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Animal Crossing helped me out of my depressive funk.
How a popular video game during COVID helped me regain my will to live
Back in summer of 2020, I decided to buy Animal Crossing for my Switch. It was an impulsive decision at the time, and I’m privy to jumping on the bandwagon. So I did and started playing in June.
Little did I know that this game would reinvigorate me in a way I could never have foreseen.
For those unfamiliar with the game, it has a pretty simple premise: you upgrade your island, complete daily tasks, and bring on villagers to populate your island.
There’s a lot of creative license you can take with customizing your character and island.
What truly brought me joy was visiting the clothing shop. Since I was starting out, every day had something new and exciting for me. Everything I worked toward had its reward. Time invested in the game paid off, and I joined Discords to get more involved and socialize online.
With this, I had something to look forward to every day. Some people might call this addiction, but I think it ultimately helped me lift myself out of chronic clinical depression and rely on the activation energy of getting out of bed to play on my Switch to do other daily tasks as well.
