How Years Of Gaming Affects Your Brain

Summary

This video explores the long-term effects of gaming on the brain, focusing on the imbalance between dopamine and serotonin that can lead to addictive behavior. It discusses how gaming can create a dopaminergic dependence while causing a serotonergic aversion, leading to feelings of inadequacy and lack of confidence. The video offers strategies to overcome these challenges, such as engaging in activities that promote serotonin production and learning to operationalize real-life tasks similar to video game quests to regain a sense of accomplishment and progress.

Takeaways

• 🎮 Gaming can lead to a dopaminergic dependence and serotonergic aversion, affecting gamers' motivation and confidence in real life.
• 😔 Gamers might feel stuck due to an imbalance of dopamine and serotonin, which governs reward and well-being respectively.
• 💪 Overcoming the 'gamer' label involves engaging in activities that increase serotonin, leading to a sense of accomplishment and well-being.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Examples of serotonergic activities include challenging tasks like free-diving, which aren't necessarily fun but provide a sense of achievement.
• 🧠 Gaming can suppress negative emotions by shutting off blood flow to the amygdala, which governs fear, anxiety, and panic.
• 📉 The suppression of negative emotions can hinder learning from mistakes, leading to what the script refers to as an 'XP penalty' in real life.
• 🧐 To counteract the XP penalty, gamers are advised to sit with their emotions without numbing them out, allowing emotional learning to occur.
• 🤔 Gamers often struggle with operationalizing problems because games typically provide clear objectives and rules, unlike real life.
• 📝 A technique to overcome this is breaking down large, abstract goals into smaller, manageable tasks, similar to quest lines in games.
• 🌟 The key to overcoming gaming-induced deficits is recognizing them as neurological effects rather than inherent personal traits.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the video script?

The main topic discussed in the video script is the impact of years or even decades of gaming on the brain.

How does gaming affect a gamer's social life according to the script?

Gaming is suggested to make it harder for gamers to engage in social activities like playing sports or easily socializing, making them feel like they're living life on hard mode.

What is the role of dopamine in gaming as described in the script?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is triggered by external fun or pleasurable activities like gaming, which leads to a release of dopamine and reinforces the gaming behavior.

What is the difference between dopamine and serotonin as it pertains to gaming?

Dopamine is associated with reward and pleasure from external sources like gaming, while serotonin governs an internal sense of well-being and confidence. Gamers may have high dopamine activities but lack in serotonin, leading to a lack of confidence and well-being.

How does gaming affect a gamer's motivation and discipline according to the speaker?

The speaker suggests that gamers may feel lazy and lack discipline not because they are inherently so, but because gaming affects their brain chemistry, creating a dopaminergic dependence and a serotonergic aversion.

What does the speaker suggest as a method to overcome the serotonergic aversion in gamers?

The speaker suggests engaging in serotonergic activities that are challenging but not necessarily pleasurable, which help build confidence and a sense of accomplishment.

How does gaming impact a gamer's emotional responses according to the script?

Gaming can suppress negative emotional circuitry, leading to a hyper-reactive amygdala and heightened experiences of fear, anxiety, panic, and dread.

What is the 'XP penalty' mentioned in the script, and how does it affect gamers?

The 'XP penalty' refers to the impaired learning circuitry in gamers due to gaming's effect on their brains, making it harder for them to learn from their mistakes and progress in life.

How does the speaker recommend gamers deal with negative emotions?

The speaker recommends that gamers sit with their negative emotions without numbing them out through gaming, allowing the brain to restore emotional activity and learn from those emotions.

What is operationalization and how does it relate to gamers' struggles?

Operationalization is the process of breaking down abstract tasks into manageable steps. Gamers struggle with this because games typically provide clear objectives and rules, unlike real life.

What advice does the speaker give to gamers to overcome the challenges discussed in the script?

The speaker advises gamers to engage in activities that increase serotonin, sit with their emotions to restore learning circuitry, and operationalize life's main quests into smaller, manageable tasks.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Impact of Gaming on the Brain

The paragraph discusses the long-term effects of gaming on the brain, focusing on how gaming can lead to a lifestyle that seems more challenging compared to non-gamers. It highlights the dopamine release triggered by external stimuli like drugs and video games, which reinforces gaming behavior. The speaker also touches on their personal experience as a gamer and how gaming affected their life, even during their medical school and psychiatry training at Harvard. The main point is the imbalance between dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters responsible for pleasure and well-being, respectively, which can lead to a gamer's feeling of being stuck and lacking confidence in the real world.

05:01

🏄‍♂️ Balancing Dopamine and Serotonin through Activities

This section explains the normal functioning of dopamine and serotonin in non-gamers through the example of white water rafting. It illustrates how challenging activities can lead to a sense of accomplishment and well-being, increasing serotonin levels. The speaker contrasts this with gamers' experiences, who often engage in dopamine-releasing activities without the subsequent serotonergic boost. The paragraph suggests that gamers need to engage in activities that are not necessarily pleasurable but lead to a sense of accomplishment to balance the neurotransmitter levels and overcome the aversion to serotonergic activities.

10:02

🧠 The Role of the Amygdala in Gaming and Negative Emotions

The paragraph delves into the role of the amygdala, the part of the brain that governs negative emotions, and how gaming can hyper-reactive it. It explains that low serotonin levels can make the amygdala more sensitive, leading to heightened feelings of fear, anxiety, and panic. The speaker discusses how gaming provides a temporary escape from these negative emotions, which can hinder learning from mistakes and life progress. The concept of an 'XP penalty' is introduced, suggesting that gamers may learn less effectively from negative experiences due to the suppressive effect of gaming on the amygdala.

15:04

🧘‍♂️ Facing Negative Emotions to Overcome Gaming's Effects

This section advises gamers on how to deal with negative emotions that arise from gaming. It suggests that instead of numbing these emotions with video games, gamers should sit with their emotions to allow the brain to restore emotional activity and learning. The speaker recommends exercises such as pacing or staring at a wall to tolerate negative emotions without resorting to gaming. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of negative emotions for driving important behaviors and learning from experiences.

20:05

🚀 Operationalizing Life's Main Quests Post-Gaming

The final paragraph addresses the issue of how gamers struggle with operationalizing abstract life tasks due to the structured nature of video games. It explains that gamers are used to having clear objectives and rules in games, unlike real life. To overcome this, the speaker suggests breaking down life's main quests into smaller, manageable tasks, similar to how video games are structured. The paragraph provides a method for gamers to leverage their cognitive skills to achieve life goals by creating a clear, step-by-step path, thus helping them progress in life without relying on the gaming framework.

Keywords

💡Gaming

Gaming refers to the activity of playing video games and is central to the video's theme. The script discusses how years of gaming can impact one's brain and lifestyle, often leading to a preference for gaming over other activities like sports or socializing. It is portrayed as a potential obstacle to personal development and social interaction, as gamers might feel more comfortable within the gaming environment than in real-life situations.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the reward and pleasure centers of the brain. In the context of the video, dopamine is highlighted as being triggered by external stimuli such as drug use or playing video games, which provide immediate pleasure but do not necessarily contribute to long-term well-being. The script suggests that gamers might develop a dependence on dopamine released by gaming, which can lead to an imbalance with other neurotransmitters.

💡Serotonin

Serotonin is another neurotransmitter that contributes to feelings of well-being and confidence. The video explains that gamers often engage in activities that boost dopamine but neglect those that increase serotonin, leading to a lack of confidence and fulfillment. The script contrasts dopaminergic activities with serotonergic ones, urging gamers to find a balance to improve their overall mental state.

💡XP Penalty

The term 'XP Penalty' is used metaphorically in the script to describe the negative impact of gaming on personal growth and learning. Gamers, according to the video, may develop a resistance to learning from their mistakes and struggle to progress in life because gaming provides immediate gratification and suppresses negative emotions that are crucial for learning and adapting behavior.

💡Amygdala

The amygdala is an almond-shaped part of the brain involved in processing emotions, particularly those related to fear and anxiety. The script explains that gaming can lead to a hyperactive amygdala, making gamers more susceptible to negative emotions. This hyperactivity can be exacerbated by low serotonin levels, which are linked to excessive gaming.

💡Real World

The 'Real World' in the video refers to the non-gaming, everyday life experiences and challenges that gamers might avoid due to their gaming habits. The script suggests that gamers may find it difficult to navigate the real world due to a lack of confidence and the immediate gratification provided by gaming, which contrasts with the often harder and less rewarding real-life activities.

💡Operationalize

To operationalize, in the context of the video, means to break down complex tasks or goals into manageable steps or actions. Gamers, according to the script, might struggle with this skill because video games often provide clear objectives and pathways. The video encourages gamers to apply this skill to real-life goals to overcome the challenges that the gaming-induced brain changes present.

💡Serotonergic Activities

Serotonergic activities are those that promote the production of serotonin. The video suggests that gamers should engage in such activities to counteract the dopamine-focused lifestyle that gaming encourages. Examples include exercising, meditating, or pursuing hobbies that provide a sense of accomplishment and well-being rather than just pleasure.

💡Dopaminergic Dependence

Dopaminergic Dependence refers to a state where an individual becomes reliant on activities that stimulate dopamine release, such as gaming. The video describes how this dependence can lead to an imbalance with serotonin and result in gamers feeling stuck in a cycle of gaming to seek pleasure, at the expense of other fulfilling activities.

💡Negative Emotional Circuitry

Negative Emotional Circuitry refers to the brain's pathways that process and respond to negative emotions like fear and anxiety. The video explains that gaming can suppress this circuitry, reducing the brain's ability to learn from negative experiences. This suppression is linked to the immediate pleasure gaming provides, which can interfere with the brain's natural learning processes.

💡Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a region of the brain associated with memory and learning. In the video, it is mentioned in relation to how gaming can impair the learning process by disrupting the functioning of the hippocampus. This impairment is tied to the suppression of negative emotions, which are essential for learning and adapting behavior.

Highlights

Gaming can affect your brain and lead to a perceived 'hard mode' in life compared to non-gamers.

Gamers might feel life is passing them by as they prefer staying at home to play video games.

Babble, a language learning app, is recommended for its authenticity and scientific backing.

Gamers often feel inadequate compared to their peers who seem to accomplish more.

Gaming can lead to a dopaminergic dependence and a serotonergic aversion.

Dopamine is linked to reward and pleasure, often triggered by external stimuli like video games.

Serotonin governs internal well-being and confidence, which gamers often lack.

An imbalance of dopamine and serotonin can cause gamers to feel stuck and retreat from real-world activities.

Gamers may develop a sense of laziness and lack of discipline due to gaming's effects on the brain.

Non-gaming activities like white water rafting can lead to an increase in serotonin post-activity.

Gamers miss out on the serotonergic benefits that come from overcoming challenges in real life.

The amygdala, responsible for negative emotions, becomes hyperactive in low serotonin states.

Gaming can suppress negative emotions, which hinders learning from mistakes.

Negative emotions are crucial for learning and adapting behavior, but gaming can impair this process.

Gamers may struggle with progressing in life due to an 'XP penalty' caused by gaming.

Learning from negative experiences is essential for personal growth, which can be impeded by gaming.

Gamers can overcome their 'XP penalty' by sitting with their emotions and not numbing them out.

Video games provide a structured path with quests and rules, unlike real life, which can lead to operationalization deficits in gamers.

Gamers struggle with abstract tasks because games have always provided a clear path.

Breaking down life's main quests into smaller, manageable tasks can help gamers operationalize problems.

Gamers can reverse the neurological deficits caused by gaming through cognitive restructuring and emotional regulation.

Understanding the difference between dopamine and serotonin is crucial for overcoming gaming's impact on life.

Engaging in serotonin-inducing activities can help gamers build confidence and well-being.

Transcripts

today we're going to talk about what

years or even Decades of gaming does to

your brain

[Music]

if you're a gamer chances are you're

kind of living life on hard mode right

other people are able to do things like

have fun activities like playing

football or soccer or basketball they're

able to socialize a little bit more

easily they're able to focus on

academics and derive like reward and

pleasure but if you're a gamer you're

kind of like you don't want to do that

stuff right you'd rather just stay at

home and like play video games that's

kind of fun and it sort of feels like

life is passing you by hey y'all I want

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free being born with sort of the gamer

trait feels like a really bad debuff and

I know that I certainly felt that way

even when I was no longer a degenerate

gamer so after I got into med school and

even was like training to become a

psychiatrist at Harvard I would look

around at my colleagues and I would see

them like being able to do lots of stuff

and I could do a lot but I still spent a

lot of time 10 hours a week 20 hour

hours a week gaming and I thought to

myself what could I accomplish if I was

no longer a gamer what could I actually

accomplish if I wasn't lazy or if I

didn't procrastinate because that's what

Gamers sort of say right we sort of

think to ourselves like oh my God I'm

just lazy and other people are able to

find like intrinsic motivation but I

can't find intrinsic motivation and I

lack discipline and I don't care so much

about the external world and so you sort

of look at yourself and you wish that

you were different and so the cool thing

is that there are actually ways that you

can change that and the key thing here

is that it's actually you're not lazy

you're not born with a debuff it's

actually that games will affect your

brain in ways that we don't really

understand so the first thing we're

going to dive into is dopamine and

serotonin and we have to have a more

sophisticated understanding of these

neurotransmitters so dopamine is a

neurotransmitter that governs reward

pleasure and behavioral reinforcement

the the key thing about dopamine is it

tends to be triggered by things that are

external so if I use a drug for example

that is something that I'm ingesting it

comes from the outside and it triggers

this dopamine release video games will

trigger dopamine release and basically

anything external that is fun or

pleasurable will trigger a dopamine

release and anything that's fun or

pleasurable will also reinforce that

behavior so when we play a video game

and we have fun it triggers a dopamine

release which is why we're having fun

and then we reinforce the behavior so we

want to play again serotonin is a little

bit different what serotonin really

governs is an internal sense of

well-being and gives us things like

confidence so if we look at Gamers we

engage in activities that give us lots

of dopamine but don't actually give us

much or any serotonin at all and so

that's what creates this sort of picture

of like okay I'm capable of having fun

but I don't feel good I don't like feel

good in my own skin I don't feel con

confident I can't step away from the

game and so this balance or imbalance of

dopamine and serotonin is responsible

for why Gamers sort of feel stuck to the

screen and can't go out and sort of move

in the real world because moving in the

real world requires you to be confident

about yourself but if you're a gamer

chances are when you leave the safety of

your computer or your console in these

four walls you're filled with

uncertainty and a lack of confidence and

then you kind of retreat from that right

because that's painful and it's

difficult and it's confusing and you

kind of come back and then you kind of

think to yourself oh my God like why am

I so lazy why am I so pathetic and you

start to think all of these things the

weird thing about Gamers is that they

develop a dopaminergic dependence along

with a serotonergic aversion and what do

I mean by that so let's take a step back

and understand how these two

neurotransmitters normally function with

like a regular human being so when I was

like trying to become less generate I

started going white water rafting a lot

and I loved it so here's sort of the

sequence of white water rafting when you

first go rafting it's really really

challenging but it's full of like

adrenaline right because you're like

paddling really hard it's really Rocky

you're like flipping around and it's

like you're getting wet and it's cold

and it's like really awesome adrenaline

kind of experience and you're kind of

fighting for your life so it's highly

dopaminergic but the key thing is that

after you're done white water rafting

the next day you're completely destroyed

every muscle in your body is sore you're

kind of like you can't do a whole lot

but you feel amazing even though

technically your body is in pain you

sort of bask in the feeling of like I

faced the river and I survived and I

conquered it and you feel really really

good about yourself it's not pleasure

the next day you're not getting like

activated you're not laughing or

anything like that but you get this

sense of like well-being and contentment

and sort of like this other kind of

Triumph and we sort of look at other

other parts of life you know if you look

at sort of like studying for a test or

an exam you study really hard it's

really painful and originally you get

like this reward of hopefully getting an

A or a good grade but then there's this

period afterward maybe when you graduate

that you sort of bask in this

accomplishment and basking in that

accomplishment is what causes serotonin

to increase and so if we look at Gamers

they don't get to do that right because

I still remember when I was like

climbing the Warcraft 3 ladder and I

made it to spot 83 it was the highest I

was number 83 on the ladder in the

United States and I can't bask in that

accomplishment like I can't go to people

and like No One's Gonna have like a

graduation party of congrats Dr K you

made it to the top 100 of the latter

like each of those games felt really

good but I don't actually feel good

about myself afterward so what we see in

Gamers is that they have a dopaminergic

dependence I.E you have to do things

that are dopaminergic because you're

easily bored right and things are hard

and then those activity these that are

actually serotonergic are things that

you are aversive to so serotonergic

activities are things that can be

challenging but lead to a sense of

contentment not necessarily pleasure so

these are things that require a little

bit more investment can be difficult and

don't necessarily have a really good

reward at the end it's not like you get

a huge Prize or a rush of dopamine you

just sort of feel good about yourself

and if you're a gamer chances are there

are things that you could do that would

help you feel good about yourself you

think to yourself well if I did this I'd

feel better about myself but anytime you

try to actually go and do those things

it's really really hard and that's where

that serotonergic aversion actually

comes in because we're actually averse

to doing those kinds of activities and

so if you're a gamer in order to

overcome that serotonergic aversion we

need to start engaging in serotonergic

activities so these are activities that

are not pleasurable can be somewhat

difficult but help you feel good about

yourself or accomplished when you're

done now this is what's really tricky is

finding the right balance of this

because frequently these two these

activities are like really really hard

to do so you can't like go out and like

go to a party or go hiking with a group

of people or things like that so when I

was working with one particular gamer we

came up with a really good idea which is

this person was interested in free

diving they wanted to like dive without

scuba gear and so we kind of came up

with a five minute or 10 minute stretch

of walking where they would hold their

breath as long as they could not not

passing out or anything like that so

don't do anything dangerous but they

would start by holding their breath

while walking that's the only thing they

did so on the first day they could hold

their breath for 30 seconds and then on

the next day they can hold their breath

for 40 seconds and 50 seconds and over

the course of like two weeks three weeks

all they had to do was go for a five

minute walk a 10 minute walk and you can

do that and they were holding their

breath and over time they could hold

their breath for five minutes six

minutes seven minutes they would go for

half hour walks hour long walks where

they're holding their breath for eight

minutes nine minutes at a time right so

they're taking 10 15 20 breaths where

they're holding it and so this is a

great example of an activity that is

like kind of hard it's not something

that you can really brag about but as

you make progress you will feel good

about yourself so try to find something

that is challenging to do kind of

accessible to do you don't want to like

tack on too much but isn't actually fun

but makes you feel good about yourself

so you can do something as simple as go

for a walk and hold your breath the

second problem we're going to deal with

is how gaming interacts with your

negative emotions when we play video

games it actually suppresses our

negative emotional circuitry so anything

that is addictive one of the reasons it

becomes addictive is not just because of

dopamine it's not because of just the

pleasure it gives us but because of what

it takes away so we have this part of

the brain called the amygdala and the

amygdala is our survival center of the

brain but it's also the part of our

brain that governs our negative emotion

so it makes us feel fear anxiety panic

and things like that so the first thing

that's really interesting is that the

amygdala becomes hyper reactive when we

are in low serotonin States so the lower

our serotonin is the more hyperactive or

jittery our amygdala is and if we're

doing a lot of gaming where we're

getting dopamine without serotonin the

first thing we have to understand is

it's priming our amygdala to be

hypersensitive so Gamers will literally

experience fear or anxiety or Panic or

the sense of dread and uncertainty more

rapidly and more intensely than the

average person and this is why in

Psychiatry if we have people who have

panic attacks which oftentimes will

start in the amygdala the treatment that

we give them is actually serotonergic

medications ssris there's also evidence

that people who have been traumatized

and are hyper Vigilant and kind of

paranoid that serotonin can help them in

some ways too so this is what's really

tricky is we have this hyper react

active amygdala and why do we have a

hyper-reactive amygdala it may be

because of Serotonin but there's another

layer at play here so if I'm going

through life and I'm feeling fear if I'm

feeling anxious if I'm feeling dread

about the future my brain wants to make

those things go away and in the past we

would have to make those things go away

by fixing a problem right so if I'm like

feeling lonely and I existed as a human

being 5 000 years ago I couldn't

magically make that loneliness go away I

would have to engage with other people

to sort of like no longer feel lonely

now the problem is with video games we

can make that emotion of loneliness go

away we can make our anxiety go away we

can make our fear go away and you may

say to yourself but Dr K like that can

sort of be a good thing right there's

one crucial thing that happens when we

shut off our negative emotional

circuitry which is that we stop learning

so if you're a gamer chances are you're

going through life with an ex P penalty

so if you look around at the people in

your like General vicinity right they

seem to be making progress in life

people finish college they get jobs they

get married they have kids they get

promoted they go on vacation and for a

lot of Gamers we kind of get stuck right

we're sort of like in our 20s we're not

quite making as much progress we're

making some progress but everything

feels harder progressing through life

feels really difficult and it turns out

that video games are actually

responsible for this in the way that

they affect your brain and this comes

down to how video games impact your

ability to learn from your mistakes so

when I was in college like I would

procrastinate and play video games and

then like I'd have a test and then the

day before the test I'd sort of enter

this last minute Panic stage of studying

and I'd study study study and I'd pass

the test and then I'd be filled with

regret I'd be like man like if I could

could have started a day earlier or

three days earlier if I had started four

days earlier five days earlier I could

get an A and so I I should learn my

lesson at that point but I never did the

next test would roll around I'd wait

till the last minute I'd procrastinate

and I'd end up getting maybe a b maybe a

c and if I knew if I just worked a

little bit harder I could do so much

better and that's what the experience of

a lot of Gamers is like in life that

y'all work really hard for brief periods

of time and then you do okay but if it

weren't for this problem of gaming then

you would do so much better and so

what's going on in our brain and how can

we fix this it turns out that the reason

that Gamers progress more slowly is

because they actually have an XP penalty

and what do I mean from that it means

that they're learning circuitry is

actually impaired so our learning

circuitry or the learning part of our

brain is called our hippocampus which is

kind of seated right next to the

amygdala so the hippocampus is what

governs learning and memory and the key

thing about how our brains learn is the

most primary motivator for Learning and

changing behavior is actually negative

emotion so if you go to a restaurant

like five times and you like eating

there the food is delicious but the

sixth time you go if you get food

poisoning you're never going to go to

the restaurant again and so if we sort

of think about how did you learn that

lesson through pain and suffering I've

also worked with a ton of people who

have struggled with infidelity and

marriage and once that trust is broken

you can be married to someone for 10

years 15 years you can trust them a lot

but all it takes is one instance of

infidelity for you to learn your lesson

and in some cases this can be so

traumatic that people struggle to trust

for the rest of their lives so that's

really powerful learning going on and

it's governed by negative emotional

circuitry so what do video games do

video games shut off our negative

emotional circuitry so any addictive

substance does two things it brings

pleasure and it takes away pain and what

video games essentially do is shut off

blood flow to places like our amygdala

where we fear feel fear and panic and

anxiety and since we're are shutting off

our negative emotions every time we play

a video game which is why we play them

right because after you were done with

that test and you were like man I really

need to start studying earlier what did

you end up doing for the rest of the day

you gamed and the moment that you game

you shut off that negative emotional

circuitry and you hamper your learning

and start to develop that XP penalty so

what can we do about this essentially

the first place to start is to actually

be able to sit with negative emotions we

don't need to conquer them we don't need

to fix them we don't need to process

them they're going to do the work on

their own we just have to not numb them

out so what I strongly recommend to

Gamers who feel like you've got an XP

penalty if you're not just making

progress what you need to do is spend

some time sitting with your emotions

now Gamers May Wonder well how can I do

that there's one really simple exercise

you can do is if you've been bearing

your emotions for years because you

gained too much they're floating right

beneath the surface so all you need to

do is give them a neutral space so the

next time you're feeling negative

emotion don't reach for any kind of

advice or anything like that just sit

somewhere or Pace for like five to

fifteen minutes the other thing that you

can do is just stare at a wall so like

this is a practice that I've given

people it's been transformative and

revolutionary stare at a wall for 20

minutes up to an hour and what's going

to happen is as you stare at the wall

like you're gonna start by feeling bored

your mind is going to wander and then

you'll start to notice like negative

emotions come up frustration feeling

like I'm being inefficient I'm wasting

time I don't like this those are

actually all negative motions and all

you need to do you don't need to fix

them you just need to be able to feel

them and be able to tolerate them

because the moment that you're able to

tolerate them you don't have to retreat

into the video game if you don't retreat

into the video game the emotional

activity in the brain will be restored

if the emotional activity in the brain

is restored it will start working on

your negative emotional circuitry so I

want you all to think about why we have

emotions for a second we'll really

understand this point it's like 5 000

years ago if a human being experienced a

negative emotion like feeling lonely

what could they do to make that emotion

go away that negative emotion would

prompt them to engage with other human

beings in the same way that hunger

prompts me to eat that's negative right

makes me feel bad thirst prompts me to

drink loneliness prompts me to reach out

to other people that's why we have

negative emotions because they prompt us

towards the most important behaviors

nowadays we have a very serious problem

because when we play a video game we can

make the loneliness go away for a little

bit but it doesn't actually fix any of

our problems so we don't actually

progress or improve in our life at all

so we're taking away that negative

emotional energy leading ourselves to

literally not learn that XP penalty and

also not progress in life the third

thing that video games do that really

hamper our progress in life is they do

all of the operationalization for us now

I gotta explain what that means so when

you play a video game everything is laid

out there's a main quest there is a side

quest there's a mini map all the rules

are laid out you can open up like you

know the encyclopedia which gives you

the mechanics of the game everything is

laid out for you and for the stuff that

isn't laid out in the game there's a

thousand different websites or YouTube

tutorials or whatever that they can show

you where to stand and what to click and

optimizing DPS rotations all the rules

of Life are laid out in a video game and

what you should do from start to finish

someone is holding your hand real life

does not work like that so what I found

when I work with Gamers is they have a

very particular deficit which is that

they cannot operationalize prop problems

what that means is that Gamers can't

take an abstract task like become

financially independent and break it

down into pieces why can't they do that

it's because games have been doing this

crap for you for so long that literally

the circuits in your brain that do this

start to atrophy and wither so if your

brain doesn't use a particular

functionality it starts to wither this

is why we forget languages we forget

skills we forget stories anything that

we don't continually engage with and

lose just like any muscle in our body we

start to become deconditioned and so

what Gamers really struggle with is like

moving forward in life because they

don't know how to take these like big

things that you're supposed to be doing

like be happy well how do you do that I

don't know how to do that be financially

independent be successful find a

romantic relationship and it's like you

don't you're like where where's the

quest marker for that like I'm confused

like anytime I go to a party and I hang

out with people I don't see an excellent

animation point in someone that I'm

attracted to that I can walk up and then

I right click them and then I'm like

okay is my reputation high enough like

do I need to gift this thing to make

them like me and that's what [ __ ]

Gamers do right they're like how do I

like what's the rules to this game where

I can get this person to to do how do I

succeed how do I fulfill the quest

objectives and so what they end up doing

is they think like oh like I

procrastinate because they don't get

started but it's not like the reason

they don't get started is because they

procrastinate it's because the reason

they don't get started is because they

don't know how to get started because

for a decade there's been a computer

that's telling you exactly what to do

for like six hours a day and so your

brain is like I don't know how to do

that so what we really need to help

Gamers do and thankfully we can do stuff

about this so don't panic is take that

abstract task and we need to teach y'all

how to operationalize how to take this

Global main quest right because even if

you think about a video game a main

quest is really long but you don't even

think think about the end at the

beginning there's like there are

checkpoints like there's the first part

of the main quest and the second part in

the third part and the fourth part so we

need to use our cognitive skills to

break down the main quests of life into

little pieces there's a really simple

exercise to do that so anything that you

want to accomplish

anything just whatever it is can you do

it right now the answer is no okay so

this is what you're good at we're going

to leverage your strengths to overcome

your weaknesses take that task and split

it into two parts okay so let's say like

I want to become financially independent

so can I do that like right now the

second no so what am I going to do I'm

gonna break it into two parts okay what

does that mean that means retire and

before I retire I have to like get a job

so those are the two pieces can I retire

no can I get a job can I do that right

this second no so then okay what does it

take to get a job split that into two

pieces okay so like getting a job

requires like having a job like going to

a job for a while and then like applying

for a job or finding a job can you apply

for a job within the next five minutes

can you do that can you do it literally

right now if the answer is no break that

apart okay well why can't you apply for

a job what are the two pieces of

applying for a job that's going to an

interview and submitting an application

can you submit an application right this

second if the answer is no what is that

involved that involves a resume Do you

have a resume right now no I don't have

a resume what does that involve that

involves finding a template doing some

research making a list of your

activities unless you can do something

within five minutes and have that task

done I want you to break that apart into

two pieces and you keep on breaking it

apart and what you're gonna end up with

is a [ __ ] main quest quest line right

like that's what you're going to end up

with you're gonna end up with 50 000

tasks that are very very minute go talk

to this person in this Village and

deliver this thing and then you're gonna

get some XP and then they're gonna give

you the next thing and then you're gonna

go and you're gonna go hunt boars for

boar tails and you're gonna take those

bortells and you're gonna take them to

the Alchemist you got to do that for

your own life because your brain

literally does not know how to

automatically do that so if you've been

playing games for a very long time like

me and especially if you started early

in life it's gonna change or shape the

way that your brain evolves the way that

your brain evolves or the way that it

kind of grows up and develops is going

to lead leave you with certain deficits

now the biggest mistake that Gamers make

is that they assume that these deficits

are baked into the character they assume

that when I generated this character I

picked the lazy trait and so since I

picked the lazy trait I will be lazy for

the rest of my life I also picked the

procrastinator trait and I also picked

these traits and these are things that

are baked into your character but

they're not they're actually

Neuroscience deficits that gaming

induces and if we start to reverse those

Neuroscience deficits if we start to do

things like operationalize our problems

and go through a formal cognitive

process if we start doing things like

sitting with our emotions instead of

retreating the video games we will start

to learn better we'll remove that XP

penalty and the last and arguably most

important thing is really understanding

the difference between dopamine and

serotonin serotonin and how Gamers or

dopaminergically dependent and

serotonergically aversive and so what

we've really got to do is start to

engage in some of these activities that

will are serotonin inducing in nature

and so once we start to do those we will

develop a sense of well-being we will

develop a sense of confidence and as we

develop that well-being and confidence

moving out into the world is no longer

like overwhelming we're gonna cleanse

all those debuffs and then suddenly

we're playing the game of Life on an

even footing

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