We continue diving into the 8 aspects of self care and how they relate to gaming. This week we are focusing on intellectual self care.
Gaming and Self Care: Intellectual
Kailin
What is Intellectual Self Care?
We are continuing our self care series and this week we are taking a look at the intellectual dimension, which is defined by Stoewen DL as “maintaining curiosity about all there is to learn, valuing lifelong learning, and responding positively to intellectual challenges while discovering the potential for sharing your gifts with others” Furthermore, intellectual self-care has been shown to recharge your brain, increase happiness, and decrease your risk of dementia.
So again.. How does gaming fit into this?
One of the best things about gaming is the variety of game styles, strategies, and stories that exist in the gaming world, lending itself to a natural curiosity and a never-ending supply of lifelong learning. There is always a new game to learn or even a new strategy to try in a game you already love. Not to mention that the game changes in one way or another with different players.
Varying Games and Intellectual self care
In addition to a natural curiosity, games also lend themselves to various play styles and strategies and in some cases tap into artistic ability. Some games require you to glue and paint the pieces before you are able to play (which opens up a whole new world of learning opportunities!) Some games are about resource management while others are about the areas you control. Some games rely on social deduction while others are about storytelling. Some games foster a team approach while others still are about the competition. There are a lot of options what comes to games, so learning a new skill is always a possibility.
Teaching Games and Intellectual self-care
One of the best things about games though - is teaching others how to play! Which is another component of intellectual self-care. Being able to teach another person how to play a game works your brain in a different way than just playing the game does while also aiding in community building and social self-care.
Well... there you go! Reason #3 to play games - it stimulates your brain and helps with intellectual self care. Join us next week for a couple more reasons to play games!