the other tetris effect

[hitchhiker]

https://twitter.com/jelenawoehr/status/1445993073494749187

24hrs after a traumatic event, or as soon as you are safe, play Tetris. It SIGNIFICANTLY reduces likelihood of intrusive memories.

Literally SIXTY TWO PERCENT fewer intrusive memories after a car crash, just by playing Tetris, in this study

Most well-regarded psychiatric medications do not have such dramatic effects, especially less than a week after a trauma.

Not only that, Tetris CAN EVEN HELP WITH ESTABLISHED COMPLEX PTSD!

Which almost *nothing* treats. Again, >50% reduction in unwanted images! (However, for cPTSD, you probably want this intervention to be guided by a professional if at all possible.)

Comments

[gingicat]

That's really interesting, because when I play Tetris and similar games, my brain goes into "let me make up stories for you!" mode.

The summary in that tweet looks very misleading to me.

[pauamma]

What helps (per the first article's abstract) is playing Tetris after a memory reactivation task (whatever that is). Playing Tetris alone doesn't help (also in abstract).