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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPlaying the classic video game Tetris could offer a novel approach to reducing distressing memories following trauma, a new trial has indicated. <\/p>\n
Researchers found that health workers who engaged with the puzzle game as part of their treatment experienced a significant reduction in flashbacks.<\/p>\n
Experts are now keen to expand testing of the method, which they describe as “accessible, scalable and adaptable”, to a broader population. <\/p>\n
The study, a collaboration between researchers in the UK and Sweden, involved 99 NHS staff members who had been exposed to traumatic events, such as witnessing deaths, during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Forty of these participants received the treatment, known as imagery competing task intervention (ICTI), which involved playing a slow version of Tetris. <\/p>\n
During the intervention, individuals were asked to briefly recall a traumatic memory before using their mind’s eye to visualise the Tetris grid and its falling blocks. <\/p>\n
The findings suggest this simple intervention could be a valuable tool in mitigating the impact of traumatic experiences.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Researchers found that health workers who engaged with the puzzle game Tetris as part of their treatment experienced a significant reduction in flashbacks (The Tetris Company)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe ICTI method is thought to weaken the vividness of the intrusive memories by occupying the brain\u2019s visuospatial areas, which help it to analyse and understand physical space.<\/p>\n
Emily Holmes, a professor of psychology at Uppsala University \u2013 who led the study, said: \u201cEven a single, fleeting intrusive memory of past trauma can exert a powerful impact in daily life by hijacking attention and leaving people at the mercy of unwanted and intrusive emotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy weakening the intrusive aspect of these sensory memories via this brief visual intervention, people experience fewer trauma images flashing back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remaining patients either listened to music by Mozart to help alleviate stress, along with podcasts about the composer, or received standard treatment.<\/p>\n
The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found that those who received the ICTI treatment had 10 times fewer flashbacks compared to other groups within four weeks.<\/p>\n
After six months, some 70 per cent reported having no intrusive memories at all.<\/p>\n
The treatment also helped tackle symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Tetris is still popular more than 30 years after it was created (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nProf Holmes added: \u201cWe are delighted to have made a real breakthrough by showing this intervention works.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is far more than just playing Tetris, and while it is simple to use, it\u2019s been a complicated process to refine and develop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intervention focuses on our mental imagery, not words, and is designed to be as gentle, brief and practical as possible to fit into people\u2019s busy lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to expand our research so it can be put into practise by determining its effectiveness for a broader range of people and scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte Summers, director of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute and professor of intensive care medicine at the University of Cambridge, said: \u201cEvery day, healthcare workers across the world are recurrently exposed, to traumatic events in the course of their work, impacting the mental and physical wellbeing of those who care for us when we are unwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time when global healthcare systems remain under intense pressure, the discovery of a scalable digital intervention that promotes the wellbeing of health professionals experiencing work-related traumatic events is an exciting step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>During the intervention, people were asked to briefly recall a traumatic memory before using their mind’s eye to visualise the Tetris grid and its falling blocks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe team is now exploring ways to test ICTI on larger and more diverse groups, as well as looking at options for a non-guided version of the game.<\/p>\n
Tayla McCloud, research lead for digital mental health at Wellcome \u2013 which funded the study, said: \u201cThese results are impressive for such a simple to use intervention.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can get similarly strong results in bigger trials, this could have an enormous impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s rare to see something so accessible, scalable and adaptable across contexts. It doesn\u2019t require patients to put their trauma into words and even transcends language barriers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis study is a key example of why Wellcome is investing in a wide range of mental health interventions, so that in the future everyone will have access to treatments that work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Playing the classic video game Tetris could offer a novel approach to reducing distressing memories following trauma, a new trial has indicated. Researchers found that health workers who engaged with the puzzle game as part of their treatment experienced a significant reduction in flashbacks. Experts are now keen to expand testing of the method, which they describe as “accessible, scalable and adaptable”, to a broader population. The study, a collaboration between researchers in the UK and Sweden, involved 99 NHS staff members who had been exposed to traumatic events, such as witnessing deaths, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Forty of these participants received the treatment, known as imagery competing task intervention (ICTI), which involved playing a slow version of Tetris. During the intervention, individuals were asked to briefly recall a traumatic memory before using their mind’s eye to visualise the Tetris grid and its falling blocks. The findings suggest this simple intervention could be a val…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}