Author: Paul (---.73.127)
Date: 09-01-2001 23:18
I have depression and social anxiety/phobia. I teach a class on mental illnesses (including depression) and have for the last year. I attended the class for six months before beginning to teach it.
One of the things we stress is that people are different. What works for one, may not for another, and may in fact be harmful.
A second thing I stress is that there is NO magic bullet. There is no magic wand that can be waved. There is no pill that taken once (or even every day). There is NO solution that makes everything all better. There are, however, many methods, techniques, tactics and strategies that can be helpful. The more of these tools that we know about, the more we have the option of using. None will work for everyone. Most will work for many of those who try them.
Are RPG's a cure all? NO! Can they help? I think they already do. Can they help more than they do? Yes. The question is, what changes can we make as gamers and as part of society at large to keep kids (and adults) alive? What changes do we want to make? Once we have kept people alive, how to we help them to be happy?
I, like Steve, am still here IN PART because of role playing games. Many other things helped me not to take my own life. Many other things contribute to my sanity, but roleplaying is part of my treatment plan; part of what keeps me sane.
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