An Opium Called Game

There is one unchangeable enjoyment of me. Even if I have not been a kid anymore as I started to enjoy it when I was 10 years old. It was the first time my dad bought a personal computer (PC). That is playing game. However, I did not play my first electronic game by PC. It was my first time I played electronic game when a friend of mine who stayed 2 houses next to my house bought a device called gamewatch. Honestly I did not know exactly what the equipment' name is. But he called it that way. So I just recognized it as gamewatch. Later on I recognize such a device as handheld game console.

It was a kungfu fighting game when I played it firstly. There was a kungfu boxer against some black ninjas. But first stage should be accomplished before continuing to next stages. First stage had only a black ninja. It was not so difficult I thought. But after third stage where three ninjas appeared It became very difficult. I had to let my shift for the other friends of mine after third stage because I failed to defeat those three black ninjas.

Actually any type of game I like it. But there is no such an addictive game genre as first person shooter (FPS) of real time strategy. It is usually a human-scale combat. Some historical events are adapted as the story plot. Even the game developers use famous movies as their plot. For instance Steven Spielberg' Saving Private Ryan has similarity of story plot with Battlefield 1942. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is also my favorite besides Halo: Combat Evolved and that Battlefield 1942.

Counter Strike (CS), was my first FPS game. It was my third year in my bachelor when CS became very popular among students not only in my department but also my high school mates. I started to play it within a LAN of my computer' friends. It was very startling for me as we could split into two teams fighting each other. But I did not like that way since it made team' motions very slow. It was probably caused by insufficient either graphic memory or RAM capacity.

Several games in the real time strategy genre are my favorites as well. Age of Empires was my first real time strategy. I love it very much. All the series of that game including its spin-off games I tried to play. Even my brother and sister love to play them as well. We collected almost all cheat code of that game. If we had LAN-connected computers, I am sure we played it more frequently.

There is one thing I have never had enough of playing games. Especially it is of FPS games. After long duration of playing FPS, I feel dizzy. My head seems like rotating. I feel to be spew out subsequently. I have no choice rather than lying down my body completely horizontal on my bed. I closed my eyes for a while then. Otherwise feeling to be spew out would be more and more. Even if I experience this dizzying many times I have not had enough of playing FPS game. Even I am still keeping them in my computer. I feel my resistance towards this dizzying is decrease by time. I could withstand to play FPS for more than 4-5 hours nonstop without dizzying but I recently play Counter Strike and Halo:Combat Evolved only for less than 2 hours before I felt a heavy dizzy and nearly spew out. It seems to be very hard to me for leaving playing such a game. Even if I gradually reduce the frequency by finding another enjoyments for leisure.

I believe that human being as a creature of God will never be able to avoid from either fast or gradual alteration since a creature is in temporal and spatial dimensions. But sometimes a radical change is required.
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Menulis dan Kesehatan

Menulis ternyata berpengaruh juga pada kesehatan. Tidak hanya kesehatan fisik saja yang terpengaruh tetapi juga kejiwaan kita. Terlalu lama menulis di depan komputer tanpa jeda akan menimbulkan mata terasa pedas sehingga berair dan kemerahan. Otot-otot tangan juga menjadi sedikit kaku karena posisinya yang tetap dalam jangka waktu yang lama. Apalagi jika posisi duduk dalam posisi yang tidak bergerak dalam waktu yang lama.

Lebih menarik kalau membahas pengaruh menulis bagi kesehatan jiwa. Beberapa penelitian-penelitian yang dipublikasikan secara internasional ternyata sudah membahas tentang pengaruh menulis pada kesehatan jiwa seseorang. Termasuk di dalamnya, bagaimana tulisan seseorang dapat digunakan untuk menilai kondisi kejiwaan seseorang. Berikut beberapa tulisan di jurnal-jurnal yang membahas tentang hal tersebut lengkap dengan abstraknya dalam bahasa aslinya.

The health benefits of writing about intensely positive experiences, Chad M. Burton and Laura A. King, Journal of Researc h in Personality, vol. 38, issue 2, April 2004, pages 150-163

Abstract

In a variation on Pennebaker’s writing paradigm, a sample of 90 undergraduates were randomly assigned to write about either an intensely positive experience (IPE) (n=48) or a control topic (n=42) for 20 min each day for three consecutive days. Mood measures were taken before and after writing. Three months later, measures of health center visits for illness were obtained. Writing about IPEs was associated with enhanced positive mood. Writing about IPEs was also associated with significantly fewer health center visits for illness, compared to controls. Results are interpreted as challenging previously considered mechanisms of the positive benefits of writing.

Benefits of expressive writing and expressive talking about life goals, Steve Harrist, Barbara L. Carlozzi, Arthur R. McGovern, and Amanda W. Harrist, Journal of Research in Personality, vol. 41, Issue 4, August 2007, pages 923-930

Abstract

This study employed a 2 (writing vs. talking) × 2 (life goals vs. daily schedule) fully crossed, factorial design to examine whether health benefits might accrue for talking and/or writing about life goals. Participants assigned the life goals topic had fewer illness-related health center visits, regardless of mode of expression, compared to participants assigned the non-emotional topic. Counter to expectation, optimism did not moderate the effect of topic on illness-related health center visits. Participants in talking groups rated post-intervention mood as less negative than those in writing groups and participants rated talking about life goals as more difficult than writing about life goals.

Emotional expression and psychological symptoms: A comparison of writing and drawing, K.M. Chan M.S.W. and K. Horneffer Ph.D., The Arts in Psychotherapy, vol. 33, issue 1, 2006, pages 26-36

Abstract

The psychological effects of writing versus drawing about a stressful experience were compared. Participants were randomly assigned either into a control group (n = 34), a journaling group (n = 29), or a drawing group (n = 29). A measure of psychological symptoms was completed before and after two 15-min sessions. The results indicated that participants in the journaling group had a significantly greater decrease in their psychological symptoms than those in the drawing group or the control group. Journaling was also found to have a more positive effect for participants who initially had higher levels of psychological distress.

Psychological Impact of Writing About Abuse or Positive Experiences, Aldridge Antal, Holly M.; Range, Lillian M., Violence and Victims, vol. 20, Number 6, 2005, pages 717-728 (12)

Abstract

Writing often helps people deal with trauma. To see if writing about childhood physical or sexual abuse, or positive experiences, helps, psychology undergraduates wrote for 20 minutes on 4 days about their abuse, a positive experience, or a trivial topic. Among 102 who began and 85 who completed pre-, post-, and 4-week follow-up measures of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideas, abuse writers were more likely to discontinue, and positive writers were more depressed and anxious. Compared to pretest, all completers were less depressed, anxious, and suicidal at follow-up, but nonsignificantly different in health visits. Completers who wrote about abuse rated the study as more valuable than did those who wrote about positive experiences. College students who wrote about childhood physical or sexual abuse benefited from any type of structured writing assignment (where they interacted with a researcher and got extra credit) in terms of reduced anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideas, but they found value in writing about their trauma more than writing about innocuous topics.

Writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic events: Implications for physical health, Laura A. King and Kathi N. Miner, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 26, No. 2, 220-230 (2000)

Abstract

Research by Pennebaker and his colleagues supports the healing power of writing about traumatic events. This study explored the importance of writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic events as a factor in this process. The study included 118 participants who were randomly assigned to write about one of four topics in a 2 (writing about perceived benefits vs. not writing about perceived benefits)x2 (writing about trauma vs. not writing about trauma) factorial design. Participants also completed questionnaire measures of subjective well-being and released health center information for the year. Participants who wrote only about trauma or perceived benefits showed significantly fewer health center visits for illness 3 months after writing. In addition, 5 months after writing, the trauma-only and perceived-benefits-only groups maintained a difference from the control group. These results suggest that writing about perceived benefits from traumatic events may provide a less upsetting but effective way to benefit from writing.

Written Emotional Expression Produces Health Benefits in Fibromyalgia Patients, Joan E. Broderick, Ph.D., Doerte U. Junghaenel, M.A., and Joseph E. Schwartz, Ph.D., Psychosomatic Medicine, 67:326-334 (2005)

Abstract

Objective: Written expression of traumatic experiences, an intervention found to have health benefits in rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and breast cancer, was tested in a randomized, controlled trial with female fibromyalgia patients. It was hypothesized that relative to controls, patients engaging in the writing intervention would experience improved status on psychological well-being and physical health variables. Methods: Patients (N _ 92) were randomized into a trauma writing group, a control writing group, or usual care control group. The two writing groups wrote in the laboratory for 20 minutes on 3 days at 1-week intervals. Psychological well-being, pain, and fatigue were the primary outcome variables. Assessments were made at pretreatment, posttreatment, 4-month follow-up, and 10-month follow-up. Results: The trauma writing group experienced significant reductions in pain (effect size [ES]_ 0.49) and fatigue (ES _ 0.62) and better psychological well-being (ES _ 0.47) at the 4-month follow-up relative to the control groups. Benefits were not maintained at the 10-month follow-up. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia patients experienced short-term benefits in psychological and health variables through emotional expression of personal traumatic experiences. Key words: fibromyalgia, self disclosure, pain, well-being, randomized clinical trial.

Health-related effects of creative and expressive writing, Geoff Lowe, Health Education, vol. 106, no. 1, pp. 60-70 (2006)

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some health-related effects of creative and expressive writing. Design/methodology/approach – Reviews some of the main research studies exploring links between expressive writing and aspects of health, including two new experimental studies showing effects of poetry on mood and immune system indices. Findings – Research studies have involved standard writing tasks and have shown a good range of physiological and behavioural benefits. Example findings include improvements in health and well-being and enhanced levels of host defences in immune system functioning. Other notable findings include reduced severity of symptoms in arthritis and asthma sufferers. However, writing disclosure may also have negative effects on clients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The cognitive-behavioural bases of “writing therapy” include the informative function of emotions, self-regulation, re-framing, and dealing more effectively with negative feelings. Originality/value – Provides health professionals with an overview of research into health-related effects of creative and expressive writing, and may encourage sensitive approaches which include writing therapy. The studies of poetry and immune function report some of the first empirical biological evidence for the poetry-health link.

Forming a Story: The Health Benefits of Narrative, James W. Pennebaker and Janel D. Seagal, Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 55 (10), pp. 1243-1254 (1999)

Abstract

Writing about important personal experiences in an emotional way for as little as 15 minutes over the course of three days brings about improvements in mental and physical health. This finding has been replicated across age, gender, culture, social class, and personality type. Using a text-analysis computer program, it was discovered that those who benefit maximally from writing tend to use a high number of positive-emotion words, a moderate amount of negative-emotion words, and increase their use of cognitive words over the days of writing. These findings suggest that the formation of a narrative is critical and is an indicator of good mental and physical health. Ongoing studies suggest that writing serves the function of organizing complex emotional experiences. Implications for these findings for psychotherapy are briefly discussed.

Empirical Foundations for Writing in Prevention and Psychotherapy: Mental and Physical Health Outcomes; Brian A. Esterling, Luciano L’Abate, Edward J. Murray, James W. Pennebaker, Clinical Psychology Review, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 79-96 (1999)

Abstract

The use of writing, alone or in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy, has increased substantially in recent years. The most widespread use of writing has been for singleshot ad hoc purposes or to log behavior. The purpose of this review is to summarize a decade of research demonstrating the efficacy of writing about past traumatic experiences on mental and physical health outcomes. It is widely acknowledged in our culture that putting upsetting experiences into words can be healthy. Research from several domains indicates that talking with friends, confiding to a therapist, praying, and even writing about one’s thoughts and feelings can be physically and mentally beneficial. This review highlights advances in written disclosure that determine some therapeutic outcomes. In addition, we attempt to explore the mechanisms that predict improved psychological and physical health. Finally, limitations of previous studies are highlighted, and suggestions for future research and application are made.

Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing; Karen A. Baikie and Kay Wilhelm; Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, vol. 11, pp. 338-346 (2005)

Abstract

Writing about traumatic, stressful or emotional events has been found to result in improvements in both physical and psychological health, in non-clinical and clinical populations. In the expressive writing paradigm, participants are asked to write about such events for 15–20 minutes on 3–5 occasions. Those who do so generally have significantly better physical and psychological outcomes compared with those who write about neutral topics. Here we present an overview of the expressive writing paradigm, outline populations for which it has been found to be beneficial and discuss possible mechanisms underlying the observed health benefits. In addition, we suggest how expressive writing can be used as a therapeutic tool for survivors of trauma and in psychiatric settings.

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Menulis di Blog

Ketika seorang teman menanyakan, "Kenapa blog-nya tidak pernah diupdate?". Jawaban saya hanya sederhana. "Wah, harus diupdate juga ya, kirain tinggal ndaftar, terus nulis sekali kemudian selesai". Ternyata, salah satu tujuan orang ngeblog adalah melatih kemampuan menyampaikan isi kepala dengan tulisan. Tidak jarang orang menulis di blog hanya beberapa penggal kalimat atau bahkan beberapa kata saja. Tidak perlu berlarik-larik yang jamak ditemui di textbook atau surat kabar.

Meski hanya beberapa kalimat, yang kadang menjadi menarik justru tanggapan-tanggapan yang datang dari pembacanya. Untuk satu posting saja, tidak jarang bisa sampai 10 komentar. Hal seperti ini jauh lebih menarik karena ada interaksi antara kita dengan orang lain. Tidak seperti menulis buku harian atau menulis di koran dan majalah.

Menulis di koran atau di majalah, kalau dimuat, akan banyak yang membaca. Kalau pun tidak dimuat, minimal redaksi atau sekretaris redaksinya yang membacanya. Kalau memang menarik, mereka teruskan membaca kalimat demi kalimat. Lha kalau sejak kalimat-kalimat awal saja sudah dipandang kurang menarik, ya masuk ke kolonglah tulisan kita. Atau kalau sekarang, masuk ke folder Recycle Bin. Kalau yang menulis tokoh terkenal atau yang sudah sering menulis di koran atau majalah, redaksi seringkali tidak mau repot-repot membacanya secara mendalam. Sudah dipastikan tulisannya bagus. Susahnya kalau seperti saya yang terkenal saja tidak, apalagi pandai menulis. Tidak jarang dalam mengetik satu kalimat atau paragraf, tombol Backspace dan Delete lebih dari 5 kali dipencet.

Menulis di blog tidak perlu lewat redaksi-redaksian. Tidak juga lewat sekretaris-sekretaris. Semudah tinggal ndaftar dan saat itu juga, tulisan apapun akan ditampilkan. Ingat, hanya "ditampilkan". Sudah tampil bukan berarti akan dibaca. Sangat mungkin setelah kita menampilkan sebuah posting di blog kita, tidak ada seorang pun yang membacanya selain kita sendiri. Oleh karenanya, pemilik blog biasanya menampilkan blog miliknya pada setiap kesempatan di dunia maya. Entah ketika kirim email, pada bagian bawah pengirim yang biasanya dituliskan alamatnya, ditambahi alamat blognya, atau dengan rajin-rajin mengunjungi blog orang lain dan memberikan komentarnya dengan maksud orang lain juga memberikan komentarnya ke blog miliknya. Tentu saja setelah memberikan komentar, tidak lupa disertakan alamat blognya sebagai salah satu pelengkap identitas.

Kalau menulis di koran atau majalah masih mungkin dibaca -dan pada tingkat tertentu juga ditanggapi pembacanya lewat surat atau email ke redaksi-, menulis di buku harian benar-benar tidak mungkin dibaca oleh orang lain selain diri kita. Kecuali kalau kita mengalami sedikit gangguan kejiwaan yang salah satu tandanya adalah kita senang kalau orang lain mengorek-korek hal pribadi atau personal diri kita. Semacam exhibitionist yang tidak parah. Tetapi kalau kita beruntung (atau tidak beruntung?) menjadi orang terkenal, bisa jadi buku harian kita saat itu akan sangat ditunggu-tunggu untuk dibaca. Penerbit antri untuk menerbitkan kisah hidup kita. Kalaupun saat itu kita telah mati, anak cucu kita yang akan menikmati royalti penerbitan kisah hidup kita yang bersumber dari buku harian kita itu.

Tetapi ada hal lain dari menjamurnya fenomena blogging ini yang tidak ada hubungannya sama sekali dengan keahlian menulis maupun interaksi antar manusia di dunia maya. Mungkin hal inilah yang paling menyenangkan bagi beberapa orang terkait dengan fenomena blogging. Berbagai macam film dan game bisa didapatkan dengan mudah dan relatif "aman". Dahulu orang susah untuk mendapatkan film, perangkat lunak, game, e-book di dunia maya. Saat itu, kalau kita ketahuan secara tidak sah meletakkan barang-barang yang dilindungi hak cipta di dalam website kita, siap-siap berurusan dengan hukum, atau paling tidak website kita akan disuspend.

Karena webhosting hanya bisa diperoleh dengan membayar, maka prosedurnya jauh lebih susah dibandingkan blogging. Berarti pula siapa yang jadi host website tertentu, akan ketahuan jejaknya dari pembayaran yang dilakukannya. Terutama ketika transaksi webhosting paling banyak dilakukan dengan perantaraan kartu kredit. Sementara, blog tidak membutuhkan registrasi yang begitu rumit. Cukup seperti kalau kita registrasi email-email gratisan seperti di yahoomail atau gmail. Bagaimanapun registrasinya dan ketahuan atau tidak orang yang memiliki suatu blog bukanlah hal yang penting di sini. File yang dimaksud tadi tidak diletakkan di blog, tetapi cukup link-nya saja yang dicantumkan di blog kemudian file-nya diletakkan di website lainnya. Biasanya website tempat mencantolkan file ini adalah website-website penyedia fasilitas penyimpanan berbasis internet.

Alhasil baik blogger maupun penyedia kapasitas penyimpanan tidak bisa disentuh oleh hukum. Penyedia kapasitas penyimpanan tidak mungkin memeriksa semua file yang disimpan di tempatnya. Demikian pula blogger dan penyedia blog tidak mungkin disalahkan untuk penyebaran barang-barang yang dilindungi hak cipta karena secara material tidak ada di yang dimaksud. Sepertinya malah blog yang tidak untuk keperluan yang berhubungan dengan tulis menulis seperti ini yang lebih banyak "pembaca" dan "pengunjungnya". Komentatornya lebih banyak dan komentarnya pun lebih menarik. Biasanya berisi tentang ungkapan terima kasih karena telah menaruh file yang dimaksud tadi. Atau malah request untuk file-file lainnya. Tidak jarang juga diskusi mengenai kenapa kualitas filenya tidak sesuai dengan yang diharapkan. Read more!