Animal crossing and my mental health <3

[zollers_sporks]

This might already be a thing-but this is my post and I would like to discuss~[IT'S A silly post but y'know]

Animal crossing and My depression, anxiety and my stupid mind.

So-Animal crossing. Animal crossing is a very nice game. You can do many activities~(Fishing, bug catching etc.)
But what has made me like animal crossing more is the way it helps with my mental health.
I suffer from depression [Not totally depressed but I need some advice/help], anxiety and a very weird mind-but i've noticed something. Whenever I watch animal crossing gameplay, drawing animal crossing characters or just listening to the music I somehow feel an emotion that i've never felt before. And to be honest it has helped my mental health (so far).

I feel like i'm in another world when I hear animal crossing..it's fun.

Anyway,, how does animal crossing effect you? Does it calm you down and help you?
I guess in these times we need to be calmed,,,

from
~Jessie <3

Post automatically merged: Oct 18, 2020

I don't know which section it should go in-*Sigh*

 

[Nosfurratu]

I agree. Although sometimes I can stress myself out with my island designing and when that happens I put it down for a few days or so. But other than that, it really helps me a lot too.

 

[Uffe]

It's not silly, it's good. Video games affect people in different ways. I think I understand the feeling you've never felt before. It wasn't with Animal Crossing, though. When Breath of the Wild came out, I felt more at peace. I don't know if it was the adventure, the cutscenes, the peaceful music, or something else. It's great that this game helps you relax, because some people get stressed with this game, which I think has to do with comparing islands, which shouldn't be a thing.

 

[visibleghost]

i never felt it helped with my mental health, but it's a nice distraction from stuff i guess

 

[zollers_sporks]

It's not silly, it's good. Video games affect people in different ways. I think I understand the feeling you've never felt before. It wasn't with Animal Crossing, though. When Breath of the Wild came out, I felt more at peace. I don't know if it was the adventure, the cutscenes, the peaceful music, or something else. It's great that this game helps you relax, because some people get stressed with this game, which I think has to do with comparing islands, which shouldn't be a thing.

Mhm well that's nice that another helps you!!

Post automatically merged: Oct 18, 2020

I feel like i'm in a world where I can do anything and be anything <3

 

[azurill]

I agree animal crossing helps with my mental health. I have anxiety and panic attacks. Playing animal crossing helps calm me especially after a chaotic day at work.

 

[OiGuessWho]

I'm not sure how I would have coped during lockdown without Animal Crossing. As a good friend of mine said, this franchise is prime self-care.

 

[eseamir]

I feel like animal crossing is so soothing to play, my partner plays games on his ps4 and he's always so stressed afterwards but I can just sit there and be like "hey man, I'm just diving for some sea creatures" and relax

 

[KittenNoir]

I find it very peaceful to play but at the moment it is stressing me out cause I don't like how my island looks at the moment. I have finished the front half to way a way I like it but the rest of it annoys me that I can't even walk past that area cause its so dull.

 

[nightglow]

It helps me alot. I feel like it is something I can do or enjoy no matter what is going on. I deal with alot of chronic pain so It is something that I can still do and enjoy even if I can't get up and move around. I just wish I had an animal crossing game as a kid. Those were very tough times mentally/emotionally. I had pokemon at least.

 

[Khaelis]

As someone who has a severe anxiety disorder who chooses not to medicate it (because of my own personal concerns, and costs) and suffers from general mental illness (such as deperession), Animal Crossing is one of few things that manages to keep me relatively sane.

 

[John Wick]

I've had chronic anxiety for decades, and have found comfort in AC many times over the years.

During bouts of relentless insomnia (I no longer have that) it was great to be able to load up AC, even if it was just to go fishing, or to walk along the beach.

It can be very therapeutic.

 

[deirdresgf]

i also have anxiety and depression, neither are too severe but i have moments when they are. animal crossing does not help much with my severe breakdowns because nothing seems to help with those but it is a great escapism most of the time! new leaf helps me the most.

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

It's not silly at all. It gives me something to look forward to every day. Talking with my villagers and giving them gifts brings me a lot of joy. It's also nice to set various types of goals and strive towards achieving them. Plus, the community here is very kind and sweet. <3

 

[Xara]

thank you for sharing; this isn’t silly at all! i also live with anxiety and depression and animal crossing has helped me, too. it’s a safe haven for me to go whenever irl stuff is troubling me. it’s also helped me with my social anxiety a bit, too; any sort of social interaction makes me insanely nervous but with trading + the few instances where i actually hung out with friends a bit, that’s helped me with my social anxiety a bit as it allows me to overcome it + it’s not a face-to-face interaction, which i like . especially with this year being as uncertain and awful as it has been, animal crossing has been a welcome distraction from this crazy year and all the problems that it brought c’:

 

[zollers_sporks]

Thankyou for all your replies!! They are amazing and I hope you all are okay!! And i'm glad animal crossing has made you all happy <3

 

[DragonLatios]

Last night The Game is a mix bag. When i was at a Friend island and he was afk on his Daughter island i think it was. I was Swiming around hunting for the spider Crab. He Let his Daughter game to run for 4 hours. One hour me trying catch it and feeling like a bag of Dog waste and force to stop to make dinner. Then a hour and a half it was left open so i came back and he spot me in game and allow me to swim around. That made me happy he was allowing me to do this. But i feel really good when i catch the Spider crab and he say good job. I Feel like he was looking out for me and helping me. So i feel amazing at he left his Daughter game running for me so i can catch a out of sission fish.

 

[Islander]

I was struggling mentally before lockdown, and lockdown made it all worse and my mental health with Covid is not a good mix when it comes to seeing a doctor as I probably should have done before this all started. I think I would be a lot worse off without AC though providing me with a break from this awful year, and being able to do normal things like interact with people (animals?) at a normal distance and just have a chat. I just like chatting to my animal friends in a normal way if that makes sense.

 

[DragonLatios]

I was struggling mentally before lockdown, and lockdown made it all worse and my mental health with Covid is not a good mix when it comes to seeing a doctor as I probably should have done before this all started. I think I would be a lot worse off without AC though providing me with a break from this awful year, and being able to do normal things like interact with people (animals?) at a normal distance and just have a chat. I just like chatting to my animal friends in a normal way if that makes sense.

I know the feeling. I was happy to catch with other User like it was nothing. Just reading stuff and seeing what at other island nook help. But it nice to be with other for 5 min doing little stuff like shopping or looking for at owl at somehow got out and so on

 

[HailRaven]

I have been playing animal crossing for a long time. Around 2013 I was going through a pretty bad time. The word "depression" was a taboo word in my household. I had to find a way to cope with all the thoughts going through my skull or at least silence them for a little while and Animal Crossing was the answer for me.
It gave me a sense of accomplishment when I didnt accomplish very much that day IRL.
To open up my game and have a cute little animal greet me and compliment me felt nice. Sometimes they'd leave little messages in your mailbox saying "no matter how hard it is dont give up, you got this!"
My support system was very small back then and I didnt have anyone at the time to say this to me.
Family nor friend.
These little animals would bring me comfort, make me smile and laugh.

My mother has depression now and the word is no longer taboo in my family home.
I showed her animal crossing and now she plays everyday. Texts me to tell me the funny things her animals say and she is so excited for me to visit her island. Shes so proud of it.
If her day was miserable she would at least find some joy when turning on this game.

If you're reading this
I hope you're okay.
You're not alone.♡ dont give up. Keep pushing forward. You got this!