Woman shares how Pokemon GO helped her battle depression and get physically fit

The following blurb comes from Rhonda, a 47-year-old who got into Pokemon due to her kids playing Pokemon Red/Blue.

“In January, I had a big meltdown, which was like a grand finale to my depression, triggered by the death of my father-in-law and various stresses like prolonged restructure at work. I stopped doing the things I had enjoyed previously. Pokémon Go got me out of the house again and, with the social aspect, meeting and chatting to new people when all I wanted to do was lie in bed. I just escape from reality for a bit and bad thoughts disappear.

With the weight loss and feeling a lot better mentally, I decided to try dating again, which I hadn’t done for a year or two. I’d got into a terrible funk and, really, playing this game helped me feel better physically and led to me kickstarting things to change stuff in my life.”

Now that's the kind of feel-good story I love to see. It's easy to knock Pokemon GO for what it lacks and where it needs fixing, but there are also people out there who are getting more from the game than we could ever imagine.