Hello! Our ongoing series of articles examining accessibility in games continues with this piece from Caelyn.
This piece discusses depression.
Anyone who has a large collection of games, whether it’s in the form of shelves of physical media, a Steam library bloated by years of sales and bundles, or a subscription service like Xbox Game Pass, has probably experienced a form of choice paralysis at some point. You’ve got some time on your hands, you want to play a game, you have dozens or even hundreds to choose from, but none of them tickle your fancy. Maybe you’ll sort of decide on one, fire it up for a few minutes, but quickly find that it isn’t holding your interest. Between the faffing around and the constant distraction provided by the internet and smartphones, your free time is gone before you know it.
Now imagine that was your default state and it didn’t just apply to games, but to all areas of your life. Pretty grim, right? That’s the best way I can describe living with depression.
Depression is a common mental illness. About five percent of the population worldwide have depression at any one time, and an estimated 20-30 percent of people will experience it at some point during their lives. The symptoms are varied and include irritability, feelings of emptiness, uselessness and hopelessness, and can affect sleep, appetite and energy levels. As with most mental health conditions, many people don’t even think of depression as a disability. This, combined with widely available treatment being effective for most cases, means that more severe depression is often not taken seriously, even by people who have personally experienced it.