Perpheads and Mental Health: A conversation

[Deleted member 4084]

I do not speak for others here and I am posting this merely to begin a conversation; far too many people in recent weeks/months have been leaving or taking breaks from the community on the basis of mental health.

In some, people say that the community or server has played a part on affecting their mental health and I generally wanted to gather responses on the following;

• What is causing you to leave perp, whether it be short or long term;
• What do you feel are the top three factors in affecting you in relation to the community, if at all;
• Have you noticed signs of diminishing mental health (low self-esteem, struggling socially, feeling down etc)
• What can the management, staff team and community potentially do?

Whilst this is by no means offering an immediate solution, I do want to start an open conversation.

Please keep the replies respectful. By no means is anybody obliged to respond, nor should they feel targeted or harassed for doing so.

People you can contact if you are struggling:
There are so many organisations with people who are there to help, here is a list of those below for those located in the United Kingdom: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/helplines-and-crisis-contacts
If you are located in the United States: https://www.mhanational.org/get-involved/contact-us

For your local area, please just search "Mental Health Helplines <COUNTRY>"

 

[Eric Jonson]

One of the biggest issues i have is being treated like absolute dogshit and people being annoying fucks on purpose screaming the same dumb lines over and over again. It's even worse when your on duty as PD. There are times where I have to go off duty and take a break because people are being such assholes and annoying for no reason. I could name plenty of people but I don't for obvious reasons. Its honestly a mood killer and brings it down a lot. It feels like a chore sometime instead of a game when playing on the server

 

[Nova.]

And if you have a friend who is part of the community and you think is not doing never be afraid to contact safeguard on perpheads or try and talk to them about it

 

[Bnjemann]

The correlation is there on the premise of people overvaluing the game and the community to a point where you judge someone’s worth over how they act in game and allow said peoples criticisms to get to you.

People need to stop pretending they know each other when they associate in game only. You are judged by your 2 Dimensional online persona, not as a person. Why care what others have to think?

The “No life loser cop who keeps ticketing you and / or doesn’t know how to do his job” Would probably be your mate if you were classmates as having an interest in this sort of game alone would be enough to bond over.

 

[HuskyD0G]

I'm not taking a break because of mental health, I literally can't play because of the new ip. I'm thick skinned so idc what people say to me it's funny imo. Idk maybe I'm just insensitive but if a game is harming your mental health maybe you got bigger issues.

I'd say being a cop gets annoying tho when people be screaming at you constantly but that's what it's like being a cop in real life lmao

 

[unscsnip3r]

I would say a part of it would be beyond perp- gmod in general these days can be an incredibly toxic game. While this doesnt effect all areas of the game, many communities get more and more toxic by the day which does kill interest for some

 

[Aquaa]

What is causing you to leave perp, whether it be short or long term

Haris' Enforcer Application

STEAM NAME: Haris ROLEPLAY NAME: Haris Romero STEAM ID: STEAM_0:1:77774968 AGE: 21 WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE AN ENFORCER?: Although I feel I thoroughly enjoy being a helper, I do feel that I would be better suited as an Enforcer and there are numerous reasons for this: Whilst still being able to...

perpheads.com

Server Suggestion - Give people the vehicle they suggest

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perpheads.com

 

[Christopher Bonanno]

Unfortunately games with a competitiveness side to it seems to affect a lot of people in different ways. Me personally, im just playing a game and im trynna shoot some people. To some, they want to be achieving something like a higher rank, be that staff, a better shooter or even in their own org/org leaderboards and I think when people can't achieve what they want in a efficient manner it has the possibility to really have a negative effect on them. Some things to me are little and silly to get angry at (and even I can get angry at a video game), and to others it can mean the world and we as humans need to be more accepting of others and realize we arent all thick skinned gamers with a 'lol cyberbullying isnt real turn your monitor off" mentality that supreme gamers like Mr Bendetti have. Be like Bob Marley ya'll, One Love. We all perping, lets respect eachother

 

[rxsm]

• What is causing you to leave perp, whether it be short or long term;
• What do you feel are the top three factors in affecting you in relation to the community, if at all;
• Have you noticed signs of diminishing mental health (low self-esteem, struggling socially, feeling down etc)
• What can the management, staff team and community potentially do?

1. Before I became an Enforcer, I was extremely bored of PERP, I'd reached my peak in BananaGang and had the most fun I could as a criminal, I was burnt out as the org had disbanded and I felt like I had nothing else to do on the server, I was probably going to quit had I not got Enforcer, however it opened up a whole new doorway in the server and I haven't regretted applying for a minute.

2. Don't have anything to say really.

3. Nope, alcohol

4. Free DB

 

[Japzzi/JoeReel]

To be honest if playing a video game affects their mental health so negatively I believe it is a good thing they are staying away. I hope the people will return and again find enjoyment if the game/server but if your mental health is on the breaking point because some sweater called Nox Cocks is being toxic then I believe there are other and bigger issues outside the game that needs solving.

That being said it seems like there have been a slight increase is more ''toxic'' people joining the server unfortunately, hopefully that will change though!

 

[THECRX]

I was tripping on shrooms and I realised something about perp..

its a safe heaven for people who are social outcasts to integrate and socialise without fear of prejudice, it allowed people like myself who was stuck in a bad place at the time (not working, not socialising, no ambition) to really get some lessons off people who are/were alot more educated and skilled in life, and in retrospect, it helped me get my shit together and get working, saving money etc.

for that I will always be gratefull to the staff and the owners of this server, becuase I became part of a community where I could have a laugh with people and release some of the stress day to day life gives you, its an escape.

Perpheads is an awsome place filled with awsome people, relish it, whilst you still can.

 

[Acerius]

On a slight tangent but still relevant - while I do absolutely agree that those who are adversely affected by their experience on the server should take regular breaks and find relief elsewhere, I do think that it is important, as a community, that we do all that we can to root out and diminish cases of excessive harassment, bullying, discrimination and victimisation.

The staff team over recent years have played an evermore active role in this pursuit and I genuinely believe it's for the better. This has been pushed significantly by the work of @Efan and @Tyla Jai in their capacity as Community Managers and long may it continue.

The server only has everything to gain by quashing that unwanted behaviour and - apart from those who take pitiless enjoyment in it saying it destroys their experience - I can't see any real downsides.

That's not to say that a bit of teasing or banter should ever stop because ultimately that's what gives the roleplay experience its character but I think the line between banter and excessive, targeted bullying, is pretty clear. I have seen it first hand and dealt with such cases when I was staff, with some people becoming quite tearful. I think a lot of those who enact this behaviour don't really understand, for a multitude of reasons, the impact it can have on others.

Think about it: discounting any other potential circumstances which could be adversely affecting someone's life, at its simplest most of us either study or work, and have goals or achievements we are striving towards. The last thing we would want is to avoid playing the game we love simply because of one or a group of individuals who seek to hurt us. Or have our otherwise average or pretty good day be ruined by those experiences.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't take a lot of brainpower to be a bit mindful of what we say and do, and whether we are doing it in excess. Equally, submitting a report or getting in-touch with your friendly neighbourhood moderator when we see instances that we think crosses that line doesn't take a lot of time nor effort.

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

Mainly alot of the shitty encounters i have with people and being treated like shit alot. Not one day have i gone without getting insulted on this server. People telling me to kill myself and then their excuse being "its in rp" when it really didnt feel like they meant it in rp alongside the fact that outside that situation they also treat me like shit really gets to me.
Have had a few cases where i literally just logged off and went to sleep because i was just sick of all the shit i had to put up with from other people those days. Sometimes i feel like some people in this server treat others like shit just for fun or for literally no reason at all.

 

[Crimson Nugget]

I really don't agree with the messages saying that if your mental health is affected by videogames, or interactions with people on a videogame, that you just need to touch grass, "it's just a game" and you're too sensitive.

I for one have been bullied previously, and most notably by a staff member years ago where I made a very detailed complaint and I believe he got reprimanded for his actions.

But something that most players might be familiar with in terms of bullying is where another player has decided that you are their long-term enemy OOC, which will inevitably seep IC. This is where another player will constantly target you as much as the rules allow, fish for reasons to mess with you IC, because of OOC beef or something that happened in an entirely previous life.

But be aware that mental health covers more than bullying and harassment. Internet Gaming Disorder has been proposed and is being researched but is not yet an official diagnosis in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM), the reference book for mental disorders. However I think some people can identify more, or also, to this aspect of mental health: not knowing when to stop, I'm talking about some form of addiction.

PERP is a very time-consuming game; the grind whether it's in form of salary or drugs is huge. You can also easily feel like you HAVE to log in, because the small community makes it so that you get close to people who want you to come online just as your IRL friends want you to come play. This has been shown to be a risk factor on studies with WoW and guilds, I think. But also because you miss on parts of the game if you don't take on responsibilities that will keep you tied to the game (kicked out of org if inactive, demoted if inactive).

At one point it becomes unhealthy and you stop paying attention to your studies, your job, your house chores, hobbies or skills that you could've developed, even your hygiene, because you spent all that time playing PERP instead. I'd say this is mostly the reason I left, as I find the game very fun, but it takes too much waiting for the fun, especially when there's not much going on for example as a cop, you just wait. The only time it's worth it imo is during most active hours IF criminals are raiding left and right, at least I die, respawn, and go try to actually have fun again.

So I stopped, and now I'm a literal psychologist and doing a PhD.

 

[Lichtmann]

I got more angry. It's also very exhausting talking to people if you play as a Cop. I know it's a oldest tale and quick remedy would be not playing but i would wish people who interact with me can remember that i'm also a human being with feelings and not some punching bag you can use to load of all the steam from IRL.

 

[Envy [SLAY]]

I think for me its the idea that there really isnt much RP anymore in perp. I remember WAYY WAY WAY back when when there was more RP granite it was a lot more edgy people actually had good crime familys that interacted and hated each other which created good conflict RP. Another big thing for me personally is the inability to RP as a "mean" cop. Now granite I agree sometimes my conduct is overboard but if you even say a curse word then you are just done. When in "real life" cops dont give a flying fuck about what they say how they say it and so forth. Now although the crime RP is great BUT I feel now it is at an all time high. Everyone practically has unlimited guns and are in "end game".

I feel as though the server also lacks things that create really good RP and It has been done before BUT perp hasnt gotten there after 10 years.

Things such as but not limited to a DOJ system, a detectives unit of some kind to create more RP, and so forth. I just feel after as long as this has been around it is very behind in the amount of RP that could be created.

 

[betts]

I was tripping on shrooms and I realised something about perp..

its a safe heaven for people who are social outcasts to integrate and socialise without fear of prejudice, it allowed people like myself who was stuck in a bad place at the time (not working, not socialising, no ambition) to really get some lessons off people who are/were alot more educated and skilled in life, and in retrospect, it helped me get my shit together and get working, saving money etc.

for that I will always be gratefull to the staff and the owners of this server, becuase I became part of a community where I could have a laugh with people and release some of the stress day to day life gives you, its an escape.

Perpheads is an awsome place filled with awsome people, relish it, whilst you still can.

I have some great memories raiding etc with you Deci. I'm glad you're doing well man.

 

[Jake_]

Give cop Ak and it will solve everyones problems

 

[steelo]

Insufferable, power-tripping cop mains really deteriorate my mental health personally.

 

[Dr. Dräjj]

The server just gets boring after a while, kind of like how games are often played in seasons. Nothing you can do to retain most players tbh. People just kind of play for a while, get bored, quit and then come back after playing other things for a bit.