At this time of year, most people take a break between Christmas and New Year, to spend time with friends and family, to recharge batteries, and to take a break from the rigours of life. The benefits of having time away, both physically and mentally, are recognised around the world.
That’s harder in the world of eSports and game streaming. The insatiable desire of “the algorithm” tempts everyone to create daily content and hours of engagement just to stay current. Now consider that many of those content generators are solo operations or working with their own small teams.
There is a huge amount of pressure to perform, with a vast range of external pressure including the actual events, trolling, managing social channels, and maintaining everything as an ongoing business concern. How can that all be balanced with their own personal needs?
This is an area where Razer’s wellness program hopes to assist.
Razer Wellness Program splash page
Razer’s program, titled “Champions Start From Within”, looks to promote “healthy and sustainable gaming habits in the highly demanding and intense competitive gaming industry.” As well as the values of sleep, nutrition, and physical activity a large part of the program deals with issues around mental health, such as the anxiety and stress of being a gamer. It’s for everyone from the professional player through the content creators to individuals gaming at home.
According to Razer, the average eSports athletes reaches 25 years old before burning out, mainly from the mental stresses. The program is designed to address that and to allow gamers and streamers to have much longer careers. Key to that is talk about the mental health issues everyone faces and how these are addressed.
Razer’s team also talks about helping people finding the right balance, both in day to day time management, right up to handling the different demands through the on-season and off-season of each game in the eSports leagues.
One of the most important parts of the program is simply the visibility it offers. Issues around anxiety and mental health can be hard for many to talk about. The program shows that these feelings are faced by many people. The knowledge that they are not alone in these feelings, that there are others who can relate to the issues is an important step.
That’s borne out by the feedback Razer has seen in its community. The comments seen in public posts have all been positive. It’s also a public forum being outwardly positive over mental health, which helps reduce the stigma around these issues.
There is a wide range of resources that are all freely available through the web portal, One of the more interactive areas is the ability to request support from one of many experts on tap. The initial contact is by email, but following this meetings can be set up to talk with physical therapists, doctors and other professionals.
Most gamers don’t know where to look for advice specific to their field – that these issues are seen in different walks of life is not the point. The wellness program is not tucked away in a new URL, it’s part of Razer – a known location in the community. The portal offers reassurance to those reading, allowing them to relate to their feelings, offering practical advice and next steps.
These connections make a difference,
