Mental health is a major topic in today’s world. Whether it is understanding your own wellness, thinking, or knowing how to react to others, it’s more important than ever. Poker might not seem to be the most closely connected pastime to mental health but multiple facets overlap.
Developing Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills
Mental health problems can spiral and lead to further problems as the ability to analyze, problem-solve, and resolve issues can be drastically impeded by those suffering. The ability to approach such hurdles can present real aggravation as sufferers lack practice in doing so.
While playing games of poker won’t solve real-world problems directly, it can lend itself to developing the skill set to do so. Poker is an analytical game where successful players monitor and carefully consider multiple attributes concurrently. People who play poker will be able to draw on these skills when they face strife or problems in their personal lives. Those struggling with mental health issues will be able to aid their resilience by employing poker analytical skills. By extension, poker can also help improve cognitive ability and help players make decisions efficiently, a skill often needed by those who are suffering from mental health conditions and issues.
Promotes Self-Awareness
Playing poker in a live environment will mean that every action or movement that a player makes is part of the game. It’s often said that poker is a game of opponent observation as it is a card game. Given that your opponents are trying to read you as well, the game promotes self-awareness and makes players think about the signals they are giving off, whether it’s verbal messages or body language. This in turn promotes self-awareness as lots of mental health issues can stem from how others perceive you. As such, poker can be a useful tool in helping people manage their self-awareness and perception held by others.
Social Elements of Poker
Those suffering from mental health issues, especially depression shouldn’t isolate themselves. While some issues can stem from social anxiety when having to deal with other people, on the whole becoming a recluse is not seen as a positive move in order to help the issues.
Poker while not a remedy for these ailments does allow for social meetings between people which can help those suffering from mental health issues. The theory is that those who fear meeting people don’t like the unknown of what other people could do when they meet. The fact that instances where people are playing poker there are pre-defined outcomes and behaviors from playing the game, which can help. Of course, this is even better if you set out to play with a group of friends that you already know!
Online poker players can also benefit from some social elements from the game as some platforms allow the players to connect with one another. For some people with mental health issues, meeting people online can be a lot more appealing than in person. This allows for social interaction with like-minded people without having to leave their comfort zone.
Stress Relief
At the end of a stressful day, whether it is been a busy schedule at work, a long commute, or family members causing you strife it is always nice to unwind with your favorite pastime. For many people playing poker either with a tangible deck of cards or online can be very therapeutic. Of course, bettors should only do this when their stresses are not financially related. After all, if you’re stressed because you’ve got no money, gambling funds you don’t have will only lead to more issues.
Regulation of Emotions
Given that there is a lot of money on the line during poker events and games, it is normal for emotions to run high during sessions. The difference between good and great poker players is that the elite ones who make a living out of poker are able to avoid becoming emotionally impaired from the results of the hands. Whether it is not chasing losses on a downward trend, overplaying when winning big or simply taking themselves away from the table when needing to do so – this ability helps the best players succeed.
While nobody wants to completely annex their feelings and exist in an emotional exile, those suffering from mental health issues would be able to benefit from similar practices. In poker, it is referred to as ‘tilt’, where their ability to play poker is negatively influenced by emotions. People with mental health issues should try the same practices in the hope of not negatively impacting their lives with untoward emotions.
Knowing When to Stop Playing Poker
The elephant in the room here is that playing poker and gambling in general can cause mental health issues. Problem gambling is only growing as more people turn to uncertain means to put food on the table in upsetting tales of desperation. It takes a lot of mental aptitude to step away from an addiction, which for many problem gamblers, is an addiction like drugs or alcohol. Thankfully, we’re seeing some kind of regulation and help coming directly from the source, for example, these USA-approved poker sites suggested on this recent post now have safeguards designed to stop or at least limit some of the losses and issues caused by the poker games on offer.