Game Boy Effective Kid Tranq

yali writes "A new study shows that Game Boys are better than tranquilizers for calming children before surgery. Kids allowed to bring Game Boys into the OR showed no change in anxiety (compared to a small increase with tranquilizers, and a big increase in a control condition.) Kind of puts a different spin on analogies between games and drugs."

It works for adults too!!

[FriedTurkey]

As a frequent traveler, I still get a little scared during really rough flights. I whip out the gameboy and I don't really pay attention to what is going on anymore. Fear is all mental. The more you let your mind think, the more you are scared. Gameboys divert all thinking to trying to defeat the other army in Advance Wars.

Re:Bad thing

[elasticwings]

I don't really share your point of view on that. I mean no offense, but if you're going to be in some kind of surgery or something else that you know will involve pain. I don't care how many times somebody tells me, "Everything will be okay." I'm still going to be extremely nervous and uneasy thinking about it. But if I find something to distract myself from the thought, then I tend to feel less distraught about the upcoming moment of pain. Comfort from your family or friends is what you need after the pain.