SuperBetter is the game Jane McGonigal designed for herself when she was recovering from a brain injury and had to lie perfectly still for weeks and weeks.During the recovery, she realized that she didn’t just want to get better; she wanted to be even better than before her injury – super better! So she created a game to help her get there.Based on her experience in game design and scientific research, she created an avatar, power-ups, bad guys, and went on quests every single day, to take the illness as a challenge and make it fun.

SuperBetter: The game

When two people play a similar game in the same room, they form a strong neurological and physiological connection. They show the exact facial expressions; their heartbeats also settle into the same rhythm – and this occurs irrespective of whether they’re playing with or against one other.And the connection goes more than that: we’re also very likely to like the people if we’re playing a game with them. The reason for that is because we’re attracted to people we see that alike to ourselves.

Bonding with people over games

Games can have a positive influence on your life, providing that you play them for the right motives. The impact games have on your life doesn’t rest on the type of games you play or the time you use to play them. It depends on the reason you play them.Not every person plays games for educational or social causes. Some people play games as a type of escape from life issues– and that’s when gaming becomes destructive. But, if you play games with a positive aim, you’re more likely to gain the advantages and also feel happier in your non-gaming life.

The impact games have on our lives

This reduction in physical pain comes from 2 things:<ul><li>Playing a video game shifts our attention spotlight, and allows us to react less to the signal of pain.</li><li>The activity of playing engages us in a state called flow, where we’re so engaged and absorbed in the activity that we feel in perfect control of our lives.</li></ul>In this way we give our attention to a positive activity, which also makes us feel in charge. This gives us the confidence to endure the pain and our body adapts.

Using games to reduce physical pain

Post-traumatic growth and post-ecstatic growth are positive developments that people experience during difficult times.<ul><li>Post-traumatic growth often happens to car crash victims, who find themselves appreciating life a lot more after the crash, or cancer survivors, who start running marathons once they recover.</li><li>However, you don’t need to run your car into the next tree, in order to play a round of SuperBetter. There’s another form of growth that doesn’t require trauma, called post-ecstatic growth.</li></ul>

Post-traumatic growth and post-ecstatic growth

“Purposeful play builds self-confidence and real-world problem-solving skills.”

After suffering a brain injury, Jane McGonigal came up with a game to help aid her recovery and battle the ensuing depression she experienced. A quarter of a million people have now played this game to astonishing results: depression gone in 6 weeks in some cases and even terminal cancer patients reporting that playing the game gives them a sense of control over their own health. This book shows readers how to use these techniques to find strength and create positivity: readers can look to their own 'power-ups' which are little things they can do to feel better and tackle the hurdles in their own lives.

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

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Books

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Entertainment

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Science & Nature

A revolutionary new self-help book by top flight game designer Jane McGonigal. After suffering a brain injury, Jane McGonigal came up with a game to help aid her recovery and battle the ensuing depression she experienced. Half a million people have now played this game to astonishing results: depression gone in 6 weeks in some cases and even terminal cancer patients reporting that playing the game gives them a sense of control over their own health. The book shows readers how to use these techniques to find strength and create positivity: readers can look to their own 'power-ups' which are little things they can do to feel better and tackle the hurdles in their own lives. This book provides simple step-by-step ideas that can be carried out in day-to-day life, helping you transform your life with a new flexible and reenergised mindset. In this book McGonigal uses her own story and those of others to expertly demonstrate how simple changes can result in dramatic life-affirming effects. And what's more, she tells you how you yourself can lead a more "gameful" life.

JANE MCGONIGAL

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