How a Game helped Her Recover (bonus video)
After a major concussion, Jane wanted to die. On her doctor’s advice, she was stripped of both work and free time enjoyment, and in their place experienced headaches, vertigo, and mental fog.
But Jane didn’t stop thinking, even when she could do little else. As a gamer, she began to re-imagine her circumstances – from a bottomless pit of hopelessness, to a challenging game that she could win.
The idea began to take shape. Sure, in many ways video games mirror life, and vice versa. But games of any kind allow us to take a step back, see things objectively, and perhaps most importantly, find hope and even fun in our challenges.
Every game needs a name. How about “Jane the Concussion Slayer”? Cheesy, but fun – and descriptive! Now she needed to identify the bad guys, find allies, and start levelling up, little by little.
Her twin sister became her ally. She began to identify things that could trigger symptoms, and find power-ups – small steps toward recovery.
The mental fog began to clear.
It was a long journey to recovery, but seeing things from a new perspective changed everything.
Yes, Jane McGonigal is a real person. In hopes that her methods might help others, she started to tweak the game and expand it for people with other injuries, chronic pain, depression. She looked closer at the research – what evidence is behind which small steps on the road to recovery? What does the science tell us? And so SuperBetter was born.
And yes, among the users of SuperBetter are migraine patients.
One of the benefits of programs like this is that they help you, in small ways, to put balance into your life as you take small steps forward. That is to say, your entire treatment is no longer focused on the next best drug. Instead, you’re looking at a fuller view of life (I won’t suggest any program really covers “all” of life – we’re too complex!). Mental, social, emotional, physical. But small steps.
As the medical community continues to recognize the importance of treating the whole person, they need to sit up and take notice of games like SuperBetter. Whether you’re convinced by Jane McGonigal or not, you should not quickly dismiss the idea that a well designed game could make a huge difference in your life.
For more information, check out the links below. And don’t miss the video, where Jane tells her own story – and gives you the opportunity to add precious time to your life – right now.