Advocacy Blog Blasts Report that Tetris Helps with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Advocacy Blog Blasts Report that Tetris Helps with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
January 9, 2009
A UK study which claims that playing Tetris can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder received wide play in the gaming press this week.
However, a blog which advocates for PTSD sufferers has blasted the Tetris connection.
Wounded Times argues that the study, in which subjects were shown images of traumatic injuries, doesn't adequately replicate real PTSD-inducing situations:
Do they really think a movie is the same as reality? Let them take the game out to police officers in the street right after they had to kill someone in a gun battle and one of their own was killed as well. Try the game on them. Take it to Afghanistan and Iraq right after a road side bomb blew up some GI's, killing some and taking off a few limbs at the same time a lot of innocent civilians got killed in the process, including children...
The problem about the blog world jumping all over a story like this, as they have over the last few days, is it offers false hope...
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Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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Comments
gotta say i kinda agree with this.
showing someone a movie is NOT THE SAME AS EXPERIENCING REALITY.
In the same way that playing GTA isnt the same as doing the things in real life. I hardly think that the participants can be classed as having PTSD after seeing some nasty images. Heck, everybody using the internet has clicked onto stuff unknowingly a few times and seen some horrible things. Would never say id had PTSD though or even came close to experiencing anythign 'similar' to PTSD.
"Do they really think a movie is the same as reality?"
Hey, that's valid research there, Sparky!
That's how it's done!
Take the individual out of the picture.
Show them a movie or make them listen to sounds, and that qualifies as "doing research".
Look at the so-called research on "aggression" and the so-called research about how violent video games "affect" people or "desensitize" them.
If it's valid research methods for THEM, it's valid research methods for YOU.
Someone call the CDC and the US legislature! We need to make PTSD victims play Tetris! We need legislation on this NOW!
:/
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I would have to count them as one of the blogs jumping all over this, and prolly doing so to try to get attention for donations or other support. They are jumping as hastily as anyone else IMO.
I would argue that they NEED to push for testing on a range of suffers of PTSD, from soldiers, to police, to kids, and so on, but I would NOT flat out say they are 100% wrong. Even though it may only lessen the flashbacks and such from 10 a day to 9, it is a useful tool to help. My guess is the same would go for WoW, and other games people can get more hooked on. When people play enough Tetris, they tend to think about playing the game, fitting the pieces together, and so on. So anything that takes up that time which opens of the door for a flashback is good.
The real question is, night terrors. If they can prove it helps night terrors, then they will be golden. Between PTSD and little kids who have watched a very scary movie, it would be great to know about. All in all, they need to complete the study, because it isn't done.
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Ow. Better no hope at all than what is potentially false hope, eh? I didn't read anything in the Tetris stories that claimed to be the cure-all for PTSD, just that it could possibly distract and minimize. This strikes me as an overreaction, and a silly one at that. Would they rather there was no research done on how to help PTSD sufferers?
The study can be read for free from the Plos One website and surprisingly easy to read. ( http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.00041... ) (it's undergoing maintenance as of this writing)
I very much agree that bloggers offers false hope with all this positive news, but I also think that this is a systematic problem in that if you don't jump the fastest on the latest news, someone else will pick up the news before you do and you won't get any visits to your blog. Therefore, it makes bloggers speed read and miss or misinterpret raw information.
Even if this study were to be successfully replicated, there are still practical concerns, such as the willingness to accept treatment, physical disability, the emotional impact of the trauma, implementing the treatment, etc.
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But what do violent games have to do with non-volent Tetris?
- Warren Lewis
You obviously never visited communist Russia.
Triggering memories and controlling the reaction isn't quite the same as what was likely reported, which was probably a form of cognitive behavioral therapy.