Socially Distance and Fight Depression with Pokemon Go

In this time of social distancing, Pokemon Go may be just the thing to beat the blues.

When I first read some research on this wildly popular game in 2016, the last thing I expected to read was how it was lessening players’ depression and anxiety symptoms.

But that’s what users reported, and it actually makes sense!

Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game–meaning it takes the real world around you and supplements it with virtual content. As you look at a real-life scene through the camera of your smart phone, characters appear. Your job is to catch them. Millions of people are heading outside for hours at a time to go on Pokemon hunts.

The game gets people moving around in nature, and that’s a dynamite combination for mental health. When you’re depressed or anxious, finding the motivation to head outside and exercise and engage socially can be extra difficult, but with the game’s competition and rewards, people are doing it. It’s enough that hundreds have been commenting on social media about feeling better.

For the tech savvy, apparently there are ways to invite your friends on a remote raid, so you can still socially distance AND party with your friends while roaming outside. So get out there and hunt some Pokemon!

Author

Satu H. Woodland, PMHCNS-BC, APRN Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Hope Mental Health, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.  Ms. Woodland with her background in nursing, prefers a holistic and integrative approach to mental health care that addresses the mind and body together. While Ms. Woodland provides medication management services in all her patients, she believes in long-lasting solutions that include a number of psychotherapies, namely cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, attention to lifestyle, evidenced based alternative psychiatric care and spirituality. If you’d like to gain control over your mental health issues, call Hope Mental Health at 208-918-0958, or use the online scheduling tool to set up an initial consultation.