
Maybe you have encountered this phenomenon and you didn’t know why, or perhaps you know why but it hasn’t occurred to you to share it with others.
Please remember that even if you are certain of why you get so scared while playing a video game, it is very likely that you will still experience some form of fear while playing.
This is a type of cognitive bias that plays into our anxiety and fear of apprehension, fear of new things, fear of change, and the fear of being threatened.
Video games to the rescue
Our brains respond differently to video games and when we watch scary movies, for example.
While we may be afraid of zombies or monsters, our brains often respond differently to actual real-life threats.
Rather than producing a physiological reaction, our minds show us something similar to a video game; when we are scared, we become aggressive or hostile towards that thing that is scaring us.
For example, when we are playing video games and we encounter a situation where we are faced with a boss, we become extremely excited, alert, ready to kill it, and motivated to get it out of the way.
We become very vocal and active, jumping around, revving up our weapons, and shouting things like “kill it!” as we are actually taking part in the gameplay.
We don’t usually yell or jump when we face a zombie because our brain reacts to real-life threats differently and tends to give us a sense of empathy and sympathy with the thing that is making us scared.
Our fears get overwhelmed by the excitement and fear is not processed by our brains.
Science debate discussed this phenomenon in their video, Too Many Zombies: Psychologists Question Whether video games make us more aggressive.
This makes perfect sense, given that when we are playing games we are interacting with other people and playing out our fantasies.
That’s why the film Predator is an exception to the norm; while some people see it as violent, many of us see it as a movie about a man protecting a little girl.
When we have no control over our environment and all we can do is react to that environment, the story makes sense for our minds to follow.
Playing video games can help us manage our anxieties and reduce our fear of the unknown
Psychologists who have conducted studies on video games have found several benefits. For example, video games can help us learn a new skill or level in a way that is safe, fun, and engaging.
Video games are a good way to take advantage of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to make new connections between brain cells (neurons) and brain areas in response to experiences.
Neuroplasticity helps us to overcome our fears and increase our knowledge and skill.
Another psychological effect that can be attributed to video games is the increased ability to develop “mirror neurons,” which are a special type of neuron in the brain.
Mirror neurons allow us to connect our brain activity to the actions that we are watching in order to create a realistic and interactive experience.
When you watch someone play a video game, your brain immediately reacts, creating an experience that feels just like what it would be like to play the game.
This means that your brain will respond when you are scared just like it would in the game.
It seems like the game is in control and you have no control over it, which can relieve you of the anxious feeling that you might have had otherwise.
Video games can help us manage our anxieties and reduce our fear of the unknown. They allow us to feel like we are making some sort of connection with what we are playing.
The exhilaration and power of the action sequences can help us feel like we are a part of the action.
Although we can’t beat the final boss, it is possible to gain a sense of accomplishment in defeating enemies and having successful levels.
This increases our ability to succeed in the game and teaches us that our brain has the ability to create meaning and direction in a way that can then be experienced in the real world.
Video games allow us to experience anxiety and fear in a way that is fun, safe, and exciting.
Our brain responds more like it does when we are having an actual argument
For many people, the most relaxing thing that they do is play video games.
The brain responds more like it does when we are having an actual argument, where you can see the other person’s facial expressions and body language and response as opposed to when we are being told that we should feel a certain way.
When we are playing video games, our bodies become more alive and our minds become more alert.
This puts us in the mode that we would be in if we were actually facing the monster.
We then learn how to “fight” the monster without having to make the monster see us, which is the same way that we learn how to overcome anxiety.
For people who do not have a lot of experience with video games, it can be difficult to understand the appeal.
But the power of video games and their ability to simulate situations is highly effective.
In other words, just because we do not see the monster, it doesn’t mean that we don’t believe in it.
We might be able to visualize the thing but the feeling we get from it is based on the feeling of being threatened.
This is why video games are so effective at changing our thinking patterns and allowing us to perform tasks that we would not be able to do on our own.
Video games can help us to become better at anything that we do, whether that be driving, physical activity, or even academics.