games for health: 2012 keynote: a crash course in getting superbetter
TRANSCRIPT
A crash course in getting Download the
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so we can play together
during this talk!
• 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?
What I’m Playing
What I’m Playing
What I’m Playing What I’m Playing