Stress, Lies, and Videogames

It's a stress reliever. That's the lie. The lie I tell myself every time I load my game up on the computer. Someone told me that I need to find a really good relaxation technique to help with muscle aches and tension I seem to have. I'm always...ok, usually...in a good mood...a happy guy...but apparently that's not enough. "I play videogames," I said. "That relaxes me". But DOES IT? If that's true...why did I need a heating pad on the left shoulder following my last round of multiplayer online action? Why did my chest muscle spasm if I was SO relaxed? I'm serious...this actually happened. But how is this possible? I was having fun. The answer...stress can come from something good just as easily as something bad. Fuck. That's just great. But it's true. Think about it. The holidays. Vacations. Planning a wedding. Getting a new dog. Buying a house. Those are all good things. Great things. The most stressful things you can do. And now there's videogames too. Sure, bad things are bad...and stressful. But good things are worse because you don't even know that they're stressful. Good stress is sneaky.