Not sure if this is the right section or not.
But my question is
How has pokemon helped your mental health?
For myself personally.quick answer… is every step of the way.
edit: it helps me with anxiety and depression.
how did it help you and why?
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Don’t know if that counts as “mental” health issue, but among other things (like sport etc.) it keeps me from drinking too much at certain times. When I’m at home and bored on weekend evenings, just scrolling through soon ending ebay auctions while listening to some smooth music has grown to become a favorite relaxing hobby of mine.
I’d always recommend to diversify your hobbies at least a little bit. May it be reading, sports, gardening, aquariums or whatever. Every new activity helps expanding your horizon and makes you see the beautiful things in life 
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It just gives me a rush in general.
To me, there is nothing like going on eBay and finding a good deal on a card that I love. I’m 28 years old, and the visceral feeling that it gives me now is the same feeling it evoked in me when I was nine.
To some people, they are just worthless pieces of cardboard. To people like us, there are pieces of our life that we will always cherish.
Gotta love Pokemon.
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It jacks me up and makes me broke, if anything its counter-intuitive lol 
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I’m sober because of Pokémon cards. I finally found something to do with my boredom and spare time. I’m so grateful i found my old cards by chance almost two years ago. I’ve been collecting, buying, grading, and selling cards ever since.
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I don’t know about mental health, but having it as a hobby is something fun to do that isn’t a toxic habit. I’d rather spend money on cards than blow it in a casino or drinking in a club.
It also gives you something tangible that you can look at and say ahhh that is one beatiful psa 10 Rattata.
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For me its helped huge amount. Its really hard for me to talk about it, not even most my family knows but during my adult life so far (in my late 20s now) I’ve been very lonely. Hardly any friends, just got 1 or 2 really. Not gone to parties, dinners or holidays etc in the last 5+ years so not much social interactions at all, phone book and whatsapp list very small.
However Pokemon collecting has kept a smile on my face during this time, spending sometime looking for cards, at others collections and sharing my own on here and social media. It takes my mind off things, i can keep going through my collection, my binders and it helps me pass time, to hang onto the little strength i have left but the most important thing for me is you guys, the people here and on Instagram, people that i can interact with and not feel alone at the time
I hope what i have written makes sense as it was difficult to type.
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So familiar story this. I almost broke out of that state of ‘loneliness’ but sadly it didn’t, yet I had Pokémon to keep the smile on my face with the little goal and little achievements collecting brings with it.
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I’m so grateful that pokemon can help people in these situations and other ones as well. I hope that one day, if i get married, new family and friends that i won’t have to feel like i’m sitting in the corner of an empty room
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Wow…GREAT post Psheets and welcome back:)
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Oh boy, Pokemon has been instrumental in helping me with my poor mental health.
Have dealt with sever anxiety and depression, that combination really compels you to stay indoors and not live, I’ve been a Pokemon collector for decades but really kicked things up a notch when I gave up my job to recover. I quickly found that filling in gaps in my binder gave me a sense of progress mentally, in addition forging new friendships when getting out to see my regular friends was a struggle, trading with people and meeting fellow collectors, it has all given me so much motivation to recover fully.
I’m saddened to hear that some of you are lonely, that’s a rough feeling, in my professional opinion as a Psychologist I strongly advocate joining local groups (e.g. sports, card games, books etc.), as we get older its a very convenient way to forge new connections and relationships and you’d be surprised how many people who are in the same boat do so and find people with real commonality.
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I have been very much involved with Pokemon and the Pokemon community actively since it first came to America. I carry some important lessons I had learnt during that experience with me today (from business to relationships), and I wouldn’t take back a single moment. Lots of friends gained through enjoyment of the hobby as well. So I guess it has been a good ride and certainly still keeps a smile on my face It really has helped bring people together.
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No worries, I feel that. Although I am married and have a kid, it would be nice to have some good friends and I feel like that is seldom today. Especially as an adult, you get stuck into a work routine…
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Helps me remain organized.
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Back in 2014/2015 I suddenly got ill, so bad that I couldn’t leave the house for 2 years unless it was to see a doctor, which as you could imagine was extremely bad for my mental health to be trapped in my house and be in pain all the time. So I put all my attention towards Pokemon cards to keep my mind of the situation I was in. The doctors would just prescribe me medication, medication with side effects so bad that I needed blood tests every couple of weeks to make sure it wasn’t harming me. None of this worked and so I stopped taking these harmful drugs and thought I’d never get better. Pokemon was the only thing good in my life. miraculously in late 2016 my condition started to get better - so i grabbed the bull by the horns and started eating right, taking vitamins, working out, just to boost my immune system - and I’m 99.9% better now!
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Keeps me from being able to afford expensive drugs which defs helps my mental health.
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I’m 23 now and I started to briefly get back into Pokemon two years ago around January 2017. My dad passed away in April 2017 and I feel like that definitely sparked my interest in collecting. He was a trying/recovering alcoholic and his death was very sudden and was a huge shock. Collecting pokemon and digging into all of the amazing nostalgia I had as a kid definitely helped to cope with things. I’m very happy I got back into collecting and I love where my collection is at right now - Pokemon has basically been a part of my entire life and I’m looking forward to collecting/selling for a long time to come
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Great post. I organize my collection when I feel serious anxiety to calm me down with a familiar relaxing behavior (CBT) and plan spreadsheets of purchases I hope to make someday when I’m feeling depressed and like I have nothing to aim for.
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Sorry about your dad. What a terrible illness to be afflicted with. Hang in there.
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Pokemon cards helped me survive my Ph.D. Sorting cards after 10 hours in the lab helped me decompress.