“DnD?” you ask. “What kind of therapy is that?”
But I swear – I’m not trying to trick you. I really am about to discuss the mental health benefits of Dungeons and Dragons, the popular tabletop roleplaying game (RPG). If you’re not familiar, Dungeons and Dragons (or “DnD” for short) is a type of game in which participants create a character to roleplay, and a Dungeon Master (or “DM”) leads them through a partially improvised story. Each player contributes to the overall path of the narrative through roleplaying their character. And while many of these stories are based in fantasy settings, the DnD game structure can be applied to any number of genres, cultivating an almost unlimited potential for new experiences.
If you’re familiar with the game, you likely have first or secondhand knowledge of how fun it can be. But did you know it could actually benefit your mental health? Let’s explore some of the ways below!
The Social Benefits: Community
First and foremost, DnD is a socially-based game that requires collaboration amongst its players and DM. In an ideal scenario, these people are your friends, and you enjoy spending time with them in and out of the game; but even if you’re not as close with your fellow players, your group represents a community with whom you share a common experience. It doesn’t matter what your background is as a character, and it doesn’t matter what your background is as a player – when you join a DnD campaign, you are embarking upon a shared adventure with comrades that will create common experiences between you, simply through your participation in it.
Whether intentional or not, these players become a kind of support system as you spend time together and develop your narrative. In a world where face-to-face interactions are getting increasingly scarce, DnD can provide a meeting place and recurring social event that does not center around drinking. For adults who have moved on from school, this kind of option can be invaluable, as it is often hard to meet new people outside of work – and if you don’t share many interests with colleagues, you might find yourself feeling very isolated.
And why do so many of our social conventions focus around alcohol, anyway? Why is it so much easier to invite someone to “grab drinks” than to “come over and get to know each other on purpose”?
DnD is in a unique position to soothe the common concerns of the socially anxious. It provides structure to fall back on if you’re worried about a lull in conversation and that things might become “awkward.” When you’re all gathered together for a game, sharing expectations, there is less pressure on each individual to “entertain” or come up with a fun plan or conversation that will keep everyone engaged. And whether your group drinks or doesn’t – everyone can enjoy this activity equally.
Play as Practice
The mental health benefits of DnD expand when you consider the potential for personal exploration. As with social anxiety, DnD can create a level of abstraction between you and your character that makes it safer to explore social situations, for instance. Maybe you feel uncomfortable speaking up in crowds, but you’re playing as Bravely Heartfellow – an elven bard who loves to steal center stage in the taverns as well as on the battlefield! Therefore, it’s not you putting yourself out there…it’s just Bravely doing what they do best.
Whether your character mirrors you closely or not, there are great lessons to be learned from this experience. If your character is wildly different than you, it can help you build empathy for others. Maybe you’ve never struggled with finances, but your disowned warlock protagonist doesn’t have a copper to his name. Maybe you notice how the townspeople guard their pockets when he passes and bar him from entering certain establishments. Maybe it’s easier to relate these lessons to the real world after walking a mile (or many!) in someone else’s shoes.
Or, perhaps, your character is similar to you. Perhaps you’ve been struggling with ambivalence about your job, and your character’s indecision at a crucial moment cost them someone they loved – we often replicate the poignant themes of our lives within art and storytelling. If this is the case, DnD can offer a safe platform to explore those emotions with a bit more distance. In defining your character’s motivations, it will often shed light on some of your own feelings and values, which can then inform future decisions.
A perfect example of the mental health benefits of DnD lies in the popularity of the game throughout prisons in the U.S. Many inmates report that DnD gives them something to look forward to, and reluctant alliances that are formed for the game often transform into genuine camaraderie. Even inmates on death row go to great lengths to play, which speaks to DnD’s power to instill hope and bring people together in hard times. For many, roleplay is one of the few acceptable means of expressing vulnerabilities; it can serve as a support group, a life skills course, and an anger-management class in facilities where rehabilitation is lacking – either through insufficient funding or by design.
The Problem-Solving Benefits
Now for the inmates in the example above, acquiring game materials was – in and of itself – a struggle that required significant problem-solving. But even without that barrier, problem-solving skills are required in DnD to perform everything from basic tasks to complicated battle maneuvers. Often, the best answer to these situations is the most creative one. In my games, some of the most delightful outcomes have sprung from a zany, spur-of-the-moment idea that made the DM go “Huh. Let’s try that and see where this goes!”
And the best part is – you don’t have to get creative by yourself. As a group roleplay-based game, DnD centers around issues of collaborative problem-solving. If you’re fresh out of ideas for where to find that vampire who’s been whisking people away into the mists, then your neighbor might have a better clue! Or maybe, after several of you get talking, you collectively come up with a stronger plan than any you would’ve made on your own.
By consistently using your problem-solving skills, you also stimulate new connections in your brain – thereby improving your neural plasticity. Neural plasticity, in turn, helps keep your brain healthy and strengthens your ability to encode memories. So there are legitimate mental health benefits of DnD and sitting around the table playing make-believe with your friends!
Wish Fulfillment
As I mentioned, DnD can be a great space to test out confusions and insecurities – but it can also be a great space for wish fulfillment. For many, the joking refrain is that DnD allows you fulfill unrealistic dreams, like “getting a full 8 hours’ rest each night and having the opportunity to travel.” But sad millennial humor aside, this game’s flexibility allows you to pursue whatever goals you can think of – whether they’re event-based or focused inward on things like character growth.
Maybe you want to test what it feels like to be a certain personality type – or gender, even! – and this can be your practice-run with training wheels. Maybe you’ve been feeling drained from expectations at your job, and DnD is a way to add playfulness back into your life as an adult. Whatever your aim, there can be great opportunity for personal reflection and a “peer-review” of sorts by bringing these goals to your group.
And if something goes wrong…well, that’s just a different kind of opportunity! One of the most therapeutic lessons to learn from DnD is that failure is not something to take personally – it just opens the door for a different kind of story. Some of my favorite character moments have been moments in which I failed, because it offered more weight to whatever decision I made next. And if I flub up in real life…well, what’s stopping me from viewing that, too, as simply a bad roll of the dice?
Interested? How to Join a Group
Much like finding a therapist, finding a DnD group you jive with can often take time. The first group you try out may not be the best fit, and that’s okay. There are always new games starting and always people seeking out a group – just like you – whether it’s via an online forum, a local game store, or among people you know already. Maybe you’re brave and want to take matters into your own hands and DM your own game – in which case, I say “go for it!” The point is, there are many methods of getting your foot in the door so you can experience the mental health benefits of DnD for yourself.
And, should DnD bring up feelings that would best be worked out in a therapeutic setting, that door is always open to you as well. If this is your situation, and you feel individual therapy could be beneficial for you, feel free to give us a call (215-922-5683) or schedule an appointment online!
