Treating Fibromyalgia & ME/CFS With ... Child's Play?
Video games get a bad rap a lot of the time for how they may be influencing kids, but now science is starting to hail the benefits of video games. In recent months, I've seen two new bits of evidence that playing video games could be good for those of us with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS).
- Studies show virtual-reality games can effectively reduce pain by distracting your brain.
- New findings presented recently at the American Psychological Association's annual convention show that these games may help your critical thinking skills.
We could all use something to ease our pain and sharpen our minds! I haven't dealved into the virtual-reality games like World of Warcraft (which is the one credited with enhancing certain mental skills), but I know at my worst times I do spend a lot of time playing online games like Sudoku, Tetris and Boggle. I think even these less intensive games help me cope with pain, and I also think they help clear my fibrofog.
I see a couple of other benefits video games could provide to us:
- They help pass the time when you can't do anything else.
- Interactive online games can provide you with social contacts that aren't impacted by your health.
Do you find relief from video games? What other activities occupy your time and your mind? Take the poll, and leave your comments here or in About.com's Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forum.
Comments
I am hooked on hidden object games. It is great exercise for your memory because as you go through the levels, you do better by remembering where you saw that object before. My top favorite for length and interest is Big City Adventure: San Francisco and Big City Adventure: Sydney. You can find them at Real Arcade or Gamehouse.com or any other major game site. You can try the demo versions for free.
Good Lord YES!!! I play those games all of the time and i’m so glad they are available online. They do help to distract oneself from the pain…if only for a little while. I’ve met many ladies with fibromyalgia and the majority of them entertain themselves with video games. Anything that I can do to take my mind off of my aches and pains is on my A+ list.
My dh bought me a DS for Mother’s Day. It is a way to escape or even just slow down. If I’m not playing a game, I’m thinking of all the things I ought to do but can’t.
Tetris. Gives many small, achievable goals. But don’t forget to rest and move around once in a while.
Crosswords. Just hard enough to make me think; sometimes I even learn a few new words.
“Painting” digital pictures is relaxing and absorbing. It’s not even messy, and takes up almost no space! No wonder I think that PCs are the best thing since sliced cheese.
Making music has similar benefits. And you can take as much time as you want, when you want; ten minutes today to jot down a theme, fifteen minutes tomorrow to flesh out the phrasing, a half-hour next week sometime to add some chords.
Informative and beautiful documentaries on TV will relax and instruct. Choose colour, not black-and-white; avoid depictions of the world’s misery until you can handle your own.
Reading good books takes you out of yourself. Fiction or non-fiction, as long as you find it absorbing, it’s all good. Presently enjoying the hundred-year-old Confessions of a Beachcomber by EJ Banfield.
Cuddling and caring for a family member. My wife and daughter - both with their own health problems - are my first-line support system. And cuddles release endorphins.
Cuddling and caring for a pet or companion animal. We have dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, fish and rats. If you can keep some pets outside, it provides an incentive to get outside, even briefly, every day so you can feed them.
A little gentle exercise. I walk around the garden most days, noting the seasonal changes, maybe pulling a few weeds, but always breathing some fresh air.
Keeping socially involved. We have some family members who visit often, and some great friends - many on the Internet who we’ve never met in person. And I make getting out a couple of times a month a priority, when I go to club meetings of the local PC user group, to share and learn about graphics, music and animation.
It’s still possible to enjoy life with CFS and fibromyalgia; I think the key is to remain involved with life, directing most of your attention to others and to other interests, rather than becoming too self-absorbed. Of course, a balance is essential! Don’t neglect your physical, social and emotional needs entirely; give them due attention but no more. You can have a varied, interesting and fulfilling life - even if you won’t make the NASA astronaut team on the first Mars mission (competition is tough - I’ve already booked my place
)