Debuffs are one of the more annoying things about video games or even table top games (See Munchkin: don’t pick up a duck in a dungeon). Debuffs are essentially a negative status effect. From losing health, mana, stamina, losing our weapon, or locking out our favorite abilities, debuffs just suck.
But what about IRL, there are debuffs on our physical and mental health as well. Cast on your leg? Debuff of a few months losing the ability to run, jump, and being over-encumbured constantly. Have a cold? Debuff of not being able to hang out with support system for 1 week or talk without sounding like someone is pinching your nose for 1 week.
A debuff on our mental health can look like anxiety preventing us from going to that social function everyone is excited about. Depression being the debuff preventing us from enjoying our favorite game. Gender dysphoria being the debuff from seeing ourselves as our truest self.
In games there is usually some resolution for the debuff: use a wishing ring card to remove the curse, have a healer cleanse you, use an item like a bandage to stop the effect from hurting you more. But what about in IRL? For physical health it can look like a cast or a Z pack. For our mental health it looks like medication, talking to a therapist, utilizing our community, utilizing coping mechanisms, or even just hanging out with our canine/feline companions.
Check your character status from time to time, notice if there are any debuffs that are hanging on to you and let’s talk about what we can do to clear them out.
Amber Legault LMFT 