Stress Awareness

Stress is a feeling known to us all – how can we learn more about our own stressors and how to cope?

If you’ve ever played Dark Souls, you’ve likely experienced what stress is. Stress causes physical changes in the body designed to help you take on threats or difficulties. You might notice that your heart pounds, your breathing quickens, your muscles tense, and you start to sweat – This is known as the fight or flight response. Once the threat or difficulty passes, these physical effects usually fade. But if you’re constantly stressed, your body stays in a state of high alert and you could develop stress-related symptoms.

A lot of information is available on our site about how we can help ourselves and others when we are feeling stressed.

We will be talking about games that look at aspects of feeling stressed, and how they can help us move into a state of relaxation, as well as other resources and anecdotes designed to support us in times of need. We will also be hosting a panel at the end of the month talking to a variety of folks on their experiences – so check in with our Twitch Channel to stay up to date.

Our Resources on Stress

Information/ Feeling Stressed – For more information and things you can do to support yourself

Managing Stress (Covid-19 Hub) – For coping with stress (specific to Covid-19)

Stress Relieving Games and Industry Stories with Jake Kulkowski (Podcast) – A discussion with Jake on our favourite games to de-stress, and the kinds of titles that enable us to relax, including the discussion around why some gamers find escapism within horror titles. We discuss Jake’s mental health story, and some of the games that mean the most to him.

Hub World: Stress (Community Support) – We ask our community about what they like to do to help de-stress

How Intense Games Can Be Relaxing – Ruby Modica discusses how intense games can be relaxing during last year’s stress awareness month at Safe In Our World

What if Horror is Your Safe Place? – Alicia Brunskill discusses how horror games can be safe space for many gamers, highlighting the link to relaxation.