2026-02-25 14:03:13

Playing Tetris could cure Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The study – carried out in the UK and Sweden – involved imagery competing task intervention (ICTI), a treatment designed to reduce the amount of intrusive, traumatic memories by individuals doing cognitive activities, such as Tetris.

Some 40 patients played a slow version of Tetris while they experienced a flashback, and were instructed to think of the game’s grid and to visualise the multi-coloured blocks.

Within four weeks, the results showed that those under the ICTI treatment had 10 times fewer flashbacks to those who did not have the treatment.

And after six months, Tetris left 70 per cent of PTSD sufferers symptom-free.

Emily Holmes, Professor of Psychology at Uppsala University in Sweden, said: “Even a single, fleeting intrusive memory of past trauma can exert a powerful impact in daily life by hijacking attention and leaving people at the mercy of unwanted and intrusive emotions.

“By weakening the intrusive aspect of these sensory memories via this brief visual intervention, people experience fewer trauma images flashing back.”

Visit Bang Bizarre (main website)