person to bring up their struggles to make someone else comfortable in sharing theirs. One of the most important writing advice says "talk about what you know" and I agree immensely. Your personal experiences have more power than you think.

So why aren't we telling our stories and letting people know they aren't alone in their fight?

Maybe we don't know how to, maybe we need some Conversations Baits...

Below I've listed some amazing games that, in one way or another, touch on complicated topics and portrait Mental Health from different and interesting perspectives. Have a read and get some conversations going.

Sea of Solitude

An award-winning adventure game where you play as Kay while navigating a partly submerged city and facing a multitude of red-eyed scaly creatures.

As the game progresses Kai realises the creatures she is encountering are humans who turned into monsters when they became too lonely, and the only way out is to overcome her own loneliness. It was developed after the game’s creative director, Cornelia Geppert, felt "trapped in a cage" while struggling through a breakup in 2013.

Celeste:

A narrative-driven, single-player adventure originally created as a prototype for a game jam, Celeste is a big highlight when talking about Mental Health.

You play as Madeline on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain while surviving her inner demons. With a brilliant soundtrack by Lena Raine and mechanics made to empower players, Celeste has bagged The Game Award for Best Independent Game and the Games for Impact awards, as well as its fair share of nominations.

Depression Quest:

An interactive fiction game with 150 unique encounters and multiple endings where you play as someone living with depression.

Through a series of everyday life events, your goal is to manage your illness, work and the relationships with people around you.

It does a great job of illustrating the depth of depression and how it affects daily life.

Jessika - TW:

A mature FMV, developed by Tritrie Games, where you play as an investigator hired by Jessika’s father trying to find the truth about her apparent suicide. With 2-4 hours of gameplay spent exploring a laptop, watching videos, and searching for files, Jessika doesn't shy away from covering heavy topics and sensitive themes.

If you have read my last article on Narratives and Mental Health you will recognize some of the games below:

Please Knock on My Door: 

A story-driven game which gives you control over a person suffering from depression and social anxiety. Help them get through work and reach out to friends while desperately trying to survive.

Michael Levall, the developer behind the game, shared he was inspired by his own experiences with depression "I have met many people in our industry who either are or have suffered from depression, and it shouldn't come as a surprise (...) For many of us, our work is our passion. The downside to that is that working overtime leads to burnout, which in itself is a gateway to depression.", as well as his reality as a dev "(...)There is also the economical stress of working as an indie developer, or the stress of knowing how hard it is to find a new job should your studio go bankrupt or your project be shelved."

The Average Everyday Adventures of Samantha Browne: 

A 30-minute interactive game "about a painfully introverted college student who must find a way to make some oatmeal in the communal kitchen of her dorm.". The project was born when Andrea Ayres, the game developer behind the title, started therapy to deal with her eating disorder and the passing of her mother.

This one hits home, my social anxiety is my nemesis and I find it very hard to explain to people how some small tasks take me a herculean effort. Andrea did a brilliant job on conveying emotions I have been struggling with for years.

The experience led Andrea to a therapist to address an eating disorder. It also made her realize, as she mourned her mother, that this was as good a time as any to start a project – something “that I didn’t think I could make for the challenge of it,” she told Techtonics.

＜/reality＞: 

When a withdrawn virtual reality nerd has the opportunity to beta test a neural device that feels more “real” than reality itself, everything she assumed about the nature of existence is thrown into question.

Sym:

a puzzle-platformer that explores social anxiety disorder. Play as Josh, a teenage boy trying to reconcile a maze of two contrasting worlds that coexist within the blank spaces of each other — his perception of reality, and the world he created to avoid his fears.

Everything Is Going to Be Ok:

A desktop labyrinth of vignettes, poetry, strange fever dream games, and broken digital spaces. It is a collection of life experiences that are largely a commentary on struggle, survival, and coping with the aftermath of surviving bad things.

My list goes on and on... but I want to know about your recommendations, you can find me here or on my Twitter!

Ps.: Here are some Mental Health resources, spread the word!

• Personal Journeys of #MentalHealth https://safeinourworld.org/stories/
• #Games and Online Harassment Hotline(US) https://gameshotline.org/
• #MentalHealthSupport through Slack https://www.spill.chat/
• Crisis support line staffed by transgender volunteers https://translifeline.org/
• Free online text chat with trained non-clinician listeners https://www.7cups.com/
• Crises helpline for online harassment https://www.crashoverridenetwork.com
• A Guide to Protecting Yourself From Online Harassment https://onlinesafety.feministfrequency.com/en/
• Uplift together resources https://uplifttogether.org/resources
• Twitch Mental Health Support & Information https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/twitch-cares-mental-health-support-information?language=en_US
• A one-page, printable list of questions to ask yourself when you’re feeling bad https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6A2F5ky9SELU0Zfd05YMEpyNUk/view
• University at Buffalo’s guide to starting a self-care routine that prioritizes #wellness https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/resources/self-care-starter-kit.html
• Self-care Guide https://philome.la/jace_harr/you-feel-like-shit-an-interactive-self-care-guide/index.html