Recently, there have been a rash of news articles touting the benefits of playing Tetris for those who have PTSD. This study, which is about a year old, is based on showing a group of people movies with violent and disturbing scenes in them. The group was then divided into three sub groups. One group was sent home. One group was sent off to play Trivial Pursuit, and one group was sent off to play Tetris. Guess what? The Tetris group experienced fewer flashbacks.
I love theory! Theoretically, watching a movie could produce flashbacks? Looking at violence in the comfort of a lab or an office can simulate the horrors that lead to PTSD?
Theoretically, watching disturbing images can TRAUMATIZE someone to the point of post traumatic stress?
No disrespect to the boys at Oxford U, but this is a great example of the many misguided attempts to define what PTSD truly is. You don't get PTSD because you watch a horror flick- you get PTSD because you survive a horror flick.
Now on to the good news. I believe that the science behind this idea is sound. If you look at it logically, those who have PTSD have many memory fragments, misplaced, and repressed memories. Someone who truly has PTSD experiences flashbacks and are triggered by sounds smells, sensations, and so on BECAUSE our memories are so fragmented that they can not be properly categorized. That is the biological basis for the disorder, or injury.... or whatever we are calling it today.
Tetris is a game of placing blocks into their proper slots on a board so that they all form a straight line. Isn't it brilliant that researchers found that by using our hand eye coordination to categorize digital blocks, that our brains would follow? I am sure that more research needs to be done on this, but it IS an interesting breakthrough. Aside from being a fun game that is available ( for free) on every smartphone platform there is, Tetris may turn out to be a useful tool that helps many PTSD sufferers greatly.
Have you played your Tetris today?
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