Warhammer & Mental Health with Dr Tom Barry | Tabletop Tactics Podcast Ep 12
Jinx October 9, 202372
47
72 Likes
https://youtu.be/FMuBQFL2oto
In today’s episode of the Tabletop Tabletop Tactics Podcast, special guest Dr Tom Barry joins Bard and Beard in the studio. Tom is a psychologist, experimental psychopathologist and mental health scientist at Bath University. We discuss the topic of mental health and the positive implications the Warhammer hobby (and any hobby for that matter) can have on managing and maintaining your mental health.
World Mental health day is on October 10th 2023, as a day to raise awareness of mental health problems. To find out more about it, or to seek support click the link here to take you to the Mind website: https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/world-mental-health-day/#info
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This episode is just what I needed after the year I’ve had! Thank you so much for being so open about your own experiences, especially Beard! Life is hard but it’s amazing to know how supportive this community can be!!
Keep being amazing!!!
Thank you for putting this together and bring up mental health and how it relates to our hobby. You guys are making a difference. Joe, thank you for your vulnerability and keep fighting the good fight.
Well done team, quality conversations like this are always needed. Rally Point Games and Minds is an entirely hobby + mental health space on Instagram. I get a couple of people every month contact me for an anonymous and confidential conversation, to talk about how aspects of the hobby can be very difficult, even damaging to mental health, and how we can see those coming perhaps, and mitigate them, (that’s not always possible of course). 🟣 If you want to continue this conversation with me, I’d like to put that offer on the table for you. Again, we’ll done team.… Read more »
I rarely comment on videos but I gotta say that I really love that you folks did this episode 👍.
Great topic to cover off. Even with all the work to normalize mental health issues, it’s still difficult for people under stress to avoid feeling some stigma. The best thing for it is hearing other people share their struggles, so thank you for sharing Beard. I understand your train moment completely. I had a nearly 20 year career in a workplace that was massively stressful, toxic, and physically dangerous. In speaking with a therapist, after my wife finally convinced me to, I realized I was too close to the stress to see exactly how bad it was (insert the “this… Read more »
10 out of 10 guys and we’ll done for making another video on the subject.
Keep up the great work team 🙏🏻
What an amazing episode, thank you so much for making this and as someone who’s married to a clinical psychologist your guest was absolutely fantastic, thoughtful, kind, and obviously talented professional. I suffered with slot of anxiety around illness especially cancer over the last 14 years with spells on and off of thinking that I had a type which then rolled onto another type and so one to the point of feeling so trapped by my thoughts I tried anti depressants which just helped me sleep so helped a bit, turned out I had undiagnosed adhd which now in my… Read more »
a great and important episode. It’s always so good to see/hear big names in the hobby talk openly and forthrightly about this topic. I’m a big believer in the idea that having a hobby (any hobby!) is such a vital part of good mental health hygiene and its worth remembering that very often, the person we’re across the table from is here not just because they like the game.
lovely chat!
What an amazing episode. I love that you guys are willing to talk about your mental health and thank you Beard for sharing your experiences. I can’t wait for next week’s episode!
Well done with this episode 👏
Hello guys. Thank you so much for having a mental health topic on your show. A primary reason why you guys are the only content providers get me to part with my cash for a subscription is the fact that your games. Of 40k are so entertaing. The players, who ever they maybe are light hearted. laugh at them selves and try and make the the best of every situation! I am a person with a disability and am very limited in when I can play 40k. Your style of production makes me feel like im there and I have… Read more »
This was such a great listen, as someone who succumbed badly to stress through work (I can relate a lot to beard in this instance, thank you for sharing!) this hobby and this community picked me up and got me through it. It really is one of the best things about life and immensely proud to be a part of it!
As someone whose body was breaking down due to accummulated stress and trauma from early childhood to middle age, getting back into the hobby in a big way through watching Tabletop Tactics has made an enormous difference to my outlook on the present day and enthusiasm for life. The emphasis on fun and making sure your opponent has a great time is what I want to focus on, whether that is running an RPG or playing in a tournament. I know that James got a bit down about all the comments regarding his bad luck with dice, so just wanted… Read more »
Super change of pace for the Podcast Jimmy Jam. Well done. From a mental health perspective what I get from the hobby has changed over time. At first it was playing games in the stores/home. Then life at I really don’t have time to play now but I love the hobby side now as a nice bit of escapism and satisfaction from collecting cool models that I paint. I don’t share it with anyone except on line now. I think this is a beautiful part of the hobby in that it can grow and change with you throughout your life.… Read more »
Thank you, you guys are helping me through the worst year of my life!
The hobby is a great escapist form of therapy, either gaming, painting or collecting. The buzzkill to that in any game is players or organizers trying to bring real world politics or socio-political issues into the game and trying to push their real-world subjective reality narrative.
I actually have recently hurt my knee and haven’t seen a doctor so I felt very attacked 😅
Not to bore anyone with the details but I quit playing 40k back in the early 2000s (shortly after the release of OG Codex Tau) after being badly bullied for playing it. I was attacked on my way to the GW store in Glasgow and got the sh…..heck kicked out of me and that was that (or so I thought). I’ve suffered badly with anxiety for a number of years and last year my wife reached the end of her rope and said we either went to therapy or a divorce lawyer. Almost one year later and I feel like… Read more »
thankyou for this one, I did not realize how much I needed to hear a number of the things that were said. Hobby-burnout… now that makes more sense why I sold all of my (25 year old) collection a 4 years ago…
The video isn’t tagged so can’t watch this episode via the app.
What a great and important episode, yall are rockin it!
Thank you for sharing your journey with mental health. It helps to hear that we are not alone. No matter how alone we may feel, there is always someone who has been there, and someone who can help us be our best selves.
Thank you for this. I only joined you initially because I love 40K, but it’s so much more now. Would just like to let you know that I’m now going to sign up for help with my issues,so again thank you (I wish my beard was as good as the chaos lords) xx
I believe this man is a psychologist because how soft and calmly he speaks. One of the reasons I think this hobby is as “safe” as it is, is because you have to be face to face with your opponent. Aside from the fact that a holes get ostracized and no one will play with you, there’s also the overall energy of a match that’s shared between the players. Noob stomping, in general – for most people, is not fun; because your opponent isn’t having fun and most likely is disengaged. That cuts off that cycle of fun flow that… Read more »
That was an amazing episode thank you. I am dealing with a lot myself. The hardest thing in my life was asking for help and asking to send me to rehab from drug addiction. But the second I asked for help a huge weight was lifted off my shoulder and I realized I’m not alone in the dark anymore. I’ve got people behind me. My family was a huge help. And this community as well. Being part of a team now. Going to team tournament. Travelling with my friends and being idiots but good idiots. Watching you guy’s videos. But… Read more »
Really great to see this. Warhammer is my me time and has been for 20 years. I have introduced the hobby to my children. One enjoys the painting the other the lore and playing. But its also really great for just getting them to sit down disconnect and talk with me about anything.
So its become a bit of a family affair as a way to unwind.
I will always advocate warhammer as good for mental health as it works wonders for me and mine
Another great podcast! I think it’s fantastic that you talk about this topic, because this hobby (as well as any other hobby) can have such a profound impact on someone’s mental health!
Thanks again, I think you guys and gals are great! 😊
This hobby is an online utopia!
Long live Hams!
You have my utmost respect for once again bringing up this incredibly important topic in relation to, and within the confines of, the hobby. As a person who suffers from PTSD I find the hobby a crucial aspect to maintaining my own mental health. The calm coupled with the slow progression of a painting project while a TV-series or, more often than not, one of your excellent battle reports runs in the background helps profoundly. Another aspect that drew me into Warhammer 40K, and The Ninth Age and Warhammer Fantasy before that, is the sheer depth of information avalible concerning… Read more »
Great episode 🙂
I’m not really surprised hearing that the painting community is helpful and supportive. I guess its the same as for us 3D artists working in games or whatever other field. We know how hard it is and many come actually from teaching themselves and figuring out how to do stuff. If you have this experience you just enjoy seeing people make progress and develop. You also know how far a few encouraging words go. And a ‘badly’ painted miniature still deserves praise for the effort somebody put into it 🙂
Good episode
This was once again a great episode! I think you did a good thing in once again giving space to this topic, and with a very nice and interesting guest too.
Keep up the awesome work, and I will look forward to other episodes that start from the hobby to explore other topics.
This is a topic very close to my heart and I’m really happy to see you guys cover it so well…again! Not long after I first subscribed you produced your first mental health video with Beard & Jinx and I thought it was really refreshing to see mental health discussed so openly. This podcast episode is no different and I’m very happy that you’re continuing to spread this message to the community. 40K has become something of a mental health safe space for me, if things get on top of me I can build or paint or read and it… Read more »
As someone who suffered with mental health issues since being a child, now in recovery.
Seeing this on my favourite channel, warms my heart so much.
Thank you 🖤
I always hated painting models because I was never any good at it. I’ve found it amazing as an unwind tool since I’ve had kids. And gaming at the club gets me out of the house and just focus my mind on something completely different. Weirdly, working in a ‘macho’ kinda job, I couldn’t possibly tell work mates I do it. Very odd 🤔
As person that is medicated pretty heavily for mental health problems, this is awesome! Many people think to “stay in lane” and don’t realize everthing can be connected. Thank you!
Let me tell you a thing… in the past 2 years I lost 5 very close family members and friends, one including my best friend that I played Warhammer with… The hobby helps when I need a distraction to ground myself. I’m in the middle of painting models that my friend didn’t get to including a Repulsor Executioner that I got him for his birthday and to ask him to be my best man. Warhammer has been keeping me going so I can be the dad and husband I need to be. I buried my uncle with my Death Company… Read more »
This is such a great topic! I’ve not had a chance to watch yet – saving that for later – but just from the title and the fact that you’ve provided a platform for a professional to join the discussion, this is brilliant. Love you guys and everything that you do – keep it up!
Love me some TableTop Tactics Podcast. Always looking forward to it🧡
Love it guys helps me out more then I admit sometimes so does this place helps.me d stress after work you lot keep me same keep up the great work say hi to spider for me I’ve a feeling he’s on holiday hahaha or ill hope it’s the first 😊
Excellent topic to explore especially with an expert in the field.