Geek Discussion: Mental Health, Inner Voices, & Video Games
Explicit content warning
02/28/20 • 36 min
VULNERABLE EPISODE ALERT, PEOPLE!
This week, we're talking about our personal mental health journeys and how video games have helped us.
From using them as a very welcome distraction in our lives to actually processing our thoughts and problems while playing, video games are so much more than colourful videos.
We also go WAY off topic and talk about internal monologues and those weird people (cough*AMANDA*cough) who don't really have them!? So what does she have? SONGS. Songs in her head all. the. time. And the only way she can actually process her thoughts is by writing/journalling about them, distracting her brain with something else, or talking about them out loud. COOL? WEIRD?
Monika also shares some of the tips and help her therapist has given her for coping and taking care of her mental health.
We think video games get a lot of shit for being addictive and harmful - and while we're not denying that that CAN happen, it's the minority. The benefits of playing far outweigh any harm: community and friendship, distraction when you really need it, healthy processing, and just plain FUN.
How do video games help you with your mental health? Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!
If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!
- Geek Interviews: Mental Health and Real Life Rep Grinding with Thyst
- Geek Girl Stereotypes: Identify, Self-Reflection, and Toxic Femininity
- Geek Herring & Chill: All The Games We’ve Played
Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!
Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!
Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika
VULNERABLE EPISODE ALERT, PEOPLE!
This week, we're talking about our personal mental health journeys and how video games have helped us.
From using them as a very welcome distraction in our lives to actually processing our thoughts and problems while playing, video games are so much more than colourful videos.
We also go WAY off topic and talk about internal monologues and those weird people (cough*AMANDA*cough) who don't really have them!? So what does she have? SONGS. Songs in her head all. the. time. And the only way she can actually process her thoughts is by writing/journalling about them, distracting her brain with something else, or talking about them out loud. COOL? WEIRD?
Monika also shares some of the tips and help her therapist has given her for coping and taking care of her mental health.
We think video games get a lot of shit for being addictive and harmful - and while we're not denying that that CAN happen, it's the minority. The benefits of playing far outweigh any harm: community and friendship, distraction when you really need it, healthy processing, and just plain FUN.
How do video games help you with your mental health? Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode!
If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!
- Geek Interviews: Mental Health and Real Life Rep Grinding with Thyst
- Geek Girl Stereotypes: Identify, Self-Reflection, and Toxic Femininity
- Geek Herring & Chill: All The Games We’ve Played
Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!
Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!
Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika
Previous Episode
Geeking Out About The Witcher: Monster Hunters, Witches, and the Duality of Humankind
Binging The Witcher is some of the best TV watching we got done over our Christmas break. The Witcher is a Netflix series starring Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan, adapted by Lauren Schmitt from books written in the 1990s by Polish author Andrez Spakowski.
Aside from the super confusing timeline jumping (Monika 100% had the advantage over Amanda as she knew about this beforehand!) this series is addictive, attractive, and fierce as fuck. If you haven't seen The Witcher yet, here is your VERY FAIR AND VALID WARNING that the timeline jumping is mega confusing. Once you get it, everything will make so much more sense.
In this episode of Geek Herring, we're geeking out HARD about our love of this pseudo medieval portrayal of monster hunters, witches, the duality of humankind, and all sorts of moral lessons you wouldn't normally see on the surface of The Witcher.
About halfway through this episode we give a short spoiler warning before heading into some of the more specific scenes from the series. We talk about disability, happiness, seeking love, and destiny.
Have you seen The Witcher yet? If not - seriously get your ass in gear and go get your watch on! Are you as in love with Geralt as Amanda is? Let us know in the comments of wherever you see this episode pop up!
We also talked about David J Pearson's newest book, Estan! You can get your copy here :D
If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!
- Geek Interviews: Gender Identity and Modern Medieval Life with Jamie
- Geeking Out About Game Of Thrones
- Geeking Out About Robin Hobb: Fantasy That Represents – LGBTQ+, Gender Roles, Classism, + More
Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!
Join us on Discord!
Geek out with Geek Herring Online / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Patreon!
Geekily yours,
Amanda & Monika
Next Episode
Geek Girl in the News: Saying no to dick pics, Raising The Game, & The Witcher 2!
Geek Girl in the News looks at the awesome or not so awesome news that will make you go either: "YAY" or "OMG I can't believe that."
The latest and greatest geek girl news from February 2020 covers the incredible new Twitter extension that blocks dick pics 🙌🙌, the shockingly (not shockingly) male-dominated UK games industry, the female gaze coming in hot to Hollywood, Battinson's new look revelations, and all the hype about The Witcher 2!
A report has been released about the UK games industry that shows some pretty sad statistics for women in games. To all the men out there who say that women are rep'd just fine, how the heck is 28% of a workforce a good representation of women?? Get a mitt and get in the game, dudes! The good news is that there are organsations out there like #RaiseTheGame working hard to bring diversity and inclusion to the games industry. HELL YEAH!
Obviously, we all hate to get unsolicited dick pics. They are no bueno!! Thankfully, the incredible Kelsey Bressler developed a Twitter extension that lets you say BYE BYE to unwanted nude pics of a man (using the BBC lingo for that one because LOL). Kelsey, you have done us all an amazing service! We SALUTE YOU!
Have you ever thought about how films are made? And by who? And what the striking difference is between a movie directed and produced by men vs women is? WELL. It's about damn time you start considering it and how the gender of the production team can totally change the movie's vibe and even how women are portrayed. HELL YES to films being made for the female gaze. HERE. FOR. THEM.
We're gushing about The Witcher 2 again! Production has started (thank you Henry Cavill's Insta stories for being EVERYTHING WE NEED RIGHT NOW) and by the sounds of it, TW2 is going to be: EPIC. Some exciting and controversial (TW Hi sexual assault 🙈) storylines are coming up. But we're super hopeful they'll portray them sensitively and respectfully! We also speculate over who is going to play the role of Vesemir, Geralt's mentor!
And, last but not least, Robert Pattinson's Batman has finally been revealed. And the costume is... well. Interesting. We're just gonna leave it like that so you click on the article and check it out for yourself. PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!?? We're 100% TORN.
What’s your take on these news articles?
In this episode of Geek Girl in the News, we covered these news stories:
- Report details how male-dominated the UK games industry still is We didn't talk about this next one, but it's related to the above article so a good reference!!
- 'I was always told I was unusual': why so few women design video games
- New Twitter filter deletes naked pictures from messages
- Like a natural woman: how the female gaze is finally bringing real life to the screen
- We Have First Set Pics From The Batman and the Internet Has ... Thoughts
- The Witcher Casts 7 New Roles as Season 2 Production Starts
Love Geek Herring, please hop over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review!
Support Geek Herring on Patreon!
If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please check out some of our others!
- Geeking Out About The Witcher: Monster Hunters, Witches, and the Duality of Humankind
- Geek Discussion: Women in Game Development with Three Extra Lives
- Geek Interview: Smart is the New Sexy with Kate Wiswell
If you want to start your own podcast, check out The Podcast Course by Thankful Cow Solutions!
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