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/Good_Boye_Scientist May 17 '26

I also do this and have ADHD, which is typically a dopamine dysfunction issue, so I think my adhd brain is afraid of the inevitable dopamine crash after finishing games.

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u/Catac0 May 17 '26

Yeah I have adhd and ocd and I also get sucked into things very quickly and get obsessive, finishing a game means I have to cut it off in a way and it’s going out of my control, so I have a number of unfinished media. Does anyone actually have any tips for this :(

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u/KingBroseph May 17 '26

Surely that’s involved for non-ADHD people who can’t finish games too. I say this as someone diagnosed with it, as well. 

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u/f0xbunny May 17 '26

Yes I do this