games for health: 2012 keynote: a crash course in getting superbetter

A crash course in getting Download the

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•  Free web-based platform

•  35,000 registered players in 3 months

•  iPhone app launches this month!

•  UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science Center •  Stanford University, CCARE & School of Medicine •  Penn, Positive Psychology Center •  Ohio State University, Medical Research Center

Dacher Kelter, PhD UC Berkeley

Christine Carter, PhD UC Berkeley

Jim Doty, MD Stanford

Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Stanford

Ann Marie-Roepke, PhD Cand., U Penn

Lise Worthen-Chauduri, MS, OSU

•  Builds personal resilience

•  Boosts physical, mental and emotional well-being

•  Strengthens your social support system

SHOW ME THE SCIENCE!!!

My mission: Increase the lifespan of everyone in this

room by 7 ½ minutes

I have math! 78.1 + 10 = 88.1

10 / 78.1 = +0.128040973 0.128040973 x 365 = +46.7349551

46.7349551 x 24 x 60 = +67298.3353 67 298.3353 / 365 = +184.379001 184.379001 / 24 = +7.68245837

YOUR mission: Decide how to spend your extra

7 ½ minutes!

Duh! Spend it playing games!

Duh! Spend it playing games!

“On your deathbed, are you really going to wish you spent more time playing World of Warcraft?”

“On your deathbed, are you really going to wish you spent more time playing Angry Birds?”

“I hate games. Waste of life. Imagine getting to the end of your life and regretting all that time.”

… it turns out, there’s research

on this!

“1. I wish I hadn’t worked so

hard.”

“I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

“I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends.”

“I wish I had let myself be happier.”

“I wish I’d had the courage to express my true self.”

“I wish I’d led a life true to my dreams, and not what others expected of me.”

WHY IS THIS SO HARD? 1.  Work less 2.  Reach out to friends more often 3.  Do the things that make us happy 4.  Express our true selves 5.  Spend the time and effort to pursue

our dreams, instead of what others expect of us

WHY IS THIS SO HARD? 1.  Work less (and exercise more!) 2.  Reach out to friends more often 3.  Do the things that make us happy 4.  Be honest and open about health

challenges we’re facing 5.  Spend the time and effort to pursue

our health

•  What I wrote at the time

Everything is hard. !The iron fist is pushing against my thoughts.!My whole brain feels vacuum pressurized. !

If I can't think who am I?!

No reading No writing

No videogames No work or email

No running No alcohol

No caffeine

NO REASON TO LIVE.

“I’m either going to kill myself, or I’m going to turn this into a

game.”

I felt like I’d survived a trip to the underworld.

Post-traumatic growth

1.  My priorities have changed – I’m not afraid to do what makes me happy.

2.  I feel closer to my friends and family. 3.  I understand myself better, I know who I

really am now. 4.  I have a new sense of meaning and

purpose. 5.  I’m better able to focus on my goals and

dreams.

Post-ecstatic… growth

Courage + Agency

+ Time

It requires

Courage, Agency, Time

Courage It requires

Let’s play!

Stand up and take 3 steps.    

Make your hands into fists. Raise them over

your head as high as you can for 5 seconds.    

Snap your fingers exactly

50 times.    

Count backwards

from 100 by 7. (100, 93…)    

If you’re inside, find a window

and look out of it. If you’re outside,

find a window and look in.  

Do a quick YouTube or

Google image search for “baby

[your favorite animal].”  

PHOTOS  COURTESY  OF  SHUTTERSTOCK  

Shake someone’s hand for 6 seconds.  

Send someone a quick thank you by text, email, Facebook or

Twitter.  

CONGRATULATIONS! For the next 24 hours, you have

increased resilience.

Do something hard. Stay up late.

Reach out to someone interesting. Take a risk.

Resilience Score

Power Packs

Agency It requires

BEHAVIORAL: Better chemotherapy adherence

PSYCHOLOGICAL: Higher rates of self-efficacy

The pursuit of happiness

The happiness of pursuit

Power Ups

“What worked for me: Going to SuperBetter when I felt like I needed

help, finding things to do, new power-ups, and doing them. Even if it didn't

change anything it made me feel like I was actually doing something about it.

It took away that sense of powerlessness.”

Bad Guys

“The Power to

Quit Anything”

“Battle Royale” (Post-

Concussion)

“For the first time I was able to have an evening where I was very depressed but able to know that it would get

better. Able to get out of the ""all-or-nothing"" thinking. Just because you lost to a bad guy today, you could

win against it tomorrow."

Epic Wins

Epic wins Challenge: Losing Weight

Win: Eat right 7 days in a row

Epic wins Challenge: Reducing stress

Win: Meditate 10 times by Friday

Epic wins Challenge: Sleep better

Win: Sleep without my iPod for an entire week

Epic wins Challenge: Asthma

Win: Go 6 days without using my inhaler

Epic wins Challenge: Chronic headaches Win: Wake up one single day

without a headache!

Epic wins Challenge: Anxiety

Win: Have one really good night

Epic wins Challenge: Depression

Win: Not be bored for 24 hours

Epic wins Challenge: Back pain

Win: Go to theater with my kids

Epic wins Challenge: Mood swings

Win: Attend an “intro to yoga” class

Time It requires

“I’ve played SuperBetter every day for 3 weeks now. The main thing for me is

playing SuperBetter means I am making sure I spend at least 15 minutes a day

taking care of myself.”

Allies

“SuperBetter allows you to spend time beyond therapy (1 hour a week) - you can play it any time and any where. It

helps you work on problems whenever they happen. Helps you involve your

friends (you can't do that with therapy!)”

“SuperBetter added a level of accountability I haven’t had before. I’m

accountable to my allies now.”

“We talk in SuperBetter-ese. “That could have been an epic win.’ ‘You should add

that as a power up.’ It’s become integrated into our vocabulary.”

“We can talk about stuff more, because now I have words to put to goals he

has.”

“My sister saw my success because she was my ally. Now she has her own site.”

“I wish I’d led a life true to my dreams, and not what others expected of me.”

What makes it ?

Stories

WHY IS THIS SO HARD? 1.  Work less 2.  Reach out to friends more often 3.  Do the things that make us happy 4.  Express our true selves 5.  Spend the time and effort to pursue

our dreams, instead of what others expect of us

WHY IS THIS SO HARD? 1.  Work less (and exercise more!) 2.  Reach out to friends more often 3.  Do the things that make us happy 4.  Be honest and open about health

challenges we’re facing 5.  Spend the time and effort to pursue

our health

Courage, Agency, Time

Some of us have to survive this trip…

… some of choose our own adventure.

My mission: Increase the lifespan of everyone in this

room by 7 ½ minutes

So how will you spend your extra 7 ½ minutes today?

Jane McGonigal, PhD Chief Creative Officer, SuperBetter Labs

jane@superbetter.com

ShowMeTheScience.com

What I’m Playing

What I’m Playing

What I’m Playing What I’m Playing