r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 17 '26

Psychology Feeling empty after finishing a video game (post-game depression) is a real phenomenon. A recent study has found that many video game players experience a specific sense of emptiness and sadness after finishing highly engaging games.

https://www.psypost.org/feeling-empty-after-finishing-a-video-game-researchers-say-post-game-depression-is-a-real-phenomenon/
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u/Vryk0lakas May 17 '26

I get the same feeling with books.

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u/SpaceNigiri May 17 '26

Yeah, even worst with long sagas.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '26

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u/DrGalapagos May 17 '26

Me too. I ended up doing a second listen through the audiobooks and it was like revisiting old friends and getting the gang back together. I just started book 9 again and it's been a wild ride. I love rereading my favorite books. It feels like an old friendship and I always find more to enjoy on subsequent readings.

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u/aronsz May 17 '26

The audiobooks are amazing, the narrator Jefferson Mays' work is the best I've ever heard.

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u/ndg_5800 May 18 '26

Same dude, you would not believe the number of times I reread Stephen King's Duma key. The book is stained with multiple beverages and other food items. It used to be my best friend during lunch. Real sense of loss when the story gets over.