Play games more when depressed?

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Is it just me or does anyone else notice that compared to when psychologically healthy, I play video games more when I have depression?
(If I don't then, though I still would occasionally play, I'd read and draw and watch films more).

There even are studies about it http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/02/08/depressed-teens-like-to-use-the-internet-play-video-games/

I don't really get "why" either because I read that say films (not action blockbuster types) require attention and when you're depressed then you don't contentrate well. But with games arguably the concentration is even more high since you have to press things to not die/lose etc, or make selections with dialogue or what to buy..

Video games a re usually a good way to blow off steam and can help you relax, and having something to focus on when depressed might actually help in my opinion. But that's just me.

Depends. If I'm really depressed, I won't even want to play games.

I don't even know if I'm depressed or not anymore, since I have been worse, but I can't even remember ever feeling enthusiastic about things in years.. But yeah over the last couple of years I've become an obsessive gamer.

Well, the reason probably varies from person to person. But I think part of the reason is it's an escape, games often involve entering a whole other world. It's a world where your problems/stresses/worries often don't join you. At the very least they're distracting, you have to interact so it holds your attention and keeps your thoughts from wandering too much.

There's also the fact that sometimes you can be 'successful' in a game. Being able to work hard for success, even if it's a game, feels nice... Whilst in real life it's often not about "getting successful based on how hard you work" etc...

I have to be in a pretty good place to game. Even though I enjoy playing for a few hours at a time - it still causes me stress (which is odd, because I do enjoy it). But if I am depressed - I don't want to do anything - not even watch a new movie or anything. I just want to sit around and stare at the wall.

When I'm depressed I don't want to do anything, much less play games. I play when I'm happy

This. I get to the point where I don't even have any energy to put into a game. Sometimes I play them anyways because I have nothing better to do. Or I just watch youtube all day.

I actually find the opposite - when I feel depressed I have trouble playing games. I just can't get interested in them and end up stopping after a few minutes.

depends on WHY I'm depressed. If the cause is my general lack of skill at most games, I sure won't be playing MORE.....

If I'm not feeling depressed, I won't play, or just join a server and chitchat with other players.
If I'm mildly depressed, I can spend an insane amount of time gaming and doing quite well, unfortunately this is the most frequent case.
If I'm badly depressed, I will have trouble to get in the game or quickly start misbehaving, better staying away.

Not me. As others have said when I'm depressed I just don't have the energy for games. Having sustained concentration takes a lot of effort. I'll game for about two hours on a "good day".

If I could multiply "good day" by ten and make it happen every day I might have enough energy to have a career instead of my part time job.

Playing games is harder for me when I'm feeling depressed or having bad days, actually. However, I still play them about as often if not slightly less during those times.

When I get really depressed all I want to do is hide from the world and any world, even a virtual one where it takes motivation and concentration to play and enjoy, and just fall asleep and hope I never wake up.

Yeah, like many people above have stated, once the depression gets to a certain point, not even video games can rectify the situation.

I do find that movies will still work where video games fail, simply because there's no input required. There's a point further in depression where even that won't work...so at that point you could try music.

On and on it goes.

I can't stand watching movies when I'm depressed. Everyone in movies seems to have a better life than me and be better people than me. Movies make me feel guilt and shame. When I get depressed I prefer movies with a historical setting because it seems more disconnected from present day life.