DOOM and Mental Health | Screen Therapy

[@christosmatkaris8697]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Come back with a video about Outer Wilds!! We miss your essay full of amazingly amazing amazigness. You are greatly brilliant!

[@Bashar3A]

That was great teardown of what makes DOOM so engaging and fun to play.

[@Trevor6714]

When I was a little kid, I used to have really crazy scary dreams, and a lot of weird/unexplained paranormal type things happen. Leaning me to feel afraid for a lot of my childhood. But when I played doom, I always visualized the demons as the scary things from my dreams and felt like each demon I killed, evil was that much weaker, making me feel stronger (better) and this was the og 1993 version of doom,

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

Been playing Doom for 25 years. I used to play at least once a week, specially during what I thought to be depression episodes, between age 16 and age 22 (I'm 41 now). I had a very emotionally demanding relationship with this awesome lady, I loved her and worked hard to make life easier for both, but it drained me. During those 7 years, I played Doom a lot.

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

You have a criminally underrated channel, I love how you tackle these topics of mental health and how they're tethered with the games we play. I especially appreciate that you're able to also talk about games like Doom alongside something more cherry and light hearted, it shows your range and versatility as a content creator. Oh and thanks for the book recommendation, just bought it!

[@ScreenTherapy]

Wow thank you for your kind comment!!! 😁 Yep, I want to tackle a wide variety of games and even games people assume are always "bad for you". I hope you enjoy the book, it's super informative!! 🙂

[@ThePond1]

You touched on something that I think is really interesting about doom that no one talks about, which is it’s connection to how we feel about our real world problems. To me, doom is an allegory about overcoming life’s suffering. Hell, the first lines in each of the new games basically slap you in the face with this message. The games tell you that suffering is merciless and inevitable, but YOU are worse. I mostly relate the game to my experience as a trans person. It’s fucking hard, the dysphoria constantly making me want to kill myself, the people in the world who want to oppress me and bully me. Doom taught me that I’m able to not only contend with that suffering, but that I can beat it. It’s so simple, but it’s SO fucking powerful.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you so much for sharing your perspective!!! You're so right- Doom is inherently a story of grit and asserting power over adversity. That's such a great insight, thanks so much for sharing it!

[@Poydflink]

What a great video! I'm just commenting because I wish this was the quality norm on youtube. Thank you.

[@gelfrecs]

Thanks for making this! Awesome insights! (I just beat DOOM Eternal yesterday and it's nice getting an explanation of what has been happening in my brain in the last few days ❤)

[@RusaFellow]

So glad I found your channel. This is informative, insightful and very entertaining. Keep up the good work!

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you, I really appreciate that! Welcome to the channel!

[@TeknoPhil84]

Very nice exposé, thank you. I'm playing doom eternal since it's launch, and I grinded through both DLCs on Nightmare. As of now I must confess, my emotions are starting to shift from "I feel badass" to "I still suck" as I don't seem to be able to improve. My aim is still very inakkurate, even after 18+ month of playing. I still don't manage some basic game techniques like meat hooking (yeet hooking) and don't talk about quick switching. This is how I wonder if there's some kind of ceiling or plateau on how good one can get based on age and maybe other physiological and cognitive parameters.

[@searingburrito]

You deserve orders of magnitude more subscribers! Love the channel!

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you so much!! That means a lot! I just hope that these videos finds anyone who needs them 🙂

[@konquerorworm2798]

Recently discovered your channel, and glad I did! Your insights into games of both indie and triple-A scale help me see things in a new light, and encourage me to look inward in a more kindred way. If I may open up about my recent struggles: I very recently started night work as a janitor. It hasn't been the best for my mental health, given the absence of the sun from my day-to-day life, and the fact that I would ideally like to be involved in more creative-centric work. I'm a recent grad, and given the world crisis, this was the best work I could find, and I can't help but feel a little cheated by the world. In the same breath, Doom Eternal has quickly become a bit of an obsession for me ever since the lockdown began a year ago. The process of mastering this game, the more mindful I become of it, has been therapeutic for me, and I think continues to help maintain my sanity through all of this. All the points you've made here resonate with me, particularly on the aspect of adding some flow and control to a world otherwise spiraling out of it for a lot of us. On the community front, I think it's very worth mentioning KZbin channels like Under The Mayo, RK, and Zero Master, who have been teaching mastery techniques for this game and essentially creating a "community meta" surrounding how best to approach each of the more challenging demons. They're a huge part of what makes this community so enjoyable, be it through legitimate helpful hints, or simply funny "Humiliate the Marauder" or "Delete the Archvile" compilations. With the release of the second DLC tomorrow, I get the feeling I won't be leaving this game behind anytime soon, as I regrettably have with other favorites of mine. I agree with what you said about a fair balance, and I do intend to get more games that lean toward the gentler side of things when I can! But as a good friend of mine put it, Doom is kinda my THING. I've been playing it since discovering the classic games in my youth, and enjoy it still today.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and how you relate to the game, it's so helpful for others to hear this!! I'm very glad that Doom and the community around it has become a tool of recovery and agency for you during this hectic time and that you're playing mindfully. I wish you all the best on your journey!!

[@amandaalvis5958]

So, what do you think of the connection between Doom and Animal Crossing as to fandoms? There is a lot of shared fan art between the group connecting Doomguy and Isabelle as best friends. Just wanted to hear your take on it and to see if, from a psychological perspective, if the games, like their communities, are essentially "best friends" as matching each other, even despite differences in genre.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Awesome question! I've been loving the crossover fan art - it's funny and sweet to see Isabelle and the Doom Slayer acting like friends. I actually think that Doom and AC are two sides of the same coin. Both offer psychological rest and recovery, but in different ways. Doom helps us flex our independence and detach from social performance via Flow, but AC encourages emotional engagement- in a low stakes highly positive environment. Both games are safe spaces away from real life conflict and allow us to express ourselves in two opposing but equally important ways. :)

[@julienvalley28]

Good job!

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you!

[@Thunderwalker87]

You have a very nice voice. But I found this video because I was searching about Doom 3 and mental health. I started to play Doom 3 heavily after my father's passing in 2007ce, it was a very dark emotional time for me especially as my family dynamics shifted more negative/toxic/abusive... as well as my own mental health started to decline. I know that by early 2008ce I was starting to have frequent nightmares about Doom 3 that lasted well into 2010ce ish even after I stopped in 2008ce-2009ce. I was raised in a very traditional very conservative roman-catholic household so the obvious 'demonic' imagery was somewhat unsettling at the time and maybe that had some nocebo impacts on me as well. But I do know that Doom 3 stands out for the kind of gameplay it tried to do with doom. It was much more of a horror game than the later installments in the Doom series.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Everyone's relationship with media is unique, but I also had games I would play when I was in a toxic situation after my mother passed. Sometimes games can offer us the sense of mastery, control, and autonomy we crave when everything is changing and life feels out of control, but as we change as people our relationships with those games can change as well. I'm sorry to hear about the nightmares and the negative associations with Doom 3 that presented years later. I wish you the best on your journey to learn more about your relationship with Doom and other media! 🙂

[@Thunderwalker87]

@@ScreenTherapy I am sorry to hear about your mother's passing. I still like Doom 3, I'm just afraid to start playing it again. Thank you for your prompt, kind, and thoughtful reply.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you! Wishing you well! 🙂

[@praetorsuit6787]

You definitely deserve more subs..thanks for the cool vid it was unique

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you!!

[@thecollinhill]

This is some fantastic stuff. This video is one of many that I think exemplifies the power that games have. Well done! You've earned another subscriber. Keep up the phenomenal work. I'll be checking out more of your vids here soon.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you very much!! 😁

[@a.g.ohayden6545]

Why doesnt this channel have more subs?

[@ianmillado1810]

Wow, I am loving more and more of what you do each time I watch, or rewatch, your videos, since they're that fun and insightful! I'm still surprised as to how you aren't at 100K subs yet, or why no one else is doing these kinds of gaming reviews. Nonetheless, what you're doing is truly revolutionary, and I support it all the way! I love how, overall, you cover a lot of diverse games, from the pop culture classics, like Doom, to the more artistic or experimental ones, like Kind Words. I really do take to heart your suggestion that we should have a balance, a mix, of different types of games, and how each game can teach or help us practice an important emotional skill, or inspire unique, healing moods into us. I absolutely look forward to you covering even more games, both the popular ones and the more artistic/experimental ones. Particularly, I would like to see you cover a few games from all the different genres of gameplay. While I don't have any specific recommendations right now (as I am overwhelmed by the vast amount that exists), I will definitely post a comment if I find one that would be especially fun to see analyzed. Thank you for being so amazingly awesome, and I hope you are staying safe and having a great day! ❤

[@ScreenTherapy]

Thank you!! Again I really appreciate all your kind words and well-wishing, it's very motivational! I aim to cover a wide variety of games, yep. I'm writing up something about this new idle game over gotten into called The Longing. Life is kinda busy right now but I'm hoping to have it done within a week or two 😁 and yes, please let me know if you ever have a suggestion 🙂

[@ianmillado1810]

@@ScreenTherapy Hello! I'm happy that I could help you feel motivated, and I felt really warm inside reading your reply! I'm excited to see the new video or post about the game soon, but please don't feel rushed! I have some idea of how tough it is to do quality research (had to do a short research paper for an AP class), so it's totally okay to take your time. I hope that you're not feeling too stressed out right now, and I hope you had a great day today! ❤❤

[@generativeSculpting]

Been enjoying your clips. Since you're bold enough to dig in to doom franchise, I might as well rather cautiously recommend taking a look on Hotline miami(2012). The game is quite demanding but I'm pretty sure I'd love to hear out your expert opinion on the game.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Hotline Miami is a great example of flow and mastery experience. Very relaxing and energizing at the same time. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@drlove2112]

Great video. So where does Dark Souls stand?

[@nowlwane9623]

It’s sad that there are very few videos about the mental health of a war veteran that constantly throws himself into hell. Even when he can get out of despair, he throws himself back into it for sense of honor and duty only to save the world and be thrown back into darkness.

[@ohno2480]

Hey, a basically 13 year old child here, probably about to embarass themselves. I've been sitting in a pretty bad spot in my life for awhile. I've been having some pretty bad anxiety attacks since the age of seven because of personal family issues that happened, and generally feeling really bad. I never got any sleep, and rarely caught a break from being anxious everyday. Just recently, I've started playing Doom, and I gotta say I'd recommend it to anybody who is struggling in any way. I've been experiancing less anxiety attacks, and I have a generally better mood and a readiness to take on whatever is next. I don't believe video games make people violent, because in the end Doom's aggression made me a better person- Have a good one.

[@ScreenTherapy]

Hi! Thank you so much for sharing, it's very helpful to share what has helped you! I'm sure others will be encouraged by your words. Wishing you well!

[@ohno2480]

@@ScreenTherapy Thanks! You too

[@Wargoat1332]

I’d love to see your take on Nier: Automata