Have any of you turned to video games for stress relief?

Video games give me an out for any pent up emotions and allow me to exit my headspace for a time. It’s refreshing to let go of the memories for a time to see a new world through the eyes of another. Steam has given me a plethora of other “realities” to escape to when life gets too haunting.

While I would say that physical activity like the gym or practicing martial arts work much better, I have plenty of times now in my civilian life where I don't feel like I can get time for those. Video games have certainly helped me blow off some steam after a stressful day at work or even following a family issue. My go-to games are shooters like Borderlands or Titan Fall, followed by more beat-up-everything types like Dynasty Warriors, Marvel vs. Capcom, Super Smash Ultimate, or even Diablo 3.

In addition, I find playing games can be a good way to keep relaxing when something on my mind is trying to get me all stressed out again. I refer to these as my "zen" games: Bloons Tower Defense, Creeper World, Bejeweled (don't judge), assorted idle-games, etc.

They can be stress relieving or stress generating, it really depends on the game type and if it woks to alleviate your stress or not.
I prefer combining workout and gaming: que for a game, do a set of pushups or situps while waiting for competitive modes or a dungeon. Or gaming and family time, que up with my son. We are family gaming on Neverwinter right now.
Another thing is that as long as you have internet gaming can be super cheap and alleviate cost of living stressors. There are so many free to play games out there you can just keep gaming and never run out.
My #1 stress relief is my sport bike personally, if I'm stuck on something, studying and it just is not working, I go for a ride on a back road, some fresh air, wind whipping by and the sounds of nature all work great for me. Get back at what I was doing and I'll be twice as productive. Hiking is right behind the motorcycle.
You have to figure out what relieves your stress.
Also if you go motorcycling get your safety courses done and certs up to date, it is not that hard and will save you a lot of headaches if you get into an accident.
kevlar plate gear for the win.

Creates an outlet

Sometimes they are stress relieving. There are so many games these days it can be hard to find the one that works for you. The market is a bit more saturated than it used to be and dealing with the online community can sometimes make it simply add to your stress level instead.
The most competitive game one with the best community I have personally experienced is Rocket League, League of Legends and World of Warcraft are tied for the worst.
Robocraft can be fun if youlike crafting style games and pvp (build your robot and fight it in arenas)

It helps calm me

I play WOW, CKII, Cities Skylines and play with my pets. Games have helped me for years.

Not for stress relief, but I do use them to keep my ass from getting bored and wandering off the exercise bike.

Yes, Video games for me is an excellent stress reliever. I suffer from PTSD, TBI, and something really difficult to talk about MST. I look at video games as my stress reliever and it works.

My son is a YouTube gamer and my wife and I support his channel. I did not game until recently and I have found it to be a stress relief! Not to mention some good family time too.