Games can be beneficial for people with psychological disorders

The diagnosis of anxiety and depression has increased by 25% worldwide since the beginning of the pandemic, with young people and women being the most affected. This is what the result of a scientific study carried out by the World Health Organization, released in March of this year, points out. In another study, released by Unicef (United Nations Children's Fund), it is estimated that, globally, more than one in seven young people aged between 10 and 19 live with a diagnosed mental disorder. 

The study found that diagnosed mental disorders – including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, depression, eating disorders, intellectual disability and schizophrenia – can significantly impair health and education. of children, adolescents and young people in the future.

However, in this period of pandemic, something previously considered unlikely, has emerged as an alternative to improve the well-being of young people: games.

Considered as villains, for years, especially online games, considered responsible for affecting the psychological health of players, the "game" seems to have changed sides. In a recent survey, researchers at the University of Oxford, point out that playing video games can be beneficial for mental health. 

“Although, player isolation may seem just an escapism, some studies have already emerged to show how games play a very important role in people's mental health, from working directly with the mind, reinforcing memory, to working directly on issues that involve focus and concentration”, explains Rogério Felix, director of education and game development at ZION – considered one of the main schools for training game developers in the country. 

By calling itself an inclusive entertainment school, ZION has noticed that in the last two years, the number of students enrolled in the game course, with some kind of disorder has increased. “We believe that our methodology is didactic for all types of students, with disorders or not”.

Regarding the ZION: With more than 10 thousand students graduated since 2015, ZION has nine units of its own, in the cities of Niterói, Alcântara, Duque de Caxias, Campo Grande, Madureira, Rio de Janeiro (Tijuca), Belo Horizonte, Contagem and São Paulo. With more than 500 employees, the ZION Group has 12 brands, such as Creative Week, ZLabs, ZGames, Overloader, among others.