num_pages: 15
description: In 2009 game designer and author Jane McGonigal suffered a severe concussion that wouldnt heal. Unable to think clearly or work or even get out of bed she became anxious and depressed even suicidala common symptom for concussion sufferers. But rather than let herself sink further she decided to get better by doing what she does best: she turned her recovery process into a game. What started as a simple motivational exercise became a set of rules she shared on her blog. These rules became a digital game then an online portal and a major research study with the National Institutes of Health. Today more than 400000 people have played SuperBetter to get happier and healthier.But the ideas behind SuperBetter are much bigger than just one game. In this book McGonigal reveals a decades worth of scientific research into the ways all games change how we respond to stress challenge and pain. She explains how we can cultivate new powers of recovery and resilience in everyday life simply by adopting a gameful mind-set. Being gameful means bringing the same psychological strengths we naturally display when we play gamessuch as optimism creativity courage and determinationto real-world situations.McGonigal explores the best ways to harness these gameful skills in the real world not only to experience posttraumatic growth but also to tackle positive life goals achieving what she calls postecstatic growth. To show how she shares stories and data from players who have followed the SuperBetter rules to get stronger happier and braver in the face of depression anxiety illness and injury as well as to achieve major goals like losing weight running a marathon or finding a new job.The SuperBetter method contains seven rules for activating gameful strengths in everyday life distilled from McGonigals own pioneering work and that of others. SuperBetter the book turns these rules into playful challenges anyone can undertake while reading in a series of quests that explain the science behind the benefits. Playing by the seven rules begins to yield life-changing benefits in a matter of days and eventually they become an ingrained skill set.Read by the author.Description: 12 audio discs (14 1/2 hr.) : digital
language: English
title: SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient - Powered by the Science of Games
publisher: Penguin Audio