I Like Playing Pokemon
First let me give you a quick overview of what I'm dealing with, so you'll understand what I wanna say in my text: I have severe social anxiety and agoraphobia with panic disorder and I do not leave my house until I really have to. I was housebound for like 5 months and didn't even go to school, I even had to go to the psychiatric ward and I'll start my inpatient stay at a psychosomatic hospital next month.
I downloaded Pokémon Go the night it came out in the US and the first time I sat there and the only thing I did was staring at my character and using the pokéstop that's right in front of my house and that I can reach when I'm sitting on my bed. The next day I deleted it from my phone, I thought I couldn't do this, it seemed to hard for me that I had to actually go out and visit public places to get items and to haunt pokémon. But then the hype got bigger and bigger and so a few days before it got officially released in Germany, I downloaded it again. The first time I tested the app I only walked around my house once. The next day I grabbed a friend and we were outside haunting pokémon for about two hours and we even sat down at a park. I didn't panic once and I literally forgot to worry about being in public at least half of the time and it was the first time in months that I actually enjoyed going out. Since then I went to a bigger city with my best friend twice, sat down with other pokémon trainers and even walked around my village on my own and all I can tell you, it was great! Last week my therapist asked me if I play the game, too and when I said yes she got all happy and told me to use the pokéstop in her office and she then jokingly said that pokémon go is the best therapy haha. So, let me tell you, if you're struggling with mental health issues that make you less motivated, stay inside or even questioning why you should get out of your bed, try it! I do not say that it will do wonders, but a lot of people recorded that it helped.
I downloaded Pokémon Go the night it came out in the US and the first time I sat there and the only thing I did was staring at my character and using the pokéstop that's right in front of my house and that I can reach when I'm sitting on my bed. The next day I deleted it from my phone, I thought I couldn't do this, it seemed to hard for me that I had to actually go out and visit public places to get items and to haunt pokémon. But then the hype got bigger and bigger and so a few days before it got officially released in Germany, I downloaded it again. The first time I tested the app I only walked around my house once. The next day I grabbed a friend and we were outside haunting pokémon for about two hours and we even sat down at a park. I didn't panic once and I literally forgot to worry about being in public at least half of the time and it was the first time in months that I actually enjoyed going out. Since then I went to a bigger city with my best friend twice, sat down with other pokémon trainers and even walked around my village on my own and all I can tell you, it was great! Last week my therapist asked me if I play the game, too and when I said yes she got all happy and told me to use the pokéstop in her office and she then jokingly said that pokémon go is the best therapy haha. So, let me tell you, if you're struggling with mental health issues that make you less motivated, stay inside or even questioning why you should get out of your bed, try it! I do not say that it will do wonders, but a lot of people recorded that it helped.
