Twitter Thread: Tetris Can Reduce Mental Trauma

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Eric Lund
Oct 13, 2021 3:00 PM EDT

@jelenawoehr explains that apparently Tetris, and games like it, engage the eyes and brain in a way that can help people directly after experiencing a traumatic event. Don't go around thinking you can be a mental superman and undo every wild thing you see by booting up a Gameboy and slapping down a few colored blocks, or that Tetris itself can magically cure longstanding psychological trauma, but it's something, and the science is cool. For some more weird eye/brain junk to quote at a party later, here's the tumblr thread about how Magenta doesn't exist and it's just our brain doing its best.

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  • 01
    Font - Yell in a Were(wolf) @jelenawoehr It has come to my attention that not everyone knows this so I am once again tweeting: 24hrs after a traumatic event, or as soon as you are safe, play Tetris. It SIGNIFICANTLY reduces likelihood of intrusive memories: Computer Game Play PMC Reduces Intrusive Memori. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2:03 AM · 10/7/21 · Twitter Web App
    via jelenawoehr
  • 02
    Font - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je. · 2d Replying to @jelenawoehr Literally SIXTY TWO PERCENT fewer intrusive memories after a car crash, just by playing Tetris, in this study: npr.org/sections/ healt. Most well-regarded psychiatric medications do not have such dramatic effects, especially less than a week after a trauma. npr.org How Playing Tetris Tames Th...
    via jelenawoehr
  • 03
    Font - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je. · 2d Not only that, Tetris CAN EVEN HELP WITH ESTABLISHED COMPLEX PTSD! Which almost *nothing* treats. Again, >50% reduction in unwanted images! (However, for CPTSD, you probably want this intervention to be guided by a professional if at all possible.) Tetris for Treating PTSD? jwatch.org
    via jelenawoehr
  • 04
    Font - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je. 2d Trauma is complicated, professional care is always best, but getting professional help takes time and Tetris as an interim intervention is highly effective, according to numerous studies, and has essentially no risks or side effects. tl;dr: ALWAYS HAVE TETRIS ON YOUR PHONE. 27 233 1,526 1
    via jelenawoehr
  • 05
    World - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je. · 2d (As far as how/why this works, that's a matter for neuroscientists to continue to investigate, but the basic mechanism is: your eyes are the visible part of your brain so there are various ways to alter your neural circuitry through the eyes, and this one works especially well.)
    via jelenawoehr
  • 06
    World - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je.. 2d If you're familiar with EMDR, which also uses the eyes as essentially an access port for the brain in order to treat trauma, same basic principle applies here. Except Tetris is affordable for almost everyone and can be accessed within 24 hours of trauma by most people.
    via jelenawoehr
  • 07
    Font - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je. 2d I am NOT recommending using Tetris as a substitute for EMDR for established PTSD, BUT if, theoretically, you were unable to access EMDR and wanted to try Tetris, there is a protocol in this paper that does not require active professional participation: Post-traumatic stress disorder:. sciencedaily.com
    via jelenawoehr
  • 08
    Organism - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je.. · 2d For PTSD that has already set in, just playing Tetris without any other component to the experience is not generally considered to be a sufficient intervention, because you need to actively target specific intrusive memories (similar to EMDR). 2 27 36 603 Yell in a Were(wolf) @je. 2d Immediately after a trauma, you are still in the "reconstitution" phase of memory where your brain is already actively processing that trauma, so as crisis self-care it is
    via jelenawoehr
  • 09
    Font - Yell in a Were(wolf) @je. - 2d We should really all be taught about this in school but unfortunately school funding is tied to standardized test scores not to students' mental health, so... Put Tetris on your phone and the phone of somebody you love today. It's literally a trauma first aid kit. /fin
    via jelenawoehr

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