1: In the summer of 2009, researcher and game designer Jane McGonigal hit her head and got a concussion.
“It didn’t heal properly,” Jane writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully, “and after thirty days I still had constant headaches, nausea, and vertigo.”
Reading or writing was only possible for a few minutes at a time. “I had trouble remembering things,” Jane notes. “Most days I felt too sick to get out of bed. I was in a total mental fog. These symptoms left me more anxious and depressed than I had ever been in my life.”
It was difficult for her to communicate what she was experiencing to her friends and family. One day, she decided to describe what it was she was feeling. She struggled and struggled, and this is what she came up with:
“Everything is hard.
“The iron fist is pushing against my thoughts.
“My whole brain feels vacuum pressurized.
“If I can’t think who am I?”
The only treatment for postconcussion syndrome is rest. Rest and hope for the best.
“I was told I might not feel better for months or even a year or longer,” Jane writes.
“There was one thing I could do to try to heal faster. My doctor told me I should avoid everything that triggered my symptoms. That meant no reading, no writing, no running, no video games, no work, no email, no alcohol, and no caffeine.”
“In other words, no reason to live,” she joked with her doctor.
But “there was quite a bit of truth in that joke,” she recalls. “I didn’t know it then, but suicidal ideation is very common with traumatic brain injuries—even mild ones like mine. It happens to one in three, and it happened to me.
“My brain started telling me: Jane, you want to die. It said, You’re never going to get better. The pain will never end. You’ll be a burden to your husband.”
2: Then, one day, something happened.
“I had one crystal-clear thought that changed everything,” Jane explains. “Thirty-four days after I hit my head—and I will never forget this moment—I said to myself, I am either going to kill myself, or I’m going to turn this into a game.”
A game?
“By the time I hit my head in 2009, I’d been researching the psychology of games for nearly a decade,” Jane writes. “In fact, I was the first person in the world to earn a Ph.D. studying the psychological strengths of gamers and how those strengths can translate to real-world problem solving.”
Jane knew from her research that when we play a game, “we tackle tough challenges with more creativity, more determination, and more optimism,” she notes. “We’re also more likely to reach out to others for help.”
Her goal was to translate these powerful gameful traits into her real-life challenge of recovering from her concussion.
“So,” she explains, “I created a simple recovery game called ‘Jane the Concussion Slayer.’ This became my new secret identity, a way to start feeling heroic and determined instead of hopeless.”
Next up: She recruited allies for her mission. Call #1 as to her twin sister Kelly: “I’m playing a game to heal my brain, and I want you to play with me.”
Kiyash, her husband, was her next recruit.
A good game must have bad guys and power-ups, a source of energy that gives our hero a boost, like extra strength, speed, health, or new abilities. With a good power-up, our character is more effective, helping them overcome challenges and enemies.
For Jane, her bad guys were anything “that could trigger my symptoms and therefore slow down the healing process,” she writes, “Things like bright lights and crowded spaces.”
Jane identified her power-ups so that, even on her worst days, she felt “just a little bit good or happy or powerful.” Some of her favorites included hugging her Shetland sheepdog for five minutes, enjoying walnuts (good for the brain), and walking with her husband.
3: What happened next?
Within just a couple of days of playing, “that fog of depression and anxiety went away,” Jane writes.
“It just vanished. It felt like a miracle to me. It wasn’t a miracle cure for the headaches or the cognitive symptoms—they lasted more than a year, and it was the hardest year of my life by far.
“But even when I still had the symptoms, even while I was still in pain, I stopped suffering,” she recalls. “I felt more in control of my own destiny. My friends and family knew how to help and support me. And I started to see myself as a much stronger person.”
More tomorrow when we explore how Jane transformed her post-concussion experience into a game that has helped over one million people.
___________________________
Reflection: When I feel stuck, in pain, or overwhelmed, could I experiment with “turning it into a game”—defining my challenge, recruiting allies, and choosing small power‑ups—so I suffer less even before my circumstances fully change?
Action: Pick one tough situation in my life right now and design a simple, gameful plan: Name the challenge, list three “bad guys” to avoid, choose five power‑ups that make me feel even a bit stronger, and invite at least one ally to play along with me this week.