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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Megan Nolette and.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Andrew Davis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.

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<v Speaker 2>It is easier for people to understand no matter where

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<v Speaker 2>in the world they live.

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<v Speaker 1>Brian is so sad that he cannot move. He has

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<v Speaker 1>been like this for several weeks now. Each day he

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<v Speaker 1>tries to get out of bed, but his mind tells

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<v Speaker 1>him it is not worth it. He has school, he

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<v Speaker 1>has classes to go to, but he is feeling so

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<v Speaker 1>horrible that none of this matters. Some days he feels

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<v Speaker 1>the world would be better off if he were dead.

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<v Speaker 2>Brian has de pray. This mental disorder makes him feel

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<v Speaker 2>helpless and alone. He experiences very few positive emotions. The

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<v Speaker 2>way he separates himself from others makes it worse. But

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<v Speaker 2>Brian does have one good thing in his life. It

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<v Speaker 2>is called Civilization five. It is a video game. While

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<v Speaker 2>he plays, Brian commands a group of people. He guides

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<v Speaker 2>them through history. These people do wonders while under his

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<v Speaker 2>direction they build cities and go to the moon. Brian

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<v Speaker 2>cannot control much in his life, but he can when

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<v Speaker 2>he plays Civilization five. It reminds him that he is

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<v Speaker 2>able to do things while he waits for his depression

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<v Speaker 2>to lift.

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<v Speaker 1>You may be used to hearing about the dangers of

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<v Speaker 1>video games. They can be addictive, they can prevent the

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<v Speaker 1>development of social skills in young children, but there is

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<v Speaker 1>evidence that video games can help people as well. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>spotlight is on video games and mental help.

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<v Speaker 2>There is a name for what Brian is doing. It

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<v Speaker 2>is called escapism. Escapism is when a person uses stories

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<v Speaker 2>and media to forget the world around them. A child

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<v Speaker 2>with a harmful parent might listen to a lot of music,

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<v Speaker 2>or she might read many books. These forms of media

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<v Speaker 2>bring her joy. They help her see that the world

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<v Speaker 2>can be a good place.

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<v Speaker 1>Escapism can be dangerous. Sometimes people escape from situations they

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<v Speaker 1>should address. If a man is in a bad relationship,

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<v Speaker 1>he might need to end it, but he may avoid

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<v Speaker 1>doing so by watch television. The television makes him feel

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<v Speaker 1>good even though the situation is bad. He avoids what

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<v Speaker 1>he needs to do because it is hard.

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<v Speaker 2>But escapism has its positive sides. It might keep a

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<v Speaker 2>person healthy in a situation they cannot leave. It helps

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<v Speaker 2>people manage the difficulties in their life. Ashley Olivin is

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<v Speaker 2>a doctor who helps people with their mental health. She

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<v Speaker 2>wrote about escapism on verywellmined dot com.

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<v Speaker 3>There are risks, but escapism is not always bad. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 3>it can be good. For example, imaginative play is a

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<v Speaker 3>healthy part of child growth. Reading a book can be

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<v Speaker 3>an excellent way for readers of all ages to experience joy.

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<v Speaker 3>It exercises the bread and reduces tension.

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<v Speaker 1>Video games offer a special form of escapism. Like other

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<v Speaker 1>forms of media, they offer players a way to imagine

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<v Speaker 1>they are somewhere else, but a person can act in

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<v Speaker 1>a video game, they have some form of control. A

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<v Speaker 1>player may identify more with the character on screen. The

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<v Speaker 1>character's achievements become the players. There is a kind of

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<v Speaker 1>satisfaction that comes with completing goals. Johnny Kiedini is an

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<v Speaker 1>English games journalist who lives with depression.

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<v Speaker 4>Johnny said, it is satisfying when you complete an activity

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<v Speaker 4>in a video game and you get a little bit

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<v Speaker 4>of joy. It feels like you're getting things done in

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<v Speaker 4>a way that you might not normally feel every day.

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<v Speaker 2>Some video games go even farther. They let people work

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<v Speaker 2>through their problems within the game. Balder's Gate III is

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<v Speaker 2>one of the best examples of this kind of game.

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<v Speaker 2>The game takes place in the world of Firun. It

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<v Speaker 2>is a world of magic and monsters, but the people's

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<v Speaker 2>problems there are just like ours. Many of the game's

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<v Speaker 2>main characters have suffered greatly. If the player befriends them,

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<v Speaker 2>they overcome their problems. If the player does not, their

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<v Speaker 2>character grows worse.

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<v Speaker 1>One of these main characters is called Asterion. He is

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<v Speaker 1>a victim of slavery. He has just escaped when the

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<v Speaker 1>player first finds him free for the first time. He

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<v Speaker 1>does not know his place in the world. He sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>acts evil or selfish, but this is because he does

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<v Speaker 1>not feel protected or safe. The game lets the player

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<v Speaker 1>help him feel safe. It is very effective for story telling,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is even more effective for people who have

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<v Speaker 1>gone through similar things. It helps them understand their own problems.

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<v Speaker 1>Reddit user Beautiful Terrible Queen is a survivor of childhood violence.

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<v Speaker 5>She wrote, I bought this game to hold Astarian's hand.

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<v Speaker 5>I wanted to walk out of the dark with him.

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<v Speaker 5>I chose to be friends with him for my first

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<v Speaker 5>play through. He was a good picture of my younger self.

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<v Speaker 5>No one ever held my hand. It took me a

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<v Speaker 5>long time to walk out of the dark on my own.

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<v Speaker 5>I bought the game. I played it as myself so

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<v Speaker 5>it would feel a little faster. I played so I

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<v Speaker 5>would have training. It was in case I met some

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<v Speaker 5>one who could benefit from what I went through. Just

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<v Speaker 5>because we have survived does not mean we can talk

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<v Speaker 5>about it, not unless we train a bit.

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<v Speaker 2>Some video games may even help mental health issues directly.

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<v Speaker 2>In twenty seventeen, experts at Oxford University studied post traumatic

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<v Speaker 2>stress disorder, or PTSD. This mental illness forms when a

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<v Speaker 2>person experiences a difficult event, like a car crash or

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<v Speaker 2>living through war. Afterwards, the person with PTSD relives the event.

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<v Speaker 2>These memories feel very real. PTSD sufferers call them flashbacks.

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<v Speaker 2>It is like they are going back in time. They

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<v Speaker 2>re experience the bad things that happen to them.

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<v Speaker 1>PTSD flashbacks cause a lot of problems in sufferers' lives,

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<v Speaker 1>but the experts at Oxford found an unlikely aid. It

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<v Speaker 1>is a game called Tetris. Tetris is a very simple game,

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<v Speaker 1>but it demands a lot of focus. In Tetris, players

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<v Speaker 1>move blocks of different shapes down the screen. They try

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<v Speaker 1>to fit these blocks together. They want to form a

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<v Speaker 1>complete line. Researchers found that playing this game after a

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<v Speaker 1>difficult event stopped flashbacks. The game also reduced the number

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<v Speaker 1>of flashbacks people had. They recovered more quickly than other patients.

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<v Speaker 2>Not every video game is helpful, and many people do

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<v Speaker 2>not use video games in healthy ways. Some video games

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<v Speaker 2>are hard to stop playing. They may portray violence and

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<v Speaker 2>sexuality in an unhealthy way. Some may encourage unhealthy behavior,

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<v Speaker 2>like gambling, but this is true of many other forms

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<v Speaker 2>of media. These may have negative effects on people, but

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<v Speaker 2>it also may affect them positively. For many people with

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<v Speaker 2>mental health problems, the latter may be more true than

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<v Speaker 2>the former. It all depends on the person. It depends

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<v Speaker 2>on where they are in their lives.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you play video games? Do you know people who do?

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<v Speaker 1>Displaying affect them positively or negatively? You can leave a

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<v Speaker 1>comment on our website or email us at Radio at

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<v Speaker 1>Radio English dot net. You can also comment on Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>at Facebook dot com, slash Spotlight Radio.

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<v Speaker 2>The writer and producer of this program was Dan Chrisman.

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<v Speaker 2>The voices you heard were from the United States and

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<v Speaker 2>the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program

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<v Speaker 2>and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program

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<v Speaker 2>again and read it on the internet at www dot

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<v Speaker 2>Radio English dot net. This program is called Gaming for Good.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also get our programs delivered directly to your

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<v Speaker 1>Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

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<v Speaker 1>We hope you can join us again for the next

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<v Speaker 1>Spotlight program. Goodbye,