StaceyPowers Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Do video games ever feel more “real” to you than RL? I have regular de-realization (it’s a dissociative thing) where I sometimes feel like I am a long way away, looking at the world from the other side of an invisible glass wall. But that usually goes away while gaming. So ironically, the game world (which is on the other side of a screen) sometimes feels more real to me than the real one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrik Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Maybe this happens only when you experience something in a game that you never had the chance for in real life killamch89 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killamch89 Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 5 hours ago, Patrik said: Maybe this happens only when you experience something in a game that you never had the chance for in real life That's a very good point actually. Based on some of the things @StaceyPowers has mentioned in the past seems to point toward this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blackangel Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 I dream of having the life that Arthur has in RDR2. Living with the gang I men. People actually caring about you. Not beating you every day. Not telling you how worthless you are. People needing you. People who want you around and want to be around you. I get lost in fantasy when I play the game. Those are things I never had. At this point if someone was to say "I love you" to me, it would probably destroy my psyche. If it didn't do that, then there would never be any chance of me trusting them. I know for a fact that there would be some sort of ulterior motive behind a statement like that. No one says such a thing without something else in mind. StaceyPowers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality vs Adventure Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 That is interesting. I had to look up de-realization. This probably sounds cheesy, but there is a grounding technique that may help to be more in tune to your surroundings. Go outside and touch your bare feet to the grass for at least 30 min. That sense of grounding is a real thing. Just observe nature. Keep doing it everyday. Tibetans use singing bowls as a therapeutic because different notes help in different ways. The C note is grounding. I used to have a few but I gave them to an autistic guy. Singing bowls are known to help in autism so why not something like de-realization? Keep eating grounding foods that are known in Chinese medicine like root foods such as beets and potatoes. Get a hematite piece of jewelry for grounding which may or may not be a myth. But at least could have a positive placebo effect. I collect mineral specimens and have over 200 of them of all kinds of different minerals. I’ve held them in my hand and some definitely do give off some kind of energy. I’m sensitive to these things because I’m pretty in tune with nature. I’m a Pisces born in the year of a goat. That’s a double whammy. But what does grounding have to do with anything? Fuck if I know. It’s supposed to bring you closer to Earth, balance positive and negative charges, and become more in tune with your surroundings. Shoot, draw a picture of a tree too. Some call that hibby gibbies, But I’ll like to see a fat guy in sneakers tell that do an ancient shaman barefoot. And see who is the idiot. But I’ve said enough craziness for now…to be continued… Anyways, I also wonder, does reading books seem more real to you as gaming sometimes does? Or is it physical imagery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyPowers Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 1 hour ago, The Blackangel said: At this point if someone was to say "I love you" to me, it would probably destroy my psyche I also tend to be distrustful of these words. I think the message I'm looking for is something closer to "You're safe with me," but those words would also not feel safe. Perhaps if a lucid explanation followed as to why I was safe, that would work. 36 minutes ago, Reality vs Adventure said: Singing bowls are known to help in autism so why not something like de-realization? I am autistic, lol. Focusing on small objects in my environment tends to help a bit as a "grounding" technique. 36 minutes ago, Reality vs Adventure said: Anyways, I also wonder, does reading books seem more real to you as gaming sometimes does? Or is it physical imagery? Too distant to seem "real." Potentially immersive, yes. Maybe "real, but not for me"? Like tuning into a signal about things happening to people in other places and times. That's amazing, but doesn't put me "in" an environment. It's the sensory world I'm trying to connect with. But as expectations are low while reading a book, I don't tend to get an upsetting sense of de-realization while doing it. I mean, if nothing else, I'm less focused on this physical world feeling distant, and again, not expecting the book world to immerse me fully in a 3-dimensional universe. So I tend to be pleased with how effective it actually is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blackangel Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 I wear a hematite ring on each thumb, and it helps more than people can know. The downside is that hematite is very brittle. When one breaks, if I don't have an extra to replace it, I feel completely off balance until I can get another one. I also have a large chunk of hematite in my office that I hold a lot. It calms me as it draws out negative feelings and emotions. Sometimes I put it to the ground and hold it down with my palm. I can literally feel the stress leaving my body. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but it's worth a shot. Just for novelty purposes, I'm looking for a piece of raw hematite. Everything I have is polished. StaceyPowers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m76 Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 (edited) What you describe is akin to a constant state of dejavu. I mean to me dejavu moments feel like if I'm observing myself from a third person perspective. This might be off-topic but something fictional being more real than reality only happened to me with dreams. There was one particular time when my dream was so vivid, that I was convinced for an hour after waking up that it was real and happened the day before. It was really scary, and exhilarating at the same time. Edited March 25, 2021 by m76 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyPowers Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 4 hours ago, m76 said: What you describe is akin to a constant state of dejavu. I mean to me dejavu moments feel like if I'm observing myself from a third person perspective Yes! That is very similar for me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blackangel Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 19 hours ago, m76 said: What you describe is akin to a constant state of dejavu. How so? I don't feel like I'm repeating anything. So I don't see how in any way they could be similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality vs Adventure Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 The autistic guy I gave my singing bowls to loved to play video games. This was the time before I was into gaming and still was drinking. But he was my neighbor for a short while. I would get drunk and watch him play his games. He was the one that introduced me to Assassin's Creed. At the time I didn't care for it and wondered why he liked the game so much. I remember I took him to an arcade, a very big one in Houston, for his birthday. He was a younger guy around 20 or so; the son of my neighbor's new girlfriend which I became friends with because I was taking care of their goats as he broke his hip. But it always seemed like they were pushing him off on me so they can be alone. And I didn't mind at all. We played the singing bowls often and he loved it. He didn't have a license and didn't even know how to drive, but I let him drive my truck to take me to the store to get more booze. No, I wasn't using him for that. He was a friend and it made him feel like a man when he was driving. His mother completely sheltered him from everything. He actually loved going outside. We got our bikes and rode around. We even got arrested for trespassing. LOL. Maybe I was a bad influence. But we were friends as we both needed one. 😀 I didn't know or care about much at the time. I didn't ask any questions about his condition. But I wonder if he felt that in games too about it seeming more real at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m76 Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 8 hours ago, The Blackangel said: How so? I don't feel like I'm repeating anything. So I don't see how in any way they could be similar. I was addressing the OP. The Blackangel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatman Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 3/25/2021 at 10:15 AM, Patrik said: Maybe this happens only when you experience something in a game that you never had the chance for in real life Exactly, this is the only justification that I can think of to take the reality in video games to be more real in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
