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Stories

Personal journeys of mental health

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Safely engaging with mortality through video games (Exploring Games as Bereavement Support Pt.5)

Grief Awareness Week is coming to an end, and Bethany Rainbird rounds off this content series about games as grief and bereavement support by exploring mortality, closure and catharsis when experiencing loss. Unanswered questions The concept of death can leave...

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Digital ways to remember the ones we’ve lost (Exploring Games as Bereavement Support Pt.4)

This week, Safe In Our World has joined the Good Grief Trust’s Grief Awareness Week, with Bethany Rainbird leading the conversation around grief and bereavement. Moving on When grieving, it can feel like there’s a pressure to ‘move on’ from...

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Reconnecting with the world through games (Exploring Games as Bereavement Support Pt.3)

Our exploration of grief and bereavement continues as Bethany Rainbird leads the conversation for Safe In Our World this Grief Awareness Week (Good Grief Trust). Withdrawing from the world During bereavement, isolating ourselves can feel like the only answer to keeping...

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Using Cosy Games to Support Routine, Grounding, and Regulation (Exploring Games as Bereavement Support Pt.2)

Bethany Rainbird continues the conversation for Grief Awareness Week (2nd-8th December) as Safe In Our World joins the mission to raise awareness around grief and bereavement. How grief disrupts our lives Losing a loved one can turn our world completely...

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An Introduction to Grief Awareness Week (Exploring Games as Bereavement Support Pt.1)

From December 2nd-8th, Safe in Our World will be joining the Good Grief Trust’s Grief Awareness Week, supporting the mission to raise awareness and encourage conversations around grief and bereavement. What is Grief Awareness Week? Loss is a universal experience....

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Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator gives players the authority to make compassionate decisions

Class of 2025 Ambassador Nico Vergara looks back on a dark history of mental health care in Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator. We gave our ambassadors some keys to the new game Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator which transports players...

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Oloolua Forest: Joanna Oluoch’s augmented reality hiking game for environmental and cultural conservation

Did you know that the highest-grossing film of all time is actually about conservation and climate change? Avatar has held that title since 2010; it was briefly overtaken by Avengers: Endgame in 2019 but reclaimed the crown after a 2021...

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Oppidum – A survival game built with accessibility in mind

How was survival game, Oppidum, developed with accessibility in mind? We spoke to EP Games for more. Hi everyone! We’re EP Games, the developer studio behind Oppidum – and we want to present to you its accessibility features, of which...

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Fireside Feelings | A game of cozy campfire conversations

In Fireside Feelings, players sit by a cozy campfire and have conversations with strangers. Let’s unpack with Mashfiq Ahmed. Upon opening the game, you’re greeted by a talking campfire named Spark who introduces you to how this game experience works....

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Reading Between the Lines with IKEELYA: Sugar and Riker’s Take on Workplace Mental Health

In November 2023, exactly a year before IKEELYA became a viral sensation on TikTok, Henrike ‘Riker’ Lode and Cukia ‘Sugar’ Kimani took on an unusual challenge. While flying home from Taipei after Riker’s keynote at the International Women Game Makers...

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Quantum Witch: Against All Odds

How I channeled my trauma into games, because making a game is easy and stress free, right? Oh dear. ⚠️ Content Warning: The game discussed in this article contains depictions of the abuse of power and religious trauma, inspired by...

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You Are Not Alone: Stories of Love, Loss & Healing

This Pride Month, hear from our Class of 2025 Ambassador, Wendi Ndaki Mutisya, as she explores the concepts of love, loss and healing through games, art and storytelling. What is love without respect? Without trust? When it leaves behind nothing...

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Localization left behind: How context is crucial to game dev mental health

Ambassador Virginia Casagrande exposes the emotional impact a lack of context can have on those working in video games localization. “Please translate to the best of your ability.” “We’re still waiting for the client to reply on whether licensed content...

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The hard truth about absence anxiety (and how to actually take time off)

I’m about to enter my thirties, so I’m taking some time off to celebrate. Why does that make me so stressed? Well, it’s absence anxiety. Since joining Safe In Our World in October 2024, I’ve been tackling some of the...

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Dear Young Chris – A memoir on the power of reflection and appreciating your own growth

“The main thing I want to tell you is this – I’m so proud of you kiddo.” This piece came about for a few different reasons – the first is the very unadulterated value of reflection. As part of my...

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Dreaming of Sushi: The Depths of Postnatal Depression and Dave the Diver

“I’m ordering sushi to the labour ward.” A collective moan echoes around the community hall, where seven other pregnant women are perched uncomfortably on plastic chairs. “Yes, and blue cheese!” “And rare steak!” “And a glass of wine!” We are...

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My long and winding road to successful therapy – and the huge role video games played along the way

You’re allowed to be angry, said the counsellor. And it’s a sentence that changed my life. I’m far from a Pollyanna type. I definitely err on the side of pessimism by default, and I’ve often wondered if there’s a glass...

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Let’s Talk About Tinnitus

I have hearing loss in my right ear due to noise exposure that damaged my auditory system. Unfortunately, a past version of myself loved listening to rock music incredibly loud through headphones and never protected her ears when in loud...

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Prioritise Your Wellbeing: Beat Burnout

As a Community Manager, Content Creator and Mother to a diabetic 10 year old, I have been experiencing an increased feeling of burnout with both work and personal projects over the last few months. It’s been harder than normal for...

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Sonic the Hedgehog, Lara Croft, Mary Brown and terminal illness

My grandmother was shaking and I didn’t understand why. Her eyes rolled back, her jaw seized and her muscles tightened. Sonic stood tapping his foot on the television screen behind us, and the melodic Greenhill Zone anthem played endlessly, over...

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How Video Games Helped Me After Human Trafficking

I am a certified survivor of international human trafficking. I’m starting with that point because it is the most profound event in my life. While I had gone through many other events which are considered stressful (moving house, marriage, divorce,...

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The Intricate Ways ‘Tales of Kenzera: Zau’ Addresses Grief

I never thought that we would get a game about grief, African culture and how to navigate it all. But here we are, with Surgent Studios’ debut game Tales of Kenzera: Zau. The game takes root in the personal loss...

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Real-world inspirations for mental health horror game ‘Numb’

I grew up in Sassari, a city on the Italian island of Sardinia, renowned for its white sand beaches, crystal-clear waters, and ancient historical sites. Far from the luxury of exclusive resorts and private villas lies an impoverished neighborhood characterized...

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Unintentional Baggage: The Aftermath of Sexual Assault

Content warning: This story contains non-graphic references to sexual assault. It’s funny the things we carry with us, without even realising we’re doing so. A few years ago I was processing some big life changes around the pandemic and lockdowns...

COPING WITH MENTAL ILL HEALTH

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COPING WITH MENTAL ILL HEALTH

Feeling different from usual or noticed a change in your behaviour? Learn about some common feelings and mental health symptoms, how to cope with them, and where to go for help.

A-Z of mental health Feelings & symptoms Resources
COPING WITH MENTAL ILL HEALTH
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