Tetris, the classic block rotation game from 1984, has been trending on TikTok as a surprising, simple method to cope with trauma—and it's backed by research

Can Playing Tetris Really Help You Deal With Trauma? Here's what experts have to say after the potential trauma treatment

Tetris, the classic block rotation game from 1984, has been trending on TikTok as a surprising, simple method to cope with trauma—and it's backed by research

• Tetris, the classic block rotation game from 1984, has been trending on TikTok as a surprising, simple method to cope with trauma.
• Research shows that playing Tetris after a traumatic event can reduce the formation of intrusive memories and decrease the severity of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
• However, gaming as a treatment is still being explored, and experts don’t recommend replacing current treatment options with Tetris sessions after a traumatic event.

Traumatic events can be challenging to move past, often requiring therapy, medication, or a mix of both to get relief. But there’s currently a lot of buzz on TikTok about people using an unexpected and relatively simple method to cope with trauma: playing the video game Tetris—as in, the classic block rotation game created in 1984. 

Tetris “can actually heal your brain,” trauma researcher MaryCatherine McDonald said in one post. McDonald said she uses the game to treat her patients, noting that it’s “an incredibly easy-to-integrate tool into your daily life.” 

Another poster shared in a video that playing Tetris “as soon as possible” after seeing disturbing or traumatic images “can help the brain cleanse itself.” In the comments, one person shared that a relative “was medically recommended Tetris as part of her rehab after a brain hemorrhage.” 

Those are big claims, but what does the science suggest about playing Tetris to cope with events that haunt you? Here’s what you need to know—and whether you should consider gaming if you're struggling after a traumatic event.

What the Research Suggests

Believe it or not, there’s a growing body of research suggesting that Tetris could be a promising way to help people struggling with trauma.

The studies date back to 2009, when researchers wanted to test whether playing Tetris after a traumatic event could work as a “cognitive vaccine” to prevent subsequent disturbing flashbacks—a hallmark symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. 

To do this, scientists instructed 40 participants to watch a 12-minute film of scenes of injury and death. Thirty minutes after the film was over, the researchers reminded participants about its contents and then instructed half of the group to play Tetris for 10 minutes while the others sat quietly. All participants kept a journal for a week, recording any disturbing flashbacks of the video. In the end, researchers found that those who played Tetris reported significantly fewer flashbacks and clinical symptoms of trauma than those who didn’t play the game. 

“This has implications for a novel avenue of preventative treatment development, much-needed as a crisis intervention for the aftermath of traumatic events,” the researchers concluded.

Several studies that followed also found that playing Tetris after watching disturbing images could reduce memories of the event. One paper published in 2012 even revealed that a post-video Tetris session could also be powerful enough to suppress memories associated with footage of positive events as well.

But scientists also wanted to know whether playing Tetris could help people after a real-life traumatic event, not just one they watched on a video.

In 2018, researchers tested how well playing Tetris could work to reduce the formation of intrusive memories in people who had just been in a car crash. Soon after their accidents, researchers asked participants to think back to the event. Then, they instructed them to play 20 minutes of Tetris. After analysis, the team found that gamers had 62% less intrusive memories within the first week after their accident than those in the control group. 

As recently as last month, a study published in BMC Medicine also found that playing Tetris might help with trauma. This time, researchers instructed some healthcare workers who experienced trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic to play the game daily. They found that those who did went from an average of 15 weekly flashbacks to just one flashback compared to workers who listened to talk radio instead. After six months, the gamers had less severe PTSD symptoms and experienced about half as many symptoms as the control group.

Playing Tetris “may for some be a more tolerable approach to help reduce the frequency of aversive intrusive memories” than existing treatments offered after psychological trauma, the authors wrote.

Why Might Tetris Help With Trauma?

Why Tetris might reduce trauma symptoms is still being explored, but researchers have some theories.

“Using Tetris as an imagery-competing task intervention seems to gently target people’s imagery to compete with the intrusive memories in the visuospatial processing areas of the brain,” Emily Holmes, PhD, a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden who has researched Tetris as a potential trauma treatment, told Health. In other words, your brain only has so much space to comprehend certain imagery—and playing a game like Tetris may effectively crowd out more disturbing visuals from the trauma.

Some research also suggests that playing Tetris helps increase activity in the hippocampus. “This region of the brain is responsible for consolidating information and converting it to memory,” Arianna Galligher, director of the Gabbe Well-Being Office and Director of the Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) Program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Health.

“When someone is exposed to trauma, sometimes this process is disrupted, which can play a role in the presence of intrusive thoughts—flashbacks, nightmares—related to the event,” Galligher explained. “In essence, because the hippocampus wasn’t able to perform its normal function, information related to the trauma isn’t properly stored as a memory.”

Galligher said that games like Tetris may “help get the hippocampus back online following trauma,” making it less likely that someone will be plagued with intrusive thoughts afterward.

Should You Try This at Home?

Despite some research finding a link between playing Tetris and reduced distress following trauma, gaming as a treatment is still being explored. As such, experts don’t recommend replacing current treatment options with Tetris sessions after a traumatic event. 

“I am not sure there are clear guidelines yet for individuals to use this strategy independently, without professional support,” Hillary Ammon, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety & Women’s Emotional Wellness, told Health.

“The intervention is at a research stage,” agreed Holmes. “It is not yet available as a treatment.”

Holmes stressed that for people who want to give it a try, “just playing Tetris alone is unlikely to work.” There’s a specific protocol that participants had to follow in the studies, and the intervention probably wouldn’t have the same outcome without the guidance of researchers.

Relying on video games can even become “an unhealthy escape,” Ammon warned. When used incorrectly or for more extended periods, gaming could potentially make it harder to move beyond trauma, Galligher said. “Any activity that serves as a mechanism for avoidance is likely to have adverse effects for the trauma recovery process,” she explained. “If a person is using gaming in an effort to avoid thinking about or being reminded of their trauma, this is both unhealthy and counterproductive.”

For now, mental health experts recommend sticking with what research consistently shows works for trauma. “If you experience a traumatic situation, my clinical advice is to allow yourself to process the experience in the following days and weeks,” Ammon said. “You may find it best to do so independently, with the support of loved ones, or through the guidance of a professional support—a primary care doctor or mental health provider.”

“Based on the research that we know about trauma, the individuals that tend to push away the memories and thoughts and feelings related to the traumatic situation are most likely to develop PTSD,” Ammon said.

If reminders of the event are triggering flashbacks, nightmares, panic, or changes in your mood or outlook on life, Galligher recommends contacting a mental health professional for guidance.

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Korin Miller