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952564 tn?1268368647

Puzzle games

So, I am curious about this. I have noticed that when I am having episodes that one thing that helps me, even when I have trouble concentrating, are puzzle games. I'm talking about those puzzle games you play on the cumputer where you have to match 3 or more colors and shapes to make a line. Such as Jewel Quest. There are tons of them you can play for free online.  It is more of a hypomania thing, I think, although also useful when depressed. It seems even with racing thoughts, this is one thing I can do.

It seems that matching colors and shapes over and over again either mindlessly or for a goal (to reach the next level) is somewhat theraputic in some way. My thoughts are still racing and I'm a still distracted, but I don't know if it is the colors or motion or what with these games, I just seem drawn to them and they have a calming effect. Has anyone else noticed things like this that help them? Things that aren't medication or traditional therpay?
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952564 tn?1268368647
Bernie: yes, I too get aggrivated when too many things are going on, but it depends what they are and how my mood is. Sometimes I'm fine, other times I just feel like any noise can drive me up a wall.

moonpanda: I too like online games. But, I'm such a loner, I like to play by myself a lot, although sometimes with friends or my husband I'm good. But I don't like being in groups or group projects. I work better by myself, so I never get far in them because they often require groups.

And, just like both of you, I can't read for pleasure any more. :( The last book I read was the final Harry Potter book. Since then I have struggled with reading. I tried to read Insomnia by Stephen King, a book I really enjoy, and couldn't finish it. I tried to read Mists of Avalon, another book I loved, and struggled after the first few chapters. I used to be an avid Jane Austen fan, and now I can't imagine getting through one of her books. I know this is a sign of my bipolar and it makes me really sad. I am afraid I may never sit down and enjoy a book again without huge struggle and effort.

Even reading long posts or news articles is difficult for me. Once a thread gets so many posts in it, it becomes actually scary for me and I have a lot of anxiety trying to read....

But this makes me hopeful because I know that I'm not alone, and that it is just another thing I need to tell my doctor to take note of.
Helpful - 0
1167245 tn?1353878500
It's nice to see that other people need to do the same thing as me. I used to absolutely LOVE reading, but I can't concentrate too well on pleasure reading anymore (I hope that this is temporary). I too go through stages where I play the Sims; that feeling of omnipotent control is quite nice, haha. I also play World of Warcraft (one of my nerdier habits picked up from a boyfriend in high school) sometimes when I'm not busy, but I'm not too hardcore about it.

But normally, I just need to have a sound playing in the background, be it music, the radio, or television. I love to "watch" TV shows, i.e., I have they playing while I read things on the internet or clean my room or draw, etc. Like bpchrisb said, I always have a few too many circuits firing, and therefore I crave the multitasking over-stimulation that these combinations provide. I always thought I was a bit strange for needing to do things this way, but it most definitely soothes me.

I think this is a large part of why I have so much trouble sleeping. I hate being still and quiet, because there's too much buzzing around in my head.
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Avatar universal
Xila - I don't like the Sims 3 either, ended up taking it off the comp and putting Sims 2 back on yet I no longer play it, but it's there as a safety net I think, I panic at the thought of it not being on the comp :-s

I have so many abandoned projects it's actually quite embarrassing but I do tend to go back to them at some point.  My writing is one that I always go back to even though I can go months sometimes years not pursuing it.  My mum calls me fickle because of it.  No mum, not fickle, but bipolar!

Even when I'm not on games I have my laptop on and the tv on and i'll flit around the web for an hour or so at a time, take a break and then come back and start again.  I remember a time when I would read for relaxation but i can no longer do that, I have to have my hands moving lol.

Other times I can't stand any noise at all, Saturday was a prime example, the tv was on, my Dad came over and the girls were babbling away to him, the tv suddenly seemed too loud, the voices too harsh and i wanted to scream and run and hide :-/
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952564 tn?1268368647
Yes, I do all those things!

bernie40: I love the Sims but ever since they came out with Sims 3 I've been angry with them and can't seem to play anymore. But I always go through phases with that game. Every year around Christmas it starts to bother me that we're poor and I start to crochet like mad. I have an entire giant trash bag of every color yarn a co-worker gave me. I make hats, scarves, slippers, all types of crazy things. As soon as Christmas is over you couldn't pay me to crochet, (ok, maybe pay but not ask, LOL.)

paranoid_cataclysm: Well, I have had delusions in the past but right now I think I'm okay in that arena, (at least I think so....) But, I too hate to just sit or stand. I need noise or if there is no noise, then something to do with my hands like play a game or draw. Sometimes I can't draw and I just scribble all over a page or make lots of loops or circles. I tend to draw a lot of the same shapes. I think the games are a big help in this area. Also, I do have a lot of noise in my head, so I think it does help quiet that.

bpchrisb: I used to love Tetris. As a teen I would sit at my computer and talk to my friend on the phone while playing Tetris. I don't think I thought of it until you mentioned it, but I guess I've been doing this for a long time. O.O

Thanks, everyone! You guys are always so great!
Helpful - 0
1134609 tn?1269272200
In my case, even when I am stable, a few too many circuits are firing, upstairs. So, I play a lot of puzzle games as well; I particularly enjoy Tetris. I'll lay on the couch, listen the TV (watching an entire movie without actually watching it) and play my game at the same time. I also REALLY like Sudoku; but that isn't as mindless as Tetris, so it takes most of my attention.

When I am hypomanic, I write and write and write. I have a blog and have put out several small pieces of fiction. On the rare occasion that I am really manic, I'm coloring in the kaleidoscope pictures that they give us in the psych center. They won't give me my cell phone with my games. LOL
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Avatar universal
Distraction is a good therapy for mental illness.  I for instance distract myself with things every waking moment because I have a background anxiety constantly where if I sit/stand still and do nothing it drives me nuts, but distraction helps.  It also seems to make my voices and a couple other things (but not other types of hallucinations) go away temporarily too.  I imagine if you suffer from delusions that keeping your mind busy prevents it from coming up with these beliefs as well usually and they say exercise is good for depression or sadness... well there is a neuron in the brain that fires when you are doing or watching something being done, so in a way you are exercising by watching yourself do an exercise on the computer I guess.  Plus keeping your mind busy can keep you from thinking about how sad/depressed you feel.
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Avatar universal
good question!  I've noticed that since being stable I no longer immerse myself in the strategy and time management games I used to play.  I was obsessed with The Sims and any games that involved me building things in a set amount of time.  I would spend hours on them.  When I think back I also went through a phase of playing cubeez (match 3 or more colours) endlessley.  

since being stable none of these games hold my attention for more than about 10 mins and I can't belive I used to spend hours and hours on them.

I think for me personally it was a case that these games gave me a sense of control, I was controlling the environment on the screen at a time when I had little or no control in my real life.

I do tend to flit between "obsessions" though, whether it's computer games, reading, writing, art etc whether stable or otherwise and my current "obsession" is knitting.  I've had to get all the stuff, boxes of wool, every needle available, all the accessories etc, yet I haven't been manic about it like I was with some of my others.  A lot of stuff I've acquired from my mum who is an avid knitter, so I haven't been spending money I haven't got - a controlled obsession for a change, lol.
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952564 tn?1268368647
O.O Wow, I'm glad you made it out of that episode! That's an incredible story. Are you Canadian? I can't imagine being in a hospital where people didn't understand what I was saying, that would be so hard.

I'll have to check out that web site sometime. I'm not sure what it is about those games. but they really do help.
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1167245 tn?1353878500
Yes, absolutely! I was hospitalized in November because I took a massive OD of Lithium while experiencing a pretty excruciating mixed episode. By the time I was out of the ICU and in the emergency psych ward, I was pretty manic, and couldn't concentrate on anything or sleep. I don't speak French very well at all, and the hospital was entirely Francophone, and so they kind of ignored me and my pleas for something to calm me down. So, I spent all day and night playing games in my head, which really helped with the racing thoughts. During the day I could play games with the floor tiles, and I could say the thoughts out loud, but during the night I just had to sit in bed with my eyes bulging out and my mind whizzing along. I didn't have a computer, obviously, but I made up my own games, like naming the US states, then alphabetically, then alphabetically but backwards, then the capitals, and then some number games, and then replaying movie or TV show scripts in my head, etc. etc.

I find those types of computer games to be particularly soothing as well. I also really enjoy the website "sporcle.com", which has tons of quizzes spanning just about every subject. I find these really calming and engaging, even when I can't concentrate very well; something about the time limit perhaps forces me to concentrate and zone everything out. Sorry for the long and rambling post, but I definitely know what you're talking about. I might play some Jewel Quest right now...
Helpful - 0
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