For me gaming had undoubtedly taken on a very different form and role throughout the last decade. I used to be one of those people who would have given the explanation given above but I have changed and thankfully games have changed right along with me - but I will get back to that in a moment.
If you have read my bio you will know the predominant difference revolved around a split second in my life that changed it forever. It's funny, if you think about it you know for an absolute certainty there are people every day that are affected by illness, become injured and even die but somehow you don't ever think that applies to you. Well it did apply to me, one minute I was healthy, planning what I wanted to achieve in the years ahead and the next I was living with pain levels that greatly exceeded anything I had ever experienced in my life up until that point.
At the time of the accident I had just moved from where I grew up and had spent most of my life to a town in Aberdeenshire. When something like that happens you're left with two choices, either let it take over and take away from your life or find a way to fight to get the most out of every day and ultimately live your life to the best of your abilities.
As you can imagine something like a compound wedge fracture to the lumbar region of your back (basically an injury to the lower part of your spine) coupled with injuries to two other places in your back can have widespread ramifications. Going from dictating what you can and can't do in terms of physical restrictions to affecting other aspects of your life which wouldn't even occur to you, like gaming, online interactions or even just watching TV. However as they say there is two sides to every story... and from my experience, just because you're stuck in what seems like an overwhelmingly negative situation doesn't mean there aren't positives to be found. For example, I met my wife shortly after the accident, forming an instant connection and found we had a lot in common even to the point of both attending physiotherapists for our respective physical injuries. We both realised very quickly that we were meant to be together, getting engaged within a space of 10 weeks, married 2 years later, then blessed with our daughter a couple of years after that.
It may seem odd that I associate these events (and everything that followed for that matter) with video games, if I'm honest I wouldn't have seen the connection had I not gone through what I did, but it's fair to say they definitely played an essential role. In short that is what this blog is all about... the role games can play in physical recovery, pain management, physical and mental well-being in general... and not to mention the benefits games can bring in relation to being housebound.
Well, that's it for my first post, please check back periodically as I have a lot I want to talk about in the coming weeks and months, including the topics I've mentioned above but certainly not restricted to them.
Thanks for visiting my blog, there is a lot planned for the coming months including the introduction of Facebook and Twitter "Pain and Game" pages to allow people to interact with each other in real time, as well as giving feedback and suggestions about the blog itself.
My son plays video games because he was badly bullied at high school. He became withdrawn and didnt leave the house. He began to play games where he made friends from other countries.I was wary at first until I heard him on skype with an american boy he had been playing online with and who could identify with him as he had been through the same problems too and was giving him advice.He now plays online with him and his friends all the time . and the friendship is now in its third year. I took him out of the school and fought for six months until he got a school he is now very happy in . I think video games saved him and gave him courage through his friendship with the american boy.
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