Video games can be a helpful way to relax after a stressful day, but excessive gaming may increase anxiety levels.1 Video games are often violent and competitive, which can cause a spike in cortisol and anxiety. Sitting in front of a screen for hours can also impact sleep and reduce how active and social a person is, which further increases anxiety.
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Can Video Games Cause Anxiety?
Video games can cause anxiety and also worsen pre-existing anxiety disorders. Gory, competitive, or violent video game content can overstimulate the central nervous system, signaling danger to the brain and triggering anxiety.Video games can also create pressure to achieve certain goals and cause a fear of failure, which can worsen anxiety.
Additionally, video games are created to be addictive and can cause someone to become “stuck” in the fantasy of gameplay. This can negatively impact physical and emotional health, relationships, and personal and professional goals. Excessive gaming can prevent someone from getting adequate sleep, and a lack of sleep can worsen anxiety. It also reduces the amount of time a person spends moving their body, which can increase anxiety levels.
Here are some reasons video games can cause anxiety:
- Overstimulation: Video games can overload the senses through loud sounds, fast pacing, and flashing visuals. People who already struggle with anxiety are more susceptible to getting overstimulated by these types of environmental stressors.
- Excessive screen time: Excessive screen time may increase anxiety by heightening distractibility, reducing self-control, and undermining emotional stability.2
- Fear of missing out (FOMO): When someone spends too much time playing video games, they may lose out on other opportunities. FOMO can cause anxiety when the person has to choose between spending time playing video games and doing something else that is a high priority.
- Cyberbullying: Online multi-player video games often involve a lot of taunting, name-calling, and personal attacks between players. This form of cyberbullying can increase cortisol and cause severe anxiety. The person may also develop social anxiety when not gaming because of their negative experiences online.
- Increased stress levels: Research shows that video games increase stress, although it may depend on the type of game played.3 High stress levels can contribute to anxiety when a person continuously experiences a spike in cortisol levels from playing.3
- Insomnia: Someone may experience issues with falling asleep, staying asleep, or choosing to stay up late when playing video games. Video games can pull a person away from a healthy sleep routine, and a lack of sleep can exacerbate anxiety.
- Poor relationships: Spending a lot of time playing video games may prevent someone from developing relationships in the real world, leaving them isolated and more likely to experience social anxiety.2
- Decreased movement: When someone spends large amounts of time gaming, they inherently spend a lot of time sitting indoors without moving their body. Studies indicate that the decreased movement caused by video games may contribute to increases in anxiety levels.
Would You Like to Have Less Anxiety?
Anxiety is treatable with therapy. BetterHelp has over 30,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $65 per week and is FSA/HSA eligible by most providers. Take a free online assessment and get matched with the right therapist for you.
What Video Game Anxiety Looks Like
Video game anxiety symptoms are similar to regular anxiety symptoms but occur around the time when a person is thinking about or playing video games. Obsessing over the game, feeling restless, or becoming irritable while playing are common signs of video game anxiety.
Common gaming anxiety symptoms include:
- Irritability before or after gaming
- Feelings of dread when stopping to game
- Restlessness or inability to sit still when not gaming
- Obsessive thoughts about the game, even when not playing it
- Feeling a strong need to return to gaming when doing other things
- Thinking about gaming makes it difficult to focus
- Feeling sweaty or clammy when gaming
How to Manage Video Game Anxiety
Taking reality breaks and learning to practice other coping skills for anxiety can help a person avoid overusing gaming and developing video game anxiety. Setting limits, ensuring you are getting sleep, and re-focusing on hanging out with friends will also help to manage video game anxiety and the negative impacts gaming can have on a person’s physical and mental health.
Here are some tips for how to manage video game anxiety:
Take Reality Breaks
A reality break is when you take time away from gaming to spend time in the present or the real world. Taking time away from video games in the form of reality breaks can help reduce anxiety by helping the body relax. When taking a reality break, try to avoid spending more screen time on your phone. Instead, focus on getting outside, moving your body, or spending time with people you enjoy.
Choose Your Games Carefully
Some game genres, such as first-person shooter and sports games, are more likely to cause anxiety, while others, such as puzzle games, can actually reduce cortisol levels.3 If gaming is your only hobby, exploring a new activity may provide much-needed anxiety relief. When examining whether a specific game is giving you anxiety, try rating your anxiety levels after play. If you don’t want to give up fear or thrill-type games completely, maybe try mixing in more low-stress forms of play between sessions.
Learn & Practice Other Coping Skills for Anxiety
If you are using video games to escape uncomfortable feelings such as anxiety, redirecting your energy to other coping skills can help to reduce video game anxiety. Developing healthy coping skills for anxiety does not mean you have to stop gaming. Rather, having other coping skills for anxiety will help to reduce your overall anxiety and make your gaming a better, anxiety-free experience.
Here are some other coping skills for anxiety to try:
- Breathing exercises: Breathing exercises for anxiety re-focus on using your breath to ground you in the present moment. Try focusing on your breath from inhale to exhale while placing a hand on your stomach to tap into your mind-body connection.
- Engaging in movement: Exercise helps to decrease anxiety. Since video games likely cut down on your physical activity, try to create time in your schedule to move your body. Slower, low-impact forms of movement can also be a helpful reset from fast-paced games.
- Re-focus on self-care: If video games are causing a lack of self-care, re-focus on different types of self-care activities you may have previously used to help with anxiety. Making sure you are hydrating, eating properly, and sleeping enough can help to reduce video game anxiety.
- Try a new hobby: If gaming is your only hobby, exploring a new activity may provide much-needed anxiety relief. Picking an activity that is still indoors and uses your hands, such as knitting, crafting, or playing an instrument, may help you make a mildly uncomfortable change.
- Schedule a therapy session: Beginning therapy is a great way to reduce anxiety. A therapist who specializes in anxiety treatment will work with you to develop coping skills, which can help reduce the effects of gaming on your anxiety. It may help to jot down some things to discuss with your therapist, such as how often you are gaming and when spikes in anxiety happen.
Set Limits
Unless you have a desire to stop completely, there is no need to give up gaming altogether. When used in moderation, video games can offer benefits like improved cognitive function.6 Instead, set a timer to remind yourself to take breaks. Limiting your time spent gaming is beneficial for decreasing the anxiety associated with playing video games.
Watch Games Instead of Joining
Many people enjoy watching others play video games, either in person or on streaming websites. Taking a break from gaming while still watching others engage in it can decrease the anxiety of participating while still allowing you to enjoy the social and entertainment elements.
Make Sure to Get Enough Rest
Research shows that video games fatigue a person’s ability to think clearly, manage tasks, and emotionally regulate, which can worsen anxiety.7 Getting enough rest each day can help to increase brain function and reduce the anxiety that gaming can cause.
Watch a Movie Instead
For many, video games are appealing because they provide “instant gratification” as well as distractions.8 If video games are causing anxiety, movies are a great alternative because they offer many of the same benefits but without the added anxiety that comes from engaging in gaming.
Check In With Yourself Regularly
It is easy to lose track of time when playing video games, and before you know it, three hours may have passed. When gaming, pause the game and check in with yourself regularly. Ask yourself whether you are feeling anxious, hungry, thirsty, or tired. Additionally, note how much time has passed and if you have responsibilities to attend to. Try to check in about every 30 minutes or so. If you are having trouble remembering, set a timer on your phone to remind yourself it is time to step into reality for a moment.
Hang Out With Friends
If video games are impacting your relationships, try scheduling in-person friend dates to touch base with local friends. Even if you start by talking about the game, you will still experience the benefits of spending time in person. Over time, you will notice the benefit of spending time with friends and may find it easier to make time for socializing in person while still playing games occasionally.
Options for Anxiety Treatment
Talk Therapy – Get help from a licensed therapist. Betterhelp offers online therapy starting at $60 per week and is FSA/HSA eligible by most providers. Free Assessment
Psychiatry for Anxiety – Looking for anxiety treatment that prioritizes you? Talkiatry can help. Find an in-network psychiatrist you can see online. Get started with our short assessment. Visit Talkiatry
Can Video Games Help With Anxiety?
Video games are often used to escape from stress at school or work because they offer a virtual reality that takes a person away from everything else going on around them. In moderation, video games can be a healthy coping mechanism to de-stress and provide a distraction from anxiety. Some research even indicates that adding video games to medication and therapy may help with anxiety symptoms.4
Research indicates that the type of game a person is playing impacts whether video games can help (or worsen) anxiety.3 For example, puzzle games can have positive impacts on stress levels.3 It is important to note that even when video games make someone feel happy or excited, they can still stress the central nervous system and raise cortisol levels.5
How to Know If Video Games Are a Healthy or Unhealthy Coping Mechanism for Anxiety
Any coping mechanism can be unhealthy when it is overused and causes a person to avoid their other responsibilities. Using video games to cope with anxiety may become unhealthy when gaming increases a person’s depression or anxiety, impacts their physical health, or gets in the way of relationships, work, or personal responsibilities.
Here are some questions to ask yourself that can help you to know whether video games are a healthy or unhealthy coping mechanism for you:
- How long am I playing the game for?
- Can I stop when I am asked to stop?
- Am I forgetting to sleep or eat because of video games?
- Am I using games to escape from personal or professional issues?
- Am I lacking fulfilling personal or professional responsibilities because of gaming?
- Is gaming affecting my relationships?
When to Seek Professional Help
Gaming can become an unhealthy distraction from current life challenges or past trauma.If you feel that you are using video games to escape from trauma or life stress, or if video game anxiety is affecting your ability to function day-to-day, it is time to seek support.
A local therapist directory is a great way to find support. You can filter for therapists in your area who specialize in treating anxiety. You can also filter for therapists who take your insurance. It is important to take your time when choosing an anxiety therapist because feeling safe with your therapist is crucial for therapy to be effective.
Would You Like to Have Less Anxiety?
Anxiety is treatable with therapy. BetterHelp has over 30,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $65 per week and is FSA/HSA eligible by most providers. Take a free online assessment and get matched with the right therapist for you.
In My Experience
“Like many with anxiety, I learned to deal with my symptoms through escapism. Unfortunately, I was never any good at video games, so my escape was through reading, food, and other things that would give my body the dose of dopamine that it longed for. As I developed more self-awareness of my symptoms, I realized that the coping skills I was using to escape were not working; they were only prolonging the inevitable return to the discomfort that I always felt after stopping the activity. Taking time to replace some of the escapism coping skills with more present ones, such as grounding, helps to decrease anxious symptoms.”
Can Video Games Cause Anxiety? Infographics
ChoosingTherapy.com strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.
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Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive medicine reports, 12, 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.003
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Aliyari, H., Sahraei, H., Daliri, M. R., Minaei-Bidgoli, B., Kazemi, M., Agaei, H., Sahraei, M., Hosseini, S. M. A. S., Hadipour, M. M., Mohammadi, M., & Dehghanimohammadabadi, Z. (2018). The Beneficial or Harmful Effects of Computer Game Stress on Cognitive Functions of Players. Basic and clinical neuroscience, 9(3), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.29252/nirp.bcn.9.3.177
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Fish, M. T., Russoniello, C. V., & O’Brien, K. (2014). The Efficacy of Prescribed Casual Videogame Play in Reducing Symptoms of Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Study. Games for health journal, 3(5), 291–295. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2013.0092
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Pallavicini, F., Pepe, A., & Mantovani, F. (2021). Commercial Off-The-Shelf Video Games for Reducing Stress and Anxiety: Systematic Review. JMIR mental health, 8(8), e28150. https://doi.org/10.2196/28150
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Brilliant T, D., Nouchi, R., & Kawashima, R. (2019). Does Video Gaming Have Impacts on the Brain: Evidence from a Systematic Review. Brain sciences, 9(10), 251. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci9100251
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Liu, S., Kaufmann, C., Labadie, C., Ströhle, A., Kuschpel, M. S., Garbusow, M., Hummel, R., Schad, D. J., Rapp, M. A., Heinz, A., & Heinzel, S. (2019). Short-term effects of video gaming on brain response during working memory performance. PloS one, 14(10), e0223666. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223666
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Nordby, K., Løkken, R. A., & Pfuhl, G. (2019). Playing a video game is more than mere procrastination. BMC psychology, 7(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-019-0309-9
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Oskenbay, F., Tolegenova, A., Kalymbetova, E., Chung, M.C., Faizullina, A. & Jakupov, M. (2016). Psychological trauma as a reason for computer game addiction among adolescents. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(9), 2343-2353. doi: 10.12973/ijese.2016.800a
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Primary Changes: Added sections titled “Can Video Games Help With Anxiety?”, “How to Know If Video Games Are a Healthy or Unhealthy Coping Mechanism For Anxiety”, and “Choose Your Games Carefully”. New content written by Christina Canuto, LMFT-A, and medically reviewed by Kristen Fuller, MD. Fact-checked and edited for improved readability and clarity.
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