Edinburgh tour guide holding 24-hour gameathon says hobby has 'helped him escape'
An Edinburgh tour guide who is holding a 24-hour gameathon has said he's been able to 'escape the stress of everyday life' through gaming.
Sean Forrest, who works for Rabbie's Tours, will be gaming for a full day in support of Health in Mind. While the pastime can often be seen through a 'negative perspective, Sean feels it has been 'critical' for him throughout his life in building relationships and spending 'quality time' with others.
From 9am on June 20, Sean will be streaming his lengthy gaming session on Twitch. Sean said: "As someone lucky enough to have the support of a psychologist through my childhood, mental health quickly became a topic I strived to break the stigma about.
"When I moved to Edinburgh to study, I worked as a resident assistant, where I first heard about Health in Mind. One of the students expressed feeling homesick, overwhelmed, and isolated.
"They explained that if it weren't for Health in Mind helping build their resilience, hope and showing them ways to support their mental health, they would have dropped out.
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"This experience spoke to me. It helped me understand how lucky I was to have received the help and support I needed when I was little, and that not everyone was so fortunate.
"Shortly after, I decided I had to do everything I could to make my corner of the world brighter, and a great place to start was combining my inspiration – Health in Mind – and one of my core coping strategies, gaming.
"Gaming can sometimes be seen through a negative perspective. However, for my whole life, gaming has been critical in fostering relationships, spending quality time with others, living shared experiences and escaping the stress of everyday life."
(Image: Supplied)
Sean believes 'play of any form' is necessary for building bonds with peers and 'testing your resolve'.
He added: "It relieves the worry of failure and promotes creative and innovative thinking.
"I believe that play is something hardly any of us allow ourselves to do with the stress of modern life but it should be encouraged in moderation, with other healthy coping strategies for mental health."
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Sean first organised a 24 hour gameathon back in 2019, and had 'huge success'. It's now grown from him sitting on a webcam to a 'full-blown' event. He's running it with the support of Rabbie's Tours, after colleagues expressed interest in joining.
He added: "I took my passion and made it into a challenge. Many of my colleagues expressed that they would love to participate in a 24-hour gaming marathon, but would never have the time or space to do so.
"Rabbie's has not only shown incredible support, but has been generous enough to encourage staff to use paid volunteering days to participate."
You can find Sean's Just Giving page here.
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