There are these light-filtered summers. Julys that feel altered, the season of dust and teenage arson. Bedrooms begin to feel like motels with cheap coffee. Who can stand it?
There's anxiety. That cottonmouth, nothing but red, fogged crawling, shaking so bad you don't want anyone touching you, kind of feeling. Depression, more often than not, moves in with it. That heavy blankets, barely listening, can't pay attention because I just can't kind of feeling. In the summer, it's worse. It the winter, it's worse. And in the middle of July, I was the one caught covered in heavy blankets and barely listening to the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' soundtrack from the muffled voices creeping their way through my comforter (even though, I thought my comforter was thick enough to shield me from any outside noise and contact. Apparently not). Summer can be harsh and there aren't many solutions to ease it away.
Though, a gentleness came, something childhood nostalgia and Nintendo meshed together. Pokemon Go has been ridiculously showcased as a silly game that keeps teenagers glued to their phone screens despite being outside. Some concepts of the game have been disputed wrongly, a little out of focus in cases such as these. This game has benefited those suffering with mental illnesses and at exactly the right time. When Pokemon Go became a reality from a free app on my phone, there were trainer caps to put on and Pokestops to be visited.
These people are walking around, persisted to leave their bed by these Pokemon that followed them into adulthood. I had something to do that made me want to walk. I had something to do that made me not terrified of being around an anxious amount of people that would, in a normal situation, lead me to vomiting and to count on one of my many extraction plans. There was no way I would have volunteered to walk out into a crowd, unless it had been for these Clefairys. My anxiety was there, yes. That just doesn't dissolve easily, but if there was any chance of me at least attempting to conquer it; this was how.
There are these friendships flourishing. Just last week, I was attending my college orientation, unknowing of any person there and unsure of if I was actually going to speak to anyone at all. Until I overheard a group of three girls discussing what teams they had picked, if they had evolved any Eevees yet, and what CP their strongest Pokemon was. Honestly, if that common interest was not overheard, I would not have talked to them. Just out of pure excitement of bonding over this game was enough to get me out of my shell for a few minutes.
There are multiple people claiming for this aiding towards their mental health.
The encouraging community and constructive intention of this game is unbelievable and growing. It's helping people get level-headed with their mental illnesses, and that's the point. We are outside, not in our beds. We're gathering, forming friendships easily and happily. Not trembling, not being weighed down in blankets. And we're enjoying our childhood, years later.
