Many gamers have turned to Skyrim as a place to get away, a place to relax, and for dealing with emotional challenges. See some of the ways Skyrim has helped gamers!

If you are struggling with your mental health, you need more than a video game. Always seek professional medical advice! You can find further resources here.

About Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an action role-playing video game. Set in Skyrim, which is the northernmost province of Tamriel, the game takes place 200 years after the events of the previous Elder Scrolls game. Its primary storyline revolves around the player character, called the Dragonborn, and their mission to defeat Alduin, a world-ending dragon. Players develop their character by completing quests and enhancing their skills. The game features a vast open world and offers players the freedom to travel wherever they want and to choose whether or not to pursue the main storyline.

Escapism

Gamers have discussed how Skyrim has helped them during difficult times, sharing that “If it wasn’t for the ability to escape into Skyrim, I don’t really know if I could handle life right now”, and “Recently got back into Skyrim to take my mind off of how bad my life got, it really does help.” Escapism in gaming can provide a temporary reprieve from real-world problems and can offer a sense of control, achievement, and accomplishment. When someone is feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed, they may find that engaging in gaming provides a way to escape these feelings for a while and to feel a sense of control in a virtual world.

Jackson Wery also wrote about escapism into the world of Skyrim. He had been going through difficult times, dealing with grief and other emotional challenges, as well as the pandemic lockdown. So he turned to games such as Skyrim. While he couldn’t go anywhere in “real life”, he wasn’t restricted within the game. He also found that Skyrim had enough content to keep him occupied for many hours. He didn’t have an internet connection to look up a guide, so he found that “it was oddly relaxing to explore things organically”.

Andy Hazel also found Skyrim useful for virtual travel during the pandemic lockdown and wrote about how exploring its virtual world can have many of the same benefits as real travel, including experiencing the new and unexpected, and gaining self-knowledge. He also noted how things like in-game day/night cycles can help keep us anchored when we lose a sense of routine in the “real world”.

If you just want to explore without too much stress, why not check out this mod which automates the game? It allows you to sit back and enjoy the scenery. The mod can automate travel, combat, or even have your character behave as an NPC in “idle game mode”.

Kelsey Raynor was clear that what helped them was therapy and support, but they wrote: “when my anxiety was at its worst, Skyrim provided me with an escape and ultimately, it comforted me. It reminded me of a more peaceful time in my life when things were less messy and it gave me somewhere else to be rather than my own head.”

Meditation in Skyrim

Exploring such a large open world, it can be pretty soothing to take things slow. Hannah Cowton wrote about the serenity you can find while travelling the game’s beautiful landscapes. For Cowton there is a sense of nostalgia for Skyrim which also adds to its comfort. A mindfulness expert gave her this advice for boosting your mindfulness experience in Skyrim: “practice keeping some attention on physical sensation and emotion at all times, and having an attitude of openness and willingness to feel everything you’re feeling”.

Power up through meditation

A mod for Skyrim VR uses EEG data (brainwave readings!) to measure your level of focus, which can then power your spells! Cangar, a neuroscience PhD student, told Gamesradar “It’s kind of like meditation, you really need to be able to focus your own mind, to be able to relax, calm down, and bring the power into literally your palms.” The mod is available from NexusMods.

Relaxation with ASMR

However ASMR is claimed to work, we can at least say it features calming auditory stimuli, such as gentle satisfying noises, that many people find relaxing. Aimee Hart wrote about video game ASMR, which she checked out for help with getting to sleep. One gamer talked about watching theASMRnerd on Youtube for help with insomnia, including videos with soothing walks through Skyrim. He said: “When playing Skyrim I never really stopped to see how peaceful it was… Hearing someone whisper over it, and sometimes, just talk randomly about their day… It was soothing and fun.”

Chilling in cosy taverns

Skyrim is already known as a great game for escapism, but Andy Kelly especially found its taverns to be spaces of comfort. They give a relieving feeling of safety from the cold. Taverns also act as social hubs, full of chatter and lore to explore. And, of course, taverns in video games are usually associated with rest and recuperation. Do you like the warm and inviting atmosphere of crackling fires, soft lighting, and ambient music? Kelly wrote “These places evoke the same feeling as other video game safe spaces, like Resident Evil’s save rooms, making you feel instantly at ease”.

Depression

Depression is a mental health condition with various symptoms, including losing interest in things you enjoyed before. It can also zap your energy and concentration, so it’s no wonder video games can become difficult to play if you have depression. Caelyn Ellis shared how depression affected her in this way, but how certain games have helped “puncture the horrible brain fog” she feels when she’s unwell. Skyrim is her top pick, as it can be played how the player wants, and in digestible bites. It offers freedom but still has an overall narrative hook to keep her invested. And mods help her to tune her experience to exactly what she needs from a game at the time. She wrote: “When you’re struggling to find any real pleasure in life, simply being able to enjoy something becomes a rare and important treasure”.

James McMahon also wrote about having depression while playing Skyrim. He, too, felt he had no energy and had lost all interest in the world. While he obviously credits medication and support for his recovery, he also feels that Skyrim saved him. It allowed him to explore a virtual world when “real life” activity was too draining. “when I needed a holiday, yet couldn’t leave my sofa,” he wrote, “Skyrim was there for me. Skyrim was there for me when I needed to press pause on my life and rebuild.”

Seasonal affective disorder

Seasonal affective disorder is also known as “winter depression” because it causes similar symptoms to depression (such as low mood, loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, and loss of energy and concentration) during winter months. Morgan Dykeman felt trapped in her home and depressed during winter, and gave Skyrim a try, making it possible to go on virtual hikes. She became keen to talk to characters in the game while she couldn’t focus on conversations in the “real world”. She liked that it was easy to engage with, while she lacked energy for other things. She wrote: “It was giving me something that I couldn’t give to myself: motivation, excitement, even joy”. Even as she moved past playing the game, she carried some of the growth she experienced in the game (such as developing an interest in plants, and gaining curiosity in speaking to people) into her real life.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Though she’d gone through therapy for PTSD, Ashley Blooms still felt she needed escapism. She found other video games hard to get into as “I’d already struggled to feel like I controlled my body in real life”. But she clicked with Skyrim, not only finding it useful for escapism, but also learning ways to think about her future without feeling overwhelmed. She shared three important lessons she’d gained from Skyrim on how to live a full life with PTSD.

Firstly, she was easily startled by enemies, and so she found it useful to have an in-game companion for support in combat, and she found the support of others in real life important, too. She also doesn’t judge herself as harshly for her real life decisions, because Skyrim also allows you to approach challenges in various ways which are all valid. Finally, she remembers that even in the most hostile game environments, there are usually waypoints (such as glowing mushrooms!) guiding you forwards. Likewise, in real life, when she is feeling overwhelmed, she focuses on waypoints that can guide her forwards, such as medication, mindfulness, and the support of others.

Rory Bristol also wrote about how Skyrim helps them with PTSD, including dealing with fight-or-flight situations in safe (virtual) conditions. When they experienced anger due to flashbacks, Skyrim gives them an outlet for that anger and allows them to feel a sense of power when they feel powerless and weak in real life. And when they are feeling low and apathetic, they complete small tasks in Skyrim for a sense of achievement, which can improve their functioning in real life.

A reason to keep living

One player shared how the game kept them from ending their own life, finding the game immersive and distracting enough to keep their mind away from suicidal thoughts. But it wasn’t just the game that kept them going; soon they began to think of all the things they would miss out on if they died. They were encouraged to seek help for their mental health. Ultimately this is a story of finding or creating your own meaning in life. They said: “Find your dragon to vanquish. Find your reason to keep moving forward. Embrace the side-quests. Be your own hero.” If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, we can point you towards help.

Helping with eating disorder

Nicole Carpenter wrote about how elements of Skyrim resonated with her recovery from anorexia. She’s clear that the game didn’t actually have a bearing on her recovery, but it did feature mechanics that allowed her to have a different relationship with food in the game, without such need for control over her intake. She could eat more freely in the game because “food was survival”, and it “set a precedent for how I needed to approach my life”.

Summary

In the ever-evolving world of gaming, Skyrim stands out as a beacon of hope and resilience. It demonstrates that even in the face of life’s toughest challenges, virtual realms can offer genuine comfort and a renewed sense of purpose. As players navigate its vast landscapes and face its myriad adventures, they find not just an escape, but a means of healing and empowerment. Skyrim, in its own unique way, reminds us of the profound impact that games can have on our mental well-being, offering solace and strength when we need it most.