New research involving Oxford researchers has shown that a simple digital intervention that includes gameplay can dramatically reduce intrusive memories of trauma in a month, even to the point of being symptom-free after six months. This treatment was also very effective at reducing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) more generally. The findings have been
As I understand it, it’s not about “just chill by playing tetris”, but more uses tetris to reinforce another mental method to make intrusive visual memories less intense and prevalent.
After recalling a memory, participants learned how to use a cognitive skill called mental rotation, which involves rotating 2D and 3D shapes using your ‘mind’s eye’. They then used this skill to play a slower form of the video game Tetris, which similarly involves rotating geometric blocks. This is thought to occupy the brain’s visuospatial areas, competing with the visual flashback, weakening its vividness and emotional impact – and critically, the frequency with which it intrudes.
As I understand it, it’s not about “just chill by playing tetris”, but more uses tetris to reinforce another mental method to make intrusive visual memories less intense and prevalent.