I have an extremely hard job that causes PTSD and trauma and I come home every day and paint Warhammer minis until my wife and son get home. Been doing it for 20 years. My form of therapy

Ta for the interesting convo and thank you especially to Beard for being open about his mental health issues and therapy and helping to diminish the stigma of talking about it.

for me personally since I have started playing at my local game store every Saturday it has helped with my depression 100%. I have something to looking forward to now on the weekends and introduced me to a lot of friendly people.

There was a point in my life where building models, painting them, thinking up army lists and looking forward to and playing games of 40k was the only thing that brought me happiness and joy and it helped pull me out of a bad depression. I'm forever thankful for the pleasure that the hobby has given me, and the friends I've made because of it, and it still gives me joy today even if it's not such a crutch for me now. Thank you Beard for being so open, honest and frank with your experience as well. I've had a similar experience and did not seek help, and got myself stuck into a mental mire for far too long. I'm in a better place now, and I hope you are too. Also thank you Tabletop Tactics for talking about this issue. Speaking with many of my gaming/hobby friends over the years, the subject of mental health is something that has come up quite often, and we're pretty much unanimous in that it's a good thing to have this hobby because of it's variety. You can spend time alone and having a great time building or painting, or a great time with friends rolling some cubes and moving your art project around the table.

Painting is a big reason on why I’m still here. Whenever things were going bad or things felt impossible. I would just plug my headphones in, put a book on, and paint letting the world fade

I’m currently coping and living with PTSD, from being a soldier and police officer, gaming, painting, rpg and reading sci fi/fantasy has helped me cope with what I’ve been through and experienced

Thank you guys so much for bringing up this aspect of the hobby. I really appreciate Dr Tom’s insights, as well as you sharing your personal thoughts and experiences. I hope y’all keep taking care of yourselves and each other ❤️

Excellent topic to explore especially with an expert in the field.

I must commend Beard on his frankness and openness. To talk about personal issues in public takes great bravery and strength of character. I'm glad he is getting the help he needs and by speaking out may help others to recognise that they need to do the same.

40k is my Therapy. Have tried formal therapy 3 times now, CBT, DBT, general therapy, none ever worked for me. But playing 40k? Immersing myself in the painting, lore, gaming? Works wonders!

Something I've found with Warhammer, similar to any creative outlet, is that it can give you some of the highest highs and lowest lows. As someone with ADHD, creative outlets are the most invigourating and frustrating things I can do at the same time. Hyperfocus and momentum that you mentioned is extremely important to me - finishing models and showing them off and having it look how I thought in my head is fantastic, but if I lose that momentum or burn out, I get very frustrated, and then feel like I'm wasting my time not doing the painting, which isn't healthy, but a very difficult mindset to get out of for me because I always feel like I need to be doing something, whilst also struggling to do things due to ADHD issues. Something that is really helpful is the community aspect. Looking at other people's work, at all skill levels, is great and everyone is always very supportive. I think everyone who has painted realised that painting a model to completion is a big achievement, and no-one wants to discourage someone from continuing to paint by being negative about that achievement. I'm glad you're doing a podcast about this, it's a very important topic to me personally, and it's important that people who are struggling do reach out. I know from experience that that is very difficult, it's not as simple as "just seek help lmao" but I hope that the community can help people who are struggling slowly build up to receiving the help they need. Hearing from others like yourselves is very useful for people to have something to relate to, to help them maybe understand what is going on with them, so it's something that should be encouraged! From my own experience, I only sought out my ADHD diagnosis after years of struggling with depression because of seeing other people's experiences online which resonated with me. I was 30 when I got diagnosed and my mental health, whilst not always perfect, is vastly better. Sorry that was a rambling comment. Thanks for the video and for sharing your experiences!

I'm a soldier since more than a decade, and bad things happen sometimes. Painting, playing, reading, talking about our hobby help a lot. It's feel good to be part of this community, where all the bad things looks better for a moment. Veey great podcast, maybe the best , because all the beneficts for this hobby are sometimes underrated.

I've been in this hobby for barely 2 years, along with other hobbies over the years mostly card games like magic, and these hobbies have had a positive impact on my life, especially warhammer during the last 2 years which have been quite tumultuous with many things happening and warhammer has just been a great way to help, the game is a not only a way to connect and socialise with friends buy also engage on an intellectual battlefield of the mind, something I just can't find in any other aspect of life, so those are both a positive, and when I am stuck at home on my own when work dries up I can build and paint my models, and there's just something about imaging the battles my little squads of men have been through and the stories that can be told really helps takes my mind off of life and even when I get burnt out because I thought it was a good idea to build and paint multiple armies I can watch warhammer content online from painting and modeling and battle reports like the ones you guys put out. I suppose the TL:DR is that despite my depression and anxiety Warhammer has been a blessing and I appreciate it and the community around it for well improving my life.

A great watch. As one of Tom’s previous students - Thank you for a very interesting and important discussion! Subscribed! ✌️

This was a great episode. It's always important to talk about mental health and it was a really cool idea to invite an expert. Great job guys as always

Thank you for your amazing content, every take you have on this hobby is resonating with me. Favorite channel by far!

I'm probably what I've read described as an extroverted introvert, and I've realised that more and more as I've got older, that I do need 'me time'. Spending an hour painting in an evening is such a good way to unwind after work, or when I'm just needing to decompress after socialising and things. Whack a podcast on, or an audio book, and that time tuned out in my own little world is so valuable. I've not really considered it in mental health terms before, but no doubt I've been unwittingly getting that benefit from it.

For me personally, the painting side and the lore are the main draws for me. Particularly the painting. I was always handy at art in school. Painting models can be a chore sometimes, particularly getting the basecoats applied. But it's when it comes to the finessing stage that I really get into it. And when I produce something I'm really proud of, I'm not ashamed to show it off to my peers. My minis look AWESOME. I don't need validation for my skills, but I really do. I'll own that. Tell me how awesome it looks and I'm happy. With that said, there are my different approaches to painting styles. NMM looks cool. Not my style. 'Eavy Metal looks cool too. Not my style. Grimdark is where it's at for me. Besides showing off, I do love looking at and appreciating other people's work. Fletcher's stuff is awesome btw. Angron in particular. Edit. I made this comment before watching the whole video. Something said has rung true with me. Maybe the first therapist wasn't right for you and can effect your whole view on therapy. I can compare that to relationships. The first few were wrong for me and put me off relationships. I'm 48 today. Still single. I'm not unattractive. Something has clicked with me just now, I need to think about it.

The video you mention at the beginning of this'n was what got me to subscribe to TT, so glad you've made a spiritual successor to it years later! I think it's incredibly important we not only cultivate the culture that this hobby has with mental health but talk about how engaging in the hobby affects us all. The hobby helps but so does the discussion. ❤

Great episode. I hobby for this reason. It is my time, my outlet, and my way to relax and switch-off from the world. Interestingly nobody has any idea I do Warhammer (apart form my partner), it is just my thing, and my escapism and has helped me so much with my mental health. When I feel down and need some time, I just paint some plastic, and it helps me so much.

I truly appreciate you doing this kind of content. I myself am affected by mental health issues and I find all aspects of the hobby immensely rewarding and helpful. Hearing others point out similiar sentiments and hearing an actual psychologist give some background is very informative. Even though this kind of videoe seems to egenrate fewer clicks on the KZfaq, I sincerely hope you will continue this "extracurricular" kind of content in the future. Cheers you wonderful people! Edit: It would be interesting to hear, wether the grimdark aspect of the hobby is actually helpful (which is what I argue) or detrimental to the mental health of 'normal people' and/or those with mental health issues.

I love the painting part of this hobby because I am a horrible painter. But through years of practice, I've learned techniques that make it look like. I know exactly what I'm doing.

Enjoyed this Podcast and a great discussion from everyone. Well Done Mr Bread in sharing your experiences with therapy as well! That's really brave for many reasons :D

As someone who has just completed their second infantry guard army, hobby burnout is very real!

This is a really interesting video - and it covers for me, the reasons why Warhammer 40K has been so massively important for my mental health. Starting with writing short novels and reading the lore based books, I am now also running my own games at home, have about 10 viable armies collected over about 7 years - and for the first time I am picking up a paint brush when I never thought I could, and painting models. Early days on the last bit but I enjoy all aspects of it and pretty much do it all solo as a way to repair from a busy stressful day to day life. I have faced many struggles and challenges but this hobby has helped me stay positive thanks to the amazing community online and obviously the bosses at Tabletop Tactics! Pretty much kept my head up through the pandemic on their own. I hope everyone gets the same experience as me because it really is an awesome game and universe!

Helped me out of a particularly hard depression and still does so

Excellent video. Difficult topic. Wonderful conversation.

Thank you so much for sharing and having this conversation. A topic very close to my heart, we, especially men, need to feel safe to discuss these issues more. ❤

"Whenever things are falling apart, I can take some time and put something together." Warhammer has at times been the only hand hold i've been able to hold on to though oddly it turned 'against' me as I started to attempt to find work within the Hobby & with GW but kept getting knocked back.

Love his rejection of "it's dopamine" as an explanation for everything.

The realisation that sometimes your mental health won’t be healthy, is hugely important and a point that was conveyed superbly in this video. Also, the idea that having the ‘Warhammer’ hobby being so complex, with very social actions and also promoting some very individual actions, is great! I’m 41, played Man O War and Warhammer fantasy as a pre-teen/early teen until it was bullied out of me for social status in secondary school. I suffer some periodical bouts of poor mental health and my most recent copying mechanism was to actually start getting into the hobby of 40K, that in the past I didn’t have the confidence to do due to my messed up assumption that people will judge me and the negative affect that it could have on me. I’ve enjoyed the lore for a very long time, but since dipping my toe back in the water of building and playing, I have been surprised with both the acceptance of others and my pride in confirming that “yes, I play Warhammer!” If only I knew more people that play! I need some regular game time! Keep up the good work guys, I’m getting close to having watch all of the 40K videos on the channel!

such a needed and wonderful conversation. Thank you

Love the podcast and this episode in particular. What a great topic to share with the 40k community. Thanks to Beard and Bard for hosting and sharing personal experiences. The guest was brilliant. Thank you, greatly. ❤

To all who may be struggling with their mental health - praying for you and keeping you in my thoughts. I was diagnosed with a heart condition and my father passed away within the space of 3 months. But this hobby, support of your true friends and loved ones, and the grace of God will always help you face the darkest days. By God's blessing, I am on way to recovery now.

One thing I will say for folks who may be in similar situations, Don't get to wrapped up in worry about how you may be perceived if you admit you are struggling or having health problems. I convinced myself for years that if I was to seek help I would be put in some padded room because I heard voices. I was so convinced I kept it from family and friends for many many years until it destroyed many parts of my life. Seeking help was a game changer, I got to find out so much about myself & realise many things that were wrong that I had just ignored for years and begin to work on those. It can be a very long process but the longer you leave it the deeper the hole gets. I wish anyone out there who is also struggling the best, find & enjoy your comforts. You got this.

Wow. Thankyou for doing this.

This is an important topic for me, so as a person who suffers from anxiety and a bit of depression. So I find this hobby has helped since coming back to it after a very long time. The journey has been tough but it’s helping me. So thank you 🙏

Hang in there Joe, we love ya man. I think your story of the train is an incredibly powerful one, since it provides a stark physical manifestation of something that’s often invisible: that moment when you come to a mental/emotional threshold, and your mind just draws a line and refuses to take another step. My understanding is that it’s this primal self-preservation instinct that kicks in against our will in order to “keep us safe”. Of course anxiety doesn’t care if our rational mind says things like “it’s just a meeting” or “nobody died from their shoes being judged”, it just seizes the controls from us. Then it’s so frustrating to describe that block to someone who’s never experienced it, whose rational thoughts have never been so overridden by that instinct. “Why’s it such a big deal? You’ve gone to dozens of meetings, the train door is open, you’ve made this trip so many times, just go!” Then we’re stuck, because they’re technically right, and we know they’re right, but the block is STILL THERE. I won’t go into too much detail, but recently I’ve been dealing with debilitating symptoms of what seemed like physical ailments, but as more tests get done the more things point towards the cause (or at least a major element) being psychological. I’ve never experienced anything even close, I’ve been fairly “level-headed well-balanced” my whole life, and nothing especially traumatic triggered this all of a sudden, so it’s been so hard to accept that as a possibility. “If it’s all in my head, why can’t I just think my way through it? Why has it been months since I was able to just eat and walk and wake up in the morning?” For me, the “train door” was the front door of my own home. I just couldn’t bear to enter it, or stay for more than an hour or two, for months. In the end, I think it’s come down to just not taking care of myself, letting everything else take precedence over those little things that keep all of us going. I’d accrued a lot of debt in the “self care” area of life over several years, and it all came due at once. POINT BEING: to anyone reading this, Dr. Barry is absolutely right. The time to manage your mental well being is when you feel alright. We can always find ways to improve our mental health habits, we will always have blind spots where problems can arise if we just assume all is well. Keep your loved ones close, surround yourself with a good support network filled with positive influences, let yourself have and enjoy hobbies like Warhammer, and don’t feel afraid to be honest about how things are going. And… Thanks for making the Tabletop Tactics Community so full of Bosses.

Having gotten into the hobby earlier this year, I've had a wonderful time. Being someone of colour, I've never been made to feel excluded or otherwise.

The hobby is one of the best resources I have for hobbying and the opportunities to help others through it is a wonderful driver

wow this hour flew by! Thanks Guys

Gratz on getting married, Bard :) happy days ! :) 40K themed wedding ? :D

The good think about wargamming is when you meet someone while gaming you instantly have something in common, and after a while you start joking and build a great rapport.

Really interesting, thanks. Putting things in motion when you are feeling good is my big takeaway, also the insight into the body and mind being one and the same, thus everything you do to one affects the other. So simple but easy to overlook....off to eat some fruit!

I enjoyed listening to this. I think it's important on us as a community to take the initiative to continue positivity as people come in. I came in through books. Just books for 15 years. Now gaming for a few years. I wanna talk about these books with people. So I'm excited to grow it. And we keep the positivity by making sure as people come in we greet them to it with how we expect the community to be. That's how we keep it from becoming starwars. And side note, we remind them that memes arent proper lore haha.

So many words i want to write that i can't express so instead i will simply say that your all amazing for doing this and i sincerely wish you all the very best going forwards.

I’m a carpenter by trade and a volunteer firefighter. So I like to use hobbying and baking as my therapy.

New to Warhammer, not new to mental health issues. Having taken part in a healthy amount of other activities and hobbies with less than positive communities, it's extremely refreshing and energizing to engage with the Warhammer community. I am someone who desires a lot of alone time and isolation, but at the same time, socialization with people of similar interests is EXTREMELY beneficial to my mental health. It's something I have to consistently remind myself is important, and it's good for me, and it always turns out to be true. At the same time, I also acknowledge the time that I DO need alone, and that it's ok to not accomplish everything on my to do list, its ok to not be "productive" at all moments of the day, of the week, of the year! Nobody's perfect, striving to be so will only end in disappointment, and you'll miss a lot of the good little things along the way. We're all only human don't forget... ❤

Two things for me are how the hobby gets me away from screens and off the internet. It's also an excuse to get the boys round without excessive amounts of drinking.

Great Vid guys. I have been in the hobby for over 20 years and played/hobbied in multiple countries. One of the things that has always struck me is that most of the community comes from either Army/Army Vets or the LGBT community. I cant think of another hobby where such a thing happens as these groups are often polar opposites. Either way the community is very welcoming and great healing for any type of trauma.

Love to see this being talked about. Love y'all

I can’t wait for this particular field (wargaming, hobby, tabletop gaming en masse intersecting with mental health) to blow up. It’s such an interesting and important topic. The way all of this bumps into and around the ol adhd is a constant source of both frustration and relief for me and I love learning about it. The multifaceted nature of the hobby is what we need it to be when we need it. Edit - one last thing. I came into this video expecting lots of big, fancy words and neurological explanations. So at first I was annoyed that the good doctor held back and explained things in very common sense terms, but I see the wisdom in it. We don’t need to call upon physical, chemical understanding of things to validate it. It’s just a thing we do that we enjoy. Very nice.

Thank you Dr Tom - petitioning for you to be invited back on for a game against TT.

first! thanks for sharing this, I love you all

You guys have mental health i'm amazed.

You guys have helped me cope with my own struggles with the black dog. Thank you.

There's a meme showing a piece of torn up potholed old road labelled "the rest of the week" and in the middle is a short length of perfectly paved, snooker-table-smooth road labelled "my gaming time with friends." Consumable media aside, I think this perfectly encapsulates what we "get" out of our gaming lives. An opportunity to unwind, to take refuge from the world, to gather with like minded friends and share an experience, to celebrate victories and commiserate losses, to cheer and curse our luck, often at the same time. To share insights over lore, to compliment our paintwork. The list goes on. It might not be "cheap" therapy, but therapy it is nonetheless.

What a great Episode, great job guys!

thanks, great topic

In a world that feels more and more Antisocial (and that's coming from an introvert) anything that requires socializing in person should be protected at all costs. Also when I build and paint it puts me in this almost meditative state, and when I finish I feel so proud and productive.

the problem i have is i own a businiss and work 80+ hours a week. when everything falls apart around me i dont have time to do anything exept scream into a pillow before i sleep and start it all again.

For some sick reason i love horde armys, but im not very injoying painting, so im like "punishing" myself :P Strange huh? ^^

when is there only war be like:

Personally I feel like social media has just created the same effect as looking at models has for my body image. I see nothing but perfection that I'll never match. Someone posts on reddit "first time painting..." and then it's golden daemon tier stuff. I've stopped painting new models now.

Please guys do more AOS games as that’s why I and others have joined and yet we have endless 40k games ,so please please 🙏 as it’s been months now since

Normalize therapy! Throw down the social stigma of asking for help and having to be okay. Therapy isn't for life. If your doctor could explain your behaviors, answer the questions about yourself you've had your entire life, and give you tools to make your everyday easier - wouldn't you go?

The hobby is a great escapist form of therapy, either gaming, painting or collecting. The buzzkill to that in any game is players or organizers trying to bring real world politics or socio-political issues into the game and trying to push their real-world subjective reality narrative.