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Depression is often characterised by a struggle in finding the motivation / desire to do something you love: if they love video games and can play them 12 hours
by depressedx 5y ago
Depression is often characterised by a struggle in finding the motivation / desire to do something you love: if they love video games and can play them 12 hours a day, it's very possible they simply... don't care about the outside world. A job, family, exploring the world, these are all things some people just don't like. They don't have to have mental illness in order to spend their lives doing one thing!
- zabzonk 5y ago> They don't have to have mental illness in order to spend their lives doing one thing! I'd argue that doing one thing for the rest of your life is a classic definition of mental illness.
- waynesonfire 5y agoI disagree, it's an mental illness if it interferes in your desired pursuit. For example, there is nothing wrong with playing games ur whole life.. except if you decide you want to get a girlfriend and can't. Now you're dealing with a mental illness.
- wizzwizz4 5y agoAlso if it interferes with your health, and a few other things. If playing video games takes precedence over, say, taking regular showers, or even basic exercise? I'd call that a mental illness too. But I agree with the main point: “person wants to live in a way I don't like” is not mental illness.
- teawrecks 5y agoTell that to the vast majority of humans throughout history who not only did 1 thing their whole life, but did the same thing their parents did before them. In some cultures to this day, trying to do anything other than what your family has already established as the family business is viewed as disrespectful and an insult to your lineage.
- zabzonk 5y agoThey have not being doing "one thing" - they have been farming, having sing-songs, getting married, having kids, fighting wars, and so on.
- teawrecks 5y agoAnd a virtual world can be every bit as varied. You see someone sitting at a computer playing the same video game all the time. They see farming, running dungeons with guild mates, forming relationships, crafting things, fighting wars and so on. Defining a metal illness is non trivial, but for starters, their mental state needs to cause them or someone else harm or discomfort. But it's also possible that the discomfort isn't caused by their mental state, but the society they are in who rejects them. In 1000 years no one will remember what that person in their virtual world did any more than you know what a random person 1000 years ago did, but if they feel every bit as accomplished and emotionally fulfilled, then what's the difference? Now if their involvement in their virtual world means they are unable to sustain themselves in the physical world (not showing up to work, health problems, etc) then we have a problem that needs addressing. But living in a virtual world, in and of itself, is perfectly valid.
- mrkstu 5y agoExcept none of those things is actually happening. Its like saying playing Monopoly is the same as being a real estate magnate. It just isn't, and emotionally the people using the video game as a crutch know it.
- ativzzz 5y agoThen as software developers, we don't actually do anything because software doesn't actually happen
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- devonkim 5y agoDepression also manifests with addictions though through self medication like alcohol, drugs, and even video games. It gets trickier with comorbidities like ADHD where one has addictive tendencies resulting in what appears to be simple lack of motivation and laziness at a surface level.