RPGs and mental health issues

[Jon_Dahl]

I've been playing RPGs for about 10 years. During my time I've noticed that a significant portion of players and GMs tend to have mental health issues. And in this case I count substance abuse also as a mental health issue.

My very first GM who showed me the ropes was addicted painkillers and couldn't hold a job. He has been mostly unemployed during the past 10 years. Our original group withered to oblivion when one of the players was diagnosed with schizophrenia. And this trend has continued throughout my playing career. At one point I did have a relatively sane group, but nowadays half of my group has some "stuff" in their past (homelessness, alcoholism, spending some time in asylum etc.). One player was particularly bad, really depressed. I let her go. But I have to say that her crazy stuff was really bugging me, but I couldn't say anything to her. How could I?

I can't say that I've had so many hobbies in my life, but I've had some. Well I guess being a football referee was the only social hobby that I had... But anyway, IME I don't see this sort of stuff in other past-time activities. At least not to the same extend.

Has anyone else noticed that our hobby has unusual high percentage of mentally unstable people or is it just me? Or do you think I'm drawing the wrong conclusions?

 

[Dordledum]

Fantasy/D&D/Gaming is a form of escapism, so is substance abuse. It stands to reason that it caters to the same demography.

We've had a few depressed players in our group (including one suicide), and more than one alcoholic. Bad times.

 

[Recidivism]

It's not terribly surprising that gaming has an unusually high percentage of people who wish to escape into fantasy. That's the draw of gaming for many, and particularly for those with serious problems elsewhere in their lives.

It also happens that gaming is a somewhat frowned upon subculture. Cultural attitudes are of course complex and personal to individuals, but I've never seen people refusing to associate with others because, for example, they might have an alcohol problem. Meanwhile, it's pretty common for gamers to be seen as social pariahs. Gamers are pushed into contact with any number of other subcultures and outcasts, which often means taking in people who have problems of various types and severity.

There's also the angle that gaming is social and collaborative to a degree that a lot of other activities aren't, and it puts a magnifying glass on people. If I go to a movie or a concert I'm doing something normal and mainstream, but I have no clue about the baggage other people around me are carrying around. Gaming is a hobby where a group of people sit around and try to collaborate on a shared imaginative vision of a story. I know so-and-so in my group is in love with robots and will latch onto any theme involving scientific concepts or technology, I know such-and-such is there to be a goofball and joke around, etc.

 

[Cor Azer]

I've been playing RPGs for about 10 years. During my time I've noticed that a significant portion of players and GMs tend to have mental health issues. And in this case I count substance abuse also as a mental health issue.

My very first GM who showed me the ropes was addicted painkillers and couldn't hold a job. He has been mostly unemployed during the past 10 years. Our original group withered to oblivion when one of the players was diagnosed with schizophrenia. And this trend has continued throughout my playing career. At one point I did have a relatively sane group, but nowadays half of my group has some "stuff" in their past (homelessness, alcoholism, spending some time in asylum etc.). One player was particularly bad, really depressed. I let her go. But I have to say that her crazy stuff was really bugging me, but I couldn't say anything to her. How could I?

I can't say that I've had so many hobbies in my life, but I've had some. Well I guess being a football referee was the only social hobby that I had... But anyway, IME I don't see this sort of stuff in other past-time activities. At least not to the same extend.

Has anyone else noticed that our hobby has unusual high percentage of mentally unstable people or is it just me? Or do you think I'm drawing the wrong conclusions?

I do think you're extrapolating too much, particularly when you're also stretching the definition of mental health issues (even if only a little).

To be fair, I've never done an assessment of my players, so this is both observational and anecdotal, but there's been, I'd wager, one player in my 20+ years who has battled (and, god-bless her, is currently winning) against depression. That's out of hubdreds of players.

I would say that's below a national average, although I have no sources to cite.

 

[Lwaxy]

Nah, they just stick out more. For example, RPGs are about the only social thing many of us autistics do, so it's just noticed more. You have the same number of "mental health" issues in most places I guess, just you don't usually notice. Like mentioned before, in a concert, art exhibition, science fair, movie theater, soccer game, craft shop, you name it, you won't notice because you either don't talk to people at all or not long enough to see anything. And you'll not know if people have a job or not or are in relationships etc.

Asides, if you don't have a job, it is extremely important to keep yourself busy with something that matters to you. So it is no wonder that people who might originally just be a little interested in RPGs make them their main focus if they have nothing else to do. I do that, too. I've always been unable to work, and if I would have to sit around all day just reading or watching TV I'd go mad. I need to be creative.

It is probably hard to imagine for someone who works regularly, but having no work means a lot less social contacts as you have nowhere to go daily, and some people will probably consider you lazy and avoid you. Not to talk about generally having less money to go anywhere (not true for me though). The RPG community is generally more accepting or respectively does not care. As long as you don't smell, stay in character and don't hog the spotlight you are usually fine.

Regarding your first GM, do you know why he even took pain meds? I know my pains are so intense at times that I'm sure it would be seen as abuse if I'd take medication everytime I would need it. It would basically mean being on pain meds all the time. It is easy to call something abuse if you don't know all the details. I used to think one of my classmates at office school was an alcoholic for drinking a little before class, but later found out it was the absolute only way for him to calm his anxiety enough to be able to learn and interact at all. He never drank any other time, but to a casual observer, drinking early = alcoholism/abuse.

And yeah, being able to pretend to be someone else helps immensely if you hate your current life. I actually had a kid come out of depression recently thanks to being able to RPG.

 

[Zelda Themelin]

Some have, some not. I've met rpg people that had mental issues like that. However, it wasn't so common in table-top rpg groups, but more so in larp-circles. Also, most of people, who were anime/manga fans had all some kinda mental/addiction/social problems. I ended hanging with them, not because I have them really, but I like weird people. I find them interesting. Know know, some people like to watch real tv, I like to meet weirdos in real life.

More common was found shy people, who become more social when they played rpg:s and got friends.

Substance abuse is pretty common problem (alcohol) here in finland, and you can find it in any social circles.

I think rpg circles create more open social circle so you more easily find out problems people have. Issues are easy to see when imagination is required too. I learned stuff about people during rpg:s I have never learned under other situations. I think this creates illusion what rpg-players have more problems. I think it's just you are more likely to find about them.

However, rpg circles had pretty wide intrest circles some decades ago here. It wasn't purely for "nerds". And I learned first time about rpg from magazine about computer games and other such. Nowdays there is hardly any new people playing table-top rpg:s. Maybe some children of parents who still play, but those are few and far between. Also rpg:s is condider to be shameful hobby or younth embarassing to even admit when you are over 18. That is more how they are for current generation.

I have learned to notice when people are having some issues. Unhappiness is rather common. Some choose to battle it with substance abuse, some choose heathier ways.

My current group has one alcoholic (through job preasures), 2 normal people, who just like unusual hobby, 1 normal, but socially traumatized (bad divorce), 1 sick (but not mentally).

None of those reallly affects game, and that one person has stopped showing up too drunk.

Still I think my rpg groups are lot more heathy than my adult study groups.

During my subculture travelogue and larping time, I met some seriously crazy people.

Of people I've played rpg:s with (and this is hundrends of people) only 2 killed themseves. But both were young girls with really sad bad history. They actually seemed rather happy and normal when we played. I wasn't surprised though, I rather wondered how they managed to stay around so long.

There has been enough dirty things and death in those other circles. I always consider rpg circles to be the most sane. Bit more shy and socially awkard was common when they were young, but as adults, they do socially very well.

 

[Yora]

I have ADD and RPGs particularly appeal to me becuase of all the "what ifs".
You take a mostly familiar environment and situations but introduce a few elements that are impossible in the real world and it all has consequences. Everything changes when you introduce magic or demons, and these changes in turn have other effects on other things, and so on.
When I was diagnosed I was also tested for exceptionally high intelligence (to my suprise) and my particular field of interest has always been social dynamics, cultural patterns, and so on, and fictional societies can keep me entertained without end. I actually spend a lot less time with actual playing than with researching and writing, and even then I almost always are the GM and set up the environments and situations for the players to interact with. Learning about cultures is very interesting for me, but with fictional ones my brain can go completely wild. That's just the kind of stimulation I crave.

 

[Jon_Dahl]

Regarding your first GM, do you know why he even took pain meds?

He has some serious problems with his spine, I can't really translate the issue from my language to English. He can't afford private healthcare and naturally he has no insurance etc. so he has been queuing in public healthcare for a quite a long time now. Once they tried to X-ray him but he's morbidly obese so they couldn't fit him inside the machine. They didn't want to through any special arrangement meant for handicapped people, so they gave him an ultimatum to slim down or...

He drinks plenty of alcohol almost daily and combined with the medication it's not very nice. I know for a fact that he's drunk on regular basis.

The truth behind all this is vague because it's based on what he has told me and he is a pathological liar. Once I visited his apartment I saw some application form that said Alcoholists Anonymous so I think there is something behind all this.

 

[Bedrockgames]

This really hasn't been my experience with gamers at all. Especially the substance abuse issue. If anything I see less substance abuse among gamers than among people involved in my other interests.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

The sample of gamers I played with in the last 30 years probably doesn't correspond to the mean of the social distribution in my country, but I didn't observe things like mental health issues.

Weight issues? Yes! A penchant for unusual clothing? Of course! Deviating from the school-university/professional education-wife-children-house? In significant numbers!

On the other hand I've played with only a few smokers and no junkie I'd know of.

But mental health issues? No. Although ... some of the guys did have some weird facets in their personality.