Think for a moment of your favourite RPG. This can literally be anything from World of Warcraft, to Dungeons and Dragons, to Fallout. Just put it in your mind and then think of one character that you have played as in this game. What did you create them to be like? Usually in RPGs you have about a million options from class and skills, to weapons and appearance, and everything in between. But in your own creative process, you narrow down your options until you create the wizard knight elf bard of your dreams and then as you play through the game, your character levels up to take on harder and harder challenges and gains more skills.

Now, what if you built your character as you and instead of viewing that character as, well, a character, you viewed them as yourself just living in a fantasy world. Now, I know some people do this to a degree by making them look like them for example, but what I am talking about is not just giving them your name but rather imbuing them with your characteristics, including your fears.

What if you used your character as a reflection of yourself and thus every obstacle that they face is something that you are facing in your own life? So, if you struggle with anxiety or depression make your character suffer from those as well. But here is the key, because it is a game, you are going to play forward, that is the fun of it. Even though your character of you has those obstacles to overcome you are going to push them forward because you are playing. You can actually use this as a technique to push yourself forward in your day to day.

The next step in this process would be to think of the monsters and bosses that you face in the game as things you are overcoming in your own life. For example, if you find that you have anxiety in social situations maybe the boss at the end of the next level represents your sister’s wedding that you have to go to next month and all the smaller enemies that you face on your way there are the smaller things that you do in preparation for that event, like going to a barbecue at a friend’s house that you would otherwise avoid.

There is immense power in not only visualisation but in stories and by gaming in this way, you are making your brain think about your life in a different and very concrete way. Viewing your life and problems as something external to you helps you to think objectively and to figure out new positive solutions. It also helps to understand the journey of your life without massive amounts of emotional fog that you can easily get surrounded with in the everyday.

Not only that, but having your growth on a linear pattern, such as it is in games, can help you ease into healing and overcoming huge blocks in your personal life in little bite sized steps. When you are faced with a new mental health challenge in your life, gaming it away actually gives you a way to organise your thoughts about your challenge without getting wrapped up in the real world yuck of all of it.

Our brains learn the quickest and easiest through stories. It is the reasons we are told fables when we are children because it is easier for us to remember lessons when they are about a boy and sheep than our parents simply telling us not to lie. However, if we use this principle now, we can actually help our brain unlearn its anxiety patterns and instead create new story based lessons. By consciously choosing to play through our own stories, we take back some agency over our lives and feelings.

After I left an abusive relationship, I suffered from extreme anxiety. It was incredibly debilitating and, if I am being totally transparent, therapy or counselling was not something that I found I wanted to invest a ton of effort in. Mostly because it was a challenge in and of itself to even set up an appointment. So, because setting up an appointment gave me anxiety, I simply avoided it. However, I knew that I needed to do something to help myself to get over this, I didn’t want to live in fear forever.

When I first tried this method (I am a deep lover of all things nerdy), I was shocked at the difference I noticed in my life. The big turning point for me was I no longer had to try and imagine what it would be like to not have anxiety cripple me. I actually had a visual that I didn’t come up with in my own mind. It was there! Right there in front of me on the screen! Conquering monsters. Suddenly things started to become less scary to deal with.

I am not saying that this method can be an anxiety cure the first time you try it, but giving your mind an image and a story to follow can seriously help the next time life springs something at you. You can even take this RPG strategy and keep the game going mentally as you are overcoming your challenges. Picture the character of you going to the grocery store and view it as an adventure. Bringing the fun of play into your everyday can help those monstrous fears seem deeply less terrifying.

So give it a try! Use the things that you love to help you overcome the things that you, well, don’t love. I think you will be surprised with the results!

Do you agree? Have you tried this? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Can RPG’s Help With Your Anxiety? appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Fans of the retro should rejoice! What was once considered old hat and only for nerds, is now the new cool. Comic books are in. Fantasy and science fiction stories are in. SNES style games that are impossible to beat (I’m looking at you Cuphead) are in. Finally, Tabletop Roleplaying games are in. While it’s still a niche interest at this point, TV shows like The Big Bang Theory and Stranger Things are reminding us about these gems from the past. These days more and more people are stocking game manuals and boxes of dice in stores. On top of that, the internet is driving a huge revival. People are scouring their old books for content and updating them for modern rule sets. Not to mention heaps of people who played these games are now old enough to be writing their own game systems and providing us with so many options. Yes, the roleplaying fraternity is alive and well. However, if you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering how to get into a game or start one yourself. This is where I come in.

I’ve been involved in Tabletop RPG’s for the last seven years. One of my friends sent me a YouTube video of some guys playing a game online. They were playing Dungeons and Dragons with each other and recording the whole thing via Skype. I was immediately struck by the imagination of the whole thing. Here were these five people playing make-believe on camera—there were no effects, no controllers, no graphics at all. They were just on camera, talking to each other, pretending to be these amazing characters, and occasionally they would roll a dice. I was blown away. Three hours later I was still watching this series and had to stop myself. I wrote back to Josh and said, “We need to do this.” Fast forward the next seven years and here we are, having graduated from running a game session in a friend’s living room, we now run games once a week for 20-25 people under the banner of Diehard Games.

Here you can check out the video that got me started:

Now to answer the question you all came here for: How do I start my own game? Your first step is research. Before you can start inviting people over and ordering pizzas, you need to figure what kind of game you want to play. There is a heap out there to choose from. Don’t feel overwhelmed by this though. It’s like shopping for a new car. The only reason there are so many is because people like different things. Some people like a car that they can get inside and tinker around with. They play Pathfinder because it is full of rules but provides a great amount of customisation. Some people like a car that’s quick and uncomplicated to take to the shops and back. They play Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition because it’s easy to pick up and great to take around and show new friends how to play. Some people like cars chock full of technology and gadgets. They tend to play the Star Wars RPG because of its futuristic setting, spaceships, and robots. Finally, some people like to play the gothic-horror game, Call of Cthulhu. These people don’t drive cars because The Great Old One doesn’t believe in them. But you get the idea. There are so many different kinds game out there, that your first and most difficult job to decide what fits you and your style of imagination.

I’m not going to lie. If you’re the one doing the research and telling your friends that you want to play, you’ll most likely end up being the one to run the game as the GM or Game Master. Working on this assumption, it’ll be up to you to source the reading material. There are a few ways you can go about sourcing the game manuals. The most obvious one is to hit up the internet but that’s boring. What I recommend is first asking the people at your local hobby or book store. While the most recent edition of D&D is easy to find, you might require the help of the store attendant to find any other games you’re seeking out. The best part about this is the conversation you get at the hobby store. The people who work there, live and breathe this stuff so they’ll be more than happy to point you in the right direction and help find the game to suit you and your needs. The hobby store is also a great place to stock up on dice, graph paper, and any other odds and ends you might need.

It’s also worth noting here that there are two main types of game you can play. One is campaign style. This is where you act in accordance with a strict story and work towards its end goal. The other is what I term “Sandbox”. This is where you create a world for your players to run around in and make all the quests from your own imagination. Each has its own merits and flaws. Once again, talking to someone about these different game styles can be really helpful. If you are looking for some of the older materials, going to your local Sunday market or second-hand book shop can also provide a great challenge.

The next step on your Tabletop journey to get familiar with the rules. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have the patience to read the manuals from cover to cover. The best part is that you don’t have to! I read most of the basics for each new system I encounter. The first chapter or two and then flick the pages until something awesome catches my eye. The best part about these books is their index. If ever you need to know how much a rope can hold before breaking, or what size category an ogre fits into, you can normally look it up mid game with minimal stress. Personally, I find the best way to learn a new game is by playing it. So, after you’ve had a quick read of the rules and have either a world, or a campaign, the next step is to invite your players around to start messing around. It may be awkward in places. Sometimes your players will ask questions you don’t know how to answer. Sometimes your players will do things you never thought possible because this is a game that deals with dice and probability, seemingly impossible things happen. The key is to be flexible enough to work with it. Always be willing to compromise and rethink something. And sometimes, if a dice doesn’t quite have the result you wanted, you can change it. You’re the Game Master. You can do what you want so long as the players can’t see it *wink*.

In all seriousness though, these are the reasons I love to play these games. It’s those times that you rolled an impossible dice; the times that you all cheer because you beat the boss of the dungeon by one hit point; the times that you nearly die of laughter after that one friend gets arrested in town for flirting with a female guard too much. These kinds of Roleplaying Games are great for the community. They bring people together. For a few hours a time you’re all stretching your creative muscles and having a great time together. What more could you want?

Let me know in the comments below about the games you’re running!

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