Adaptive daydreaming: D&D and what it can do for mental health in the Philippines
Dungeons and Dragons is a table-top roleplaying game where you only really need three things. The first is dice of different types from four to twenty sided. Second, character sheets to function as a ‘bio data’ for your game character. Lastly, friends to play the game with.
In a game of D&D, the ‘dungeon master’ crafts a story for their players to interact with and explore. That story is orally told and players say what actions their characters will take.
Unlike video games, it isn’t restricted by a fixed set of inputs or ways to interact with the in-game world. Because the game utilizes a person capable of adapting to anything the player desires to do in-game and not strings of code, D&D allows for a level of flexibility currently unmatched by any video game in the market.
Originally released in 1974, this game is still going strong and experiencing an uptick in players that can be attributed to D&D streamers like Critical Role and High Rollers generating renewed interest in the game. It’s also been featured in Netflix hit series Stranger Things where characters are depicted playing a game of D&D on episode 1. Even action star Vin Diesel, whose looks are a far cry from the nerdy image the game carries, is an avid player of the game.
But what is it about this game that hooks people anyway? For onlookers, it seems to be just a fantasy game built on make-believe. Some may say that, because of it being make-believe, D&D is a game for children and not adults. But player demographics say otherwise.
According to Ally Weatherly, creator of app D&D Link, the largest age groups of players using her app are between the ages of 25 to 40 with a growing group of people in the 19–24 range. And while similar data is difficult to come by, numerous replies on threads in the Dungeons and Dragons subreddit place groups of players in their 20s and over. Despite its reputation being entrenched in fantasy, D&D resonates across different walks of life.
But why do these adults make do with make-believe?
“A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence.”
― Rollo May
Existential Psychologist and Philosopher, Rollo May, understood this well in his book ‘The Cry for Myth’ in which he explains that people look to myths in order to have a frame of orientation for their lives-an end point and goal for living. To him, myth was a way to relate to those we live with.
He writes, “Our powerful hunger for myth is a hunger for community. The person without a myth is a person without a home… To be a member of one’s community is to share its myths, to feel the same pride that glows within us..”
And this is what a group of friends share around a table when playing D&D- they share stories. They share myths. And these myths and stories serve to bind them closer together as a group. Sure they aren’t actually slaying dragons and saving princesses but they persevere through obstacles together, communing in the pride of their shared in-game victories.
That shared sense of community that player groups provide may prove to be a tool for mental health professionals and their clients to alleviate depression.
As per the National Institute of Mental Health, the highest rate of depression by age group is for ages 18–25 at 13.1%. A study by authors McCallum and McLauren showed that sense of belonging to a community lowered the risk of depression in adolescents. Encouraging more young adults to engage in a group activity like Dungeons and Dragons could help bring those depression rates down. Similar benefits of socialization can be seen with elderly who live with their families as opposed to in a senior care facility.
With many young Filipinos from rural regions flocking to Metro Manila for job opportunities, increased rate of depression is something to keep an eye out for. ComRes’ 2013 survey for BBC radio found that 52% of people in London felt lonely- a risk factor for depression. Furthermore, researcher Oliver Gruebner and his colleagues found higher incidences of mental illness in cities as opposed to rural areas. Urban alienation, the feeling of being alone in a city of millions,may become as much an issue in city living as pollution is.
Philippine government institutions like the Department of Health and National Center of Mental Health have only recently begun to deal with the country’s growing mental health crisis. While there is a lack of resources and a dearth of psychologists needed to address the nation’s needs, what we aren’t in shortage of are imaginative people who can help mitigate depression’s risks factor of loneliness with a set of dice and a character sheet.