Toxicity in Video Games | Dr.K Explains

Summary

The video script delves into the issue of emotional suppression among gamers, particularly men, who often excel at repressing their feelings. This leads to alexithymia, an inability to recognize one's own emotions, causing a buildup of unacknowledged emotions that can eventually impact their lives. The speaker shares personal experiences of using gaming as an escape from feelings of failure, creating a vicious cycle of escapism and emotional avoidance. The narrative highlights the illusion of emotional control among gamers and the overwhelming consequences when suppressed emotions resurface.

Takeaways

• 🎮 Gaming can lead to emotional suppression as the brain adapts to the constant stimulation and becomes adept at shutting off emotional responses.
• 🧠 The term 'Alexithymia' is introduced, which refers to the inability to recognize one's own internal emotional state, a condition that some gamers may experience.
• 💭 Gamers may not be aware of their subsurface emotions due to the suppression caused by gaming, leading to a disconnect between their emotional reality and their perceived feelings of happiness and health.
• 🔄 The illusion of emotional control can be misleading, as gamers may feel in control but are actually suppressing emotions, leading to a buildup of unprocessed feelings.
• 😢 The suppression of emotions can lead to a cycle of escapism, where gaming is used as a means to avoid dealing with negative feelings, exacerbating the problem.
• 🔄 An example is given of a personal struggle with feelings of failure, using gaming as an escape, which in turn leads to deeper feelings of failure and a vicious cycle.
• 🌪️ The emotional pile, or the accumulation of suppressed emotions, can eventually lead to overwhelming moments of emotional release, often during times of rest or quiet reflection.
• 🛌 For some, these overwhelming emotions can occur at night when the mind is allowed to wander, leading to feelings of hopelessness, shame, and guilt.
• 💤 To cope with these intense emotions, some gamers may game until exhaustion, using physical and mental fatigue as a means to avoid confronting their emotions.
• 🤔 The script suggests that a deeper understanding and management of emotions is necessary for gamers who find themselves in this cycle, implying the need for emotional awareness and healthier coping mechanisms.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the script related to gamers?

The script discusses the issue of toxicity in gaming, particularly how gamers, especially men, often suppress their emotions due to the nature of gaming which can lead to a condition called alexithymia.

What is alexithymia and how does it relate to gaming?

Alexithymia is the inability to recognize one's internal emotional state. In the context of gaming, it refers to gamers not being aware of their own emotions due to parts of their brain suppressing them, often as a result of excessive gaming.

Why do gamers feel like they are in control of their emotions?

Gamers feel in control of their emotions because they can suppress them, allowing them to remain calm in situations where others might show strong emotional reactions, such as watching a sad movie.

How does the suppression of emotions in gamers lead to a problem?

The suppression of emotions leads to a buildup of unprocessed feelings inside the gamers. This emotional buildup can eventually surface and negatively impact their lives, creating a cycle of emotional avoidance and reliance on gaming.

What is the term used to describe the illusion that gamers have about their emotional state?

The term used is 'lexicon', which in this context refers to the illusion that gamers are not experiencing negative emotions due to their ability to suppress them.

How does the speaker describe their personal experience with gaming and emotional suppression?

The speaker describes feeling like a failure and using gaming as a means to escape these feelings. Over time, this led to a vicious cycle where the more they felt like a failure, the more they turned to gaming, which in turn made them feel more stuck and failed.

What is the vicious cycle that the speaker describes in their personal experience?

The vicious cycle involves feeling like a failure, using gaming as an escape, and then feeling more like a failure as a result of the time spent gaming and the lack of progress in life, leading to more gaming.

Why do gamers turn to video games to manage their emotions?

Gamers turn to video games to manage their emotions because gaming leads to escapism, allowing them to avoid dealing with their emotional buildup and the feelings of failure or disappointment.

What moments are particularly challenging for gamers in terms of dealing with their suppressed emotions?

Moments when gamers are not actively gaming, such as when going to bed at night, can be challenging as their minds start to wander and they confront their suppressed emotions, leading to overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, shame, and guilt.

How does the speaker describe the emotional impact of gaming until exhaustion?

The speaker describes gaming until exhaustion as a way to avoid confronting suppressed emotions, as the mental exhaustion allows them to pass out and avoid the overwhelming feelings that would otherwise surface when they are not gaming.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Gaming and Emotional Suppression

This paragraph discusses the impact of gaming on emotional health, particularly among men. It highlights how gaming can lead to 'Alexithymia', a condition where individuals struggle to recognize and understand their own emotions. The speaker explains that gaming suppresses emotional circuitry, causing players to feel emotionally numb. This suppression can lead to a buildup of unacknowledged emotions that eventually surface and affect their lives. The speaker uses personal anecdotes to illustrate how gaming can create a cycle of emotional avoidance and escalating feelings of failure.

Keywords

💡Toxicity

Toxicity in this context refers to the negative effects that excessive gaming can have on a person's mental and emotional health. It is a central theme of the video as the speaker discusses how gaming can lead to emotional suppression and a disconnection from one's internal emotional state. The speaker uses this term to highlight the potential dangers of gaming addiction and its impact on a person's life.

💡Emotional Suppression

Emotional suppression is the act of inhibiting or ignoring one's emotions. In the video, it is mentioned that gaming can lead to emotional suppression, where gamers become adept at ignoring their feelings. This suppression is linked to the development of alexithymia, a condition where individuals struggle to recognize and understand their own emotions. The speaker uses this concept to explain how gamers might feel in control of their emotions, but are actually suppressing them, leading to a buildup of unprocessed emotions.

💡Alexithymia

Alexithymia is a term used in the video to describe the inability to recognize and understand one's own emotional state. The speaker explains that gamers can develop alexithymia due to the emotional suppression that occurs during gaming. This condition is significant in the video as it helps to illustrate the disconnect between a gamer's perceived emotional state and their actual, suppressed emotions.

💡Emotional Circuitry

Emotional circuitry refers to the neural pathways in the brain that are responsible for processing emotions. The speaker suggests that gaming can 'shut off' these pathways, leading to a reduced ability to feel and recognize emotions. This concept is crucial in understanding how gaming can affect a person's emotional health and contribute to alexithymia.

💡Gamers

Gamers are the primary audience and subject of the video. The speaker discusses the unique challenges that gamers face, such as emotional suppression and alexithymia. The term is used to emphasize the specific group of individuals who are most likely to experience the negative effects of gaming discussed in the video.

💡Escapism

Escapism is the act of seeking distraction or relief from reality, often through activities like gaming. In the video, the speaker describes how gaming can serve as an escape from negative emotions and feelings of failure. This concept is important as it explains why gamers might turn to gaming to avoid dealing with their emotions, leading to a cycle of emotional suppression.

💡Vicious Cycle

A vicious cycle is a sequence of events where one event leads to another, which in turn leads back to the first, creating a continuous and often harmful loop. The speaker uses this term to describe the cycle of emotional suppression and gaming addiction. As gamers suppress their emotions through gaming, they become more reliant on gaming to manage their feelings, perpetuating the cycle.

💡Failure

Feelings of failure are a recurring theme in the video, used to illustrate the emotional struggles that gamers might experience. The speaker shares a personal anecdote about feeling like a failure and how gaming became a means to escape these feelings. This term is significant as it highlights the emotional triggers that can lead to gaming addiction and emotional suppression.

💡Hopelessness

Hopelessness is a deep feeling of despair and lack of hope for the future. In the video, the speaker describes moments of overwhelming hopelessness and shame that can occur when gamers stop gaming and their suppressed emotions resurface. This term is used to emphasize the emotional turmoil that can result from gaming addiction and the suppression of negative emotions.

💡Mental Exhaustion

Mental exhaustion refers to a state of extreme fatigue in the mind, often resulting from overuse or overwork. The speaker mentions gaming until mental exhaustion as a strategy to avoid dealing with overwhelming emotions at night. This concept is relevant to the video's theme as it shows how gamers might use gaming to numb their emotional state and avoid confronting their feelings.

💡Emotional Pile

The term 'emotional pile' is used metaphorically in the video to describe the buildup of unprocessed emotions within a person. The speaker explains that as gamers suppress their emotions, they accumulate like a pile, leading to a potential emotional explosion. This concept is crucial in understanding the long-term effects of emotional suppression and the potential for emotional breakdown.

Highlights

Gamers often struggle with toxicity and suppressing emotions, which can lead to 'alexithymia' - the inability to recognize one's internal emotional state.

Games can shut off a player's emotional circuitry, causing emotions to be suppressed rather than processed.

Many gamers are unaware of their subsurface emotions due to the emotional suppression caused by gaming.

Gamers may feel a false sense of emotional control, as they can suppress their emotions in various situations.

The emotional suppression from gaming can lead to a buildup of unprocessed emotions inside the gamer.

Gamers may feel stuck in a vicious cycle of using gaming as an escape from their mounting emotional issues.

The speaker shares a personal experience of feeling like a failure and using gaming as a means to escape and avoid dealing with those feelings.

As the speaker's feelings of failure grew, so did their reliance on gaming to escape those emotions.

Gaming can lead to escapism, preventing gamers from learning how to properly manage and process their emotions.

The emotional buildup can sometimes become overwhelming, especially during moments of quiet reflection like when going to bed.

The speaker describes feeling an intolerable sense of hopelessness, shame, and guilt when not gaming to distract from these emotions.

Gamers may game excessively until mentally exhausted to avoid confronting their emotions when trying to sleep.

The transcript highlights the complex relationship between gaming, emotional suppression, and the potential negative impacts on a gamer's emotional well-being.

The discussion suggests that addressing emotional suppression and learning to manage emotions is crucial for gamers to break free from the cycle of escapism.

The importance of recognizing and understanding one's emotional state is emphasized to avoid the development of alexithymia.

The transcript serves as a call to action for gamers to become more aware of their emotional health and the potential consequences of excessive gaming.

Transcripts

let's talk a little bit about toxicity

so one of the things that Gamers

struggle with is that their brains are

so used to like the more you play games

and Men especially

um are are really good at this we're

really good at suppressing our emotions

and games actually shut off our

emotional circuitry and so what happens

is games Gamers become something called

Alexa thymic so Alexa thymia is the

inability to recognize your internal

emotional state

and so what happens is a lot of Gamers

actually are their emotions rolling

around inside of them but they're not

aware of them because they're parts of

their brain that are kind of suppressing

them all the time so let's say that like

you know I get into a fight with my

parents and then I turn on a video game

and then like all those emotions just

get shut off

and so a lot of times what happens with

um

Gamers is that they feel like everything

is fine they feel like oh yeah they're

happy and they're healthy and they enjoy

gaming but what actually happens is they

have a lot of subsurface emotions that

they're not even aware of and that's

what Alexa thyme is and then what

happens is those those emotions kind of

Bobble to the surface and start to

impact their life so what what ends up

happening is when they're lexicon

because Gamers get this illusion that

they're not actually experiencing

negative emotions and a lot of Gamers

that I talk to I'll ask them like you

know you know what's your relationship

with your emotions I mean I won't ask

that because that's a weird question

like I don't know how even I would

answer that but the more I ask them

about essentially the relationship to

their emotions what they come back with

is that oh I'm in control of my emotions

and so when we talk about that like the

funny thing about Gamers is that they

they feel like they're in control of

their emotions and by control of their

emotions what that means is that they

can watch like let's say a sad movie and

like everyone else around them is crying

but they're not crying

um and so they're also like able to be

in uncomfortable situations and like be

kind of essentially like a blank slate

and so if we really think about it what

that means is that a lot of Gamers it's

not that they're in control of their

emotions like Vulcans

um what that really means is that

they're just they they just know how to

suppress their emotions

and as those emotions get suppressed

it's kind of like this this emotional

like pile is like building and building

and building inside you and I'll give

you guys kind of an example for my

personal life like I remember feeling

like a failure right so I would wake up

every day I would skip class

I would like game until I was exhausted

and I'd like pass out at four in the

morning and every day that went by I'd

feel more and more like a failure and

the only way that I could get I could

tolerate those feelings was by escaping

through gaming

and then I kind of

I kind of like I kind of got stuck

because

um what would happen is like every day

that goes by I'm not moving forward in

life and I'm actually failing in life

more and more and more and more and the

only way that I could so like day one

let's say I feel like a failure of five

out of ten in day two it's six out of

ten because now I've up for two

days day three is seven out of ten and

so I'm digging myself deeper and deeper

and deeper and the more and more failure

I feel inside me the more I have to turn

to video games to like make that feeling

of failure go away

and so the more I turn to video games

the less for I mean the more stuck I get

and so it's this vicious cycle and so

Gamers kind of get into this and so the

only way that they learn how to manage

their emotions because gaming leads to

escapism

is through playing video games and so

they have this gigantic pile of emotion

that's building up and I remember for me

sometimes like there's some moments and

if you guys really pay attention to your

lives maybe you can find out like when

are these moments but for me there were

some moments that the emotions would

just come flooding back and be like

completely overwhelming and for me that

was when I was going to bed at night

right so I like finish gaming and if I

got into bed and like my mind would

start to wander it would start to think

about how I was screwing up my life and

I would feel such an overwhelming sense

of hopelessness shame and guilt that it

was like intolerable so what I had to do

was game so much until I got so mentally

exhausted that when I hit the sack I

would just pass out