With the recent resurgence in popularity of roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, we asked A Lust for Life writer and D&D player, Ruth O’Hagan, to write about how playing helps her mental health.

In the game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), you can be whoever you want to be. Other players will tell you the same thing – it’s more than just a game to them. It’s a place where you can go to escape, a place where you feel fully accepted and a place where you feel you truly belong. Your party aren’t just people you meet with every so often, they become your family.

The nature of D&D is to use your imagination and let it run free. To give you some background, in case you’re not too familiar, D&D is a fantasy table top role-playing game (RPG). Each game is maintained by the Dungeon Master (DM). The DM is the game’s referee and storyteller, they maintain the setting in which the adventure occur.

You create your own character with help from your DM. They help you build your character based on the rules of the game. Each player uses dice with numbers to play. The merit of your actions is based on how high (positive) or low (negative) you roll your dice and this is how your move around the game. The group of characters form a party that interacts with inhabitants and each other in magical worlds. Together, all the players in the party, battle enemies, gather treasure, gain knowledge and go on quests.

I’m very new to the game of D&D but so far it has really improved my mental health. It has awoken something in me… it has inspired me to be more creative, assertive, confident and braver in my day to day life. I wanted to find out if others felt the same. I asked a number of DnD players, “Can D&D help with mental health?”, and 90% said yes it can – for the following reasons:

Escapism

D&D can be a welcome break from the mundane activities of daily life. It takes your mind off every negative feeling or thought that you may be experiencing. For every minute you play, you get more lost in the story telling and truly become your character. In the game, you are a hero with great power, your actions truly change the course of the world or even the universe itself. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. It’s natural to think that RPG’s primary purpose is to help players escape from our real, mundane lives but they can be a way of enhancing our realities.

Social contact

When players embrace the social aspect of D&D, they make new friends and in some cases make friends that will last for years. If you’re having a bad week, D&D can help cheer you up and help feel less stressed or anxious. The mere act of scheduling a weekly D&D session can give you something to look forward to on a regular basis, which is important no matter who you are. They game encourages you to be social, it boots your confidence and helps you talk to other people in an open and accepting environment. It’s the social and emotional interaction with likeminded people with a common interest that helps build confidence and improves self-esteem.

Creative outlet

Most of us, if not all of us, need a creative outlet. When we create characters, write their stories, and build worlds, we’re exercising our creative muscles and improving our writing skills. D&D definitely provides plenty of opportunities to be creative. As players and for DMs, they create a host of characters with different personalities, motivations, origins, and adventuring careers. DMs work together with their players to create memorable sessions, engaging campaign storylines, and magical worlds.

D&D isn’t just a game. As a player, it equips you with key things that help me feel mentally healthy through security, creativity, freedom, confidence and acceptance. It’s a place where you can be test your creativity to the limit and create amazing worlds. It’s a place where you can be the hero and fight great battles. D&D can transcend the game itself and follow you positively into your daily life.

D&D makes you feel that you can be a hero in your real life.