NEW DELHI New Delhi: Are you suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? A new study has shown that playing video games can help reduce symptoms of the condition, which can cause terrifying nightmares and severe anxiety. The study, published in BMC Medicine, provides “scientifically controlled evidence that a single guided digital treatment session can reduce the number of intrusive memories”.
Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden said it could also be used safely by patients. Unpleasant and intrusive memories of the traumatic event in the form of mental images or flashbacks are the key symptoms of PTSD. Avoidance, excessive stress and problems sleeping and concentrating are others.
The team monitored intrusive memories of trauma in 164 participants for a week. While half the group was asked to play Tetris – a video game – the other half, or the control group, was asked to listen to the radio.At the core of Tetris lies a concept known as mental rotation. When a participant looks at an object from one angle, he or she can imagine what it would look like if it were rotated into another position and viewed from another angle.
Emily Holmes, a professor at Uppsala University, said just one guided therapy session showed positive effects, indicating “it is possible to reduce the frequency of unpleasant and intrusive memories of trauma”. Holmes noted that if trauma could be “reduced through everyday tools, including video gaming, this could be an accessible way to help many people”.
At the start of the study, participants had an average of 15 flashbacks a week. Just one week later, the video game group had an average of just one flashback, while the control group had five flashbacks. Furthermore, the effects persisted six months later, and the gaming group also experienced a significant reduction in all PTSD symptoms. Holmes said it was “amazing that the treatment method was so effective and that the improvement in symptoms lasted for six months.”
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