Video Games, Depression Linked?

Scientists are still in the process of finding out the actual association between video games and depression.

A new Australian study has found that excessive video gamers are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than casual players.

Depression - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.

But the researcher believes participants suffering from a mental health disorder are using gaming as a coping mechanism, rather than it being the cause, News.com.au reported.

According to The Global Video Game Play, Health and Well-being Study, hardcore gamers reported 25 per cent more depression and 15 per cent more anxiety than regular gamers.

Conducted by Daniel Loton at Melbourne's Victoria University, the yearlong study is looking at the psychological effects of gaming by comparing gamer's habits and mental health diagnosis history.

Quiz on Depression
The World Health Organization reports that depression is one of the main causes of disability affecting about 121 million people worldwide. More tragically, it claims around 850,000 lives every year. Hence, it is important that we understand this affliction to help ourselves or our loved ones to cope and, hopefully, resolve it. How well do you know the facts about depression? Take this quiz and find out.

Participants have been categorised into two groups - excessive gamer or a balanced gamer - with excessive gamers averaging 33 hours a week.

"We use the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) to measure the depression, asking people several questions about symptoms based on diagnosis," Loton said.

How to Handle Depression
Few tips that could help you to manage depression. It is ok to be moody once in a while but if you feel moody for a longer period of time then it could be depression.

"By asking people for their mental health diagnosis history, I can find the proportion of people that have been diagnosed with a mental illness and whether they have sought treatment," he explained.

However, Loton believes participants suffering from a mental health disorder are using gaming as a coping mechanism, rather than it being the cause.

Stress Levels Hiked by Playing Video Games for Long Periods
Playing video games for long periods may increase your stress levels and lead to anxiety and depression compared to those who play moderately.

"The coping mechanism data suggests that people are using video games as a way of distracting themselves from their problems or escaping them," he said.

"So you have to question whether that it is more likely that those mental health symptoms were there before excessive gaming than after.

"This has led me to think that early results suggest it may be a coping mechanism for depression and anxiety," he added.

Loton said early analysis of the data indicates that excessive gamers actually performed better than their more balanced counterparts academically.

"The grade average was slightly higher with excessive gamers and they outperformed their own expectations of grades a lot more than the balanced group," he said.

Excessive gamers also functioned no worse than balanced gamers at work.

Research will continue for nine months, with participants having to complete the survey each month.

Source-ANI