Mario's Party

Anxiety usually doesn't show itself in the people it effects clearly. However, when it does show itself it's sometimes in funny ways. This weekend during a heated game of Mario Party 4, I couldn't seem to help my boyfriend, Jacob, beat the 2 vs. 2 mini game "Revers-a-Bomb".  "Bob-ombs" which are ticking time bombs with cute little faces are placed in the middle of the playing field and are let loose in different directions. The object of the game is to click the light up buttons to send the "Bob-ombs" in the rival team's direction. Only 10 "Bob-ombs" are allowed to blow up on your side before you're out of the game, in the time span of 20 seconds. Playing this was difficult for me, "Bob-ombs" kept blowing up on my team's side constantly. How could this be when I was only in charge of 3 buttons? It was tiring watching Jacob diverge the "Bob-ombs" effortlessly. 

After a few failures I decided to ask Jacob how he was possibly dodging the "Bob-ombs" so quickly.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Are you staring at the 'Bob-ombs' and then distinctly moving to a button and then pressing it?" 

"Of course I am! How else would I do it?" I asked in response. He goes on to tell me that, he isn't actually thinking about what he's doing. He's simply moving his joystick up and down and pressing the A button repeatedly. Upon trying Jacob's method, we beat the game with zero "Bob-ombs" touching our side of the playing field. I was surprised, shocked even at how simple the game was in actuality.

Jacob and I sat down to think about what had just happened. We realized that the way I initially played "Revers-a-Bomb" illustrated how I take life on. Carefully, precisely and planned. Which didn't seem to let me catch a break under the 20 second time limit. I realized that being overly careful because of my anxiety might have taken away from the limited time I have in my life. That even though it doesn't seem well planned that sometimes going into things mildly blinded could be better than being too careful. 

Of course this is just a Mario Party mini game but it made sense to me and what I am going through. 

It's interesting how people not struggling with anxiety or depression try to explain to actual people suffering from anxiety and depression that they need to open their eyes to what they're missing. The information always goes in one ear and out the other ear. That's okay and it shouldn't frustrate people suffering from anxiety and depression that they can't seem to grasp a hold on the meaning of what other people are attempting to point out. There's also no reason to search hard for an understanding. One day in a strange way, like while playing Mario Party, you'll realize what everyone has been trying to tell you all along. That's freeing.

"Revers-a-Bomb" mariowiki.com