Your "stress ball"

[Mikari]

My most effective cure for insomnia is playing an RPG before bed. Even if I'm super entertained, because it requires so little in terms of reflexes and thought, it helps me turn my brain off. (In other words, it tells the plot bunnies "shut up, I'll write fanfics tomorrow")

[Todd]

Haha, I think it's more of a time thing, too. With RPGs I have to have a lot of time sat aside. I can do a couple platformer levels quickly and be done.

[Megan A]

When I am stressed out, I'll play Animal Crossing: New Leaf or hatch eggs on Pokemon X. They're both really relaxing. Like Todd, I get pretty into RPGs, but I also do with platformers. I like to do things that don't take much skill or thought in order to relax.

[Laura]

I JUST REALISED THIS POST WAS ABOUT GAMES. WHAT THE HECK, LAURA. SRSLY.

I'm editting this post to just say that for games, if I want to just relax, I play an MMO. Just level up a character in whatever game I'm currently playing. Right now it's WoW and going back to the old zones and leveling through them is just super nostalgic and relaxing. :)

[Andrea]

When I get stressed, I also tend to gravitate towards simple games, like platformers! So games like Tetris or A Game With A Kitty 2: Darkside Adventures (this is an oldie that I was introduced to years ago, but the soundtrack is a jam and the art is fantastic) help me unwind. I can easily open them up on my laptop and play them whenever.

Alsooo, when I'm feeling particularly frustrated (with either the game or real life), I can just walk my character off the ledge to their death infinitely in order to let out some steam, ahahaha. /coughs

I also like games that are more open world, where I can just chill out and do whatever while listening to nice background music. It's really relaxing to just ride your horse in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and admire the scenery. I mean, sometimes a bandit shows up to ruin it, but, well, you know. I also like hopping on Guild Wars 2 to either do events/metas that don't require much thought, jumping puzzles (kind of like platformers!), or to just wander the world.

Pulling up old childhood favorites, like The Legend of Zelda: OoT/MM or Harvest Moon games, also help me to relax and escape real life for a bit!

[Lethe]

I used to play Dynasty Warriors 4/5 all the time when stressed during school time - that was back on the PS2 though. I feel like I haven't done anything in particular the last few years when stressed; I just flop around in bed or sit like a zombie in front of the PC, incapable of doing anything but chatting and checking the same sites over and over lol. ~_~

I play almost exclusively story-heavy games, which is why games aren't my go-to medium when I'm stressed and not able to absorb more, I guess (since my brain is in perma-analyze mode). Fantasy Life (N3DS) a whole while back was a super nice change of pace in that regard, but I rarely buy "relaxing" games! D:

Alsooo, when I'm feeling particularly frustrated (with either the game or real life), I can just walk my character off the ledge to their death infinitely in order to let out some steam, ahahaha. /coughs

YOU'RE DISTURBING, ANDREA O_O

[Andrea]

Alsooo, when I'm feeling particularly frustrated (with either the game or real life), I can just walk my character off the ledge to their death infinitely in order to let out some steam, ahahaha. /coughs

YOU'RE DISTURBING, ANDREA O_O

B-But... I... I-It's cathartic!



................................. /CACKLES

[Rain]

I also like games that are more open world, where I can just chill out and do whatever while listening to nice background music. It's really relaxing to just ride your horse in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and admire the scenery.

Same goes for me with Echo of Soul :). Just riding around, do nothing in particular and listening to music is really relaxing :).

Alsooo, when I'm feeling particularly frustrated (with either the game or real life), I can just walk my character off the ledge to their death infinitely in order to let out some steam, ahahaha. /coughs

Oh, that's kinda... interesting xD. Maybe I should also kill my character on purpose when I need to let out some steam, because usually, when my character dies by accident (or my stupidty /coughs) I get reaaaaally angry #ragequit :P.

When I'm stressed out, I usually play games that don't require a lot of thinking or either those I have played so often that I don't really need to follow the story anymore. I play Resident Evil games a lot (especially RE2 and RE4), so these are usually my game of choice when I want to... well, shoot zombies :P. To calm down Okami really helps me a lot <3. So does The Sims 3. Or something silly like Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge xD. Me and my best friend have this strange obsession with horse games and this one is really one of the better ones. So sometimes, I just tack up my horse and go for a ride .