Fans of pinball—perhaps you are one!—love to spend time trying to keep a silver ball in play on a tilted table while racking up points. Generally, a player gets three balls to score as many points as they can, and if they score enough, they might win a free game. True masters of the game might take part in highly competitive tournaments, but pinball can be played and enjoyed casually. It might take you a few tries to get the hang of any given machine, but soon enough, you will start to see your score improve. Pinball is fun—and the history of pinball is fascinating.
You probably did not come to this blog with the expectation that you would be reading about pinball—and you may be annoyed with us if you now have “Pinball Wizard” stuck in your head.
While we probably could make some strong suggestions related to which pinball machines you should seek out and play (this one is a favorite), we really are going to connect pinball to the mental health journey.
We succinctly summed up our argument in the title of this blog post: be the flippers rather than the pinball. We admit, however, that you might need a little more explanation to understand our point.
The Ball Is All Over the Place
Whether you are a skilled pinball player or a novice trying the game for the first time, one thing is true in every game: the ball is going to whiz around the table at high speed. For new players in particular, the movement of the ball can seem quite haphazard. It might hit something on the table that results in a lot of points. It might also hit something on the table that will cause the ball to drain, ending your turn.
When you are struggling with a mental health disorder, your brain can feel a lot like that pinball. Your thoughts might be rocketing around—sometimes with positive results and sometimes with negative results. Everything can feel haphazard and out of control. (Here is a quick breathing exercise that can help in those moments.)
The Flippers Control the Action
It might not seem like it at first when you are flipping desperately to try to keep the ball on the table, but as you play more pinball, you will begin to understand how to use the flippers to accomplish the various goals a given pinball table offers a player. There might be ramps to send the ball up. There might be holes to send the ball into. There will likely be bumpers to hit and combinations to put together and maybe even a multi-ball mode that finds you trying to keep two or three (or even four, five, or six) balls on the table surface at once.
When you first try a table, all of that can seem mysterious, and gameplay can feel quite chaotic. But as you get in more practice, you will discover that you really can play the game with intention and control.
Here is the key: only the flippers can make anything happen. The ball is wholly at the mercy of the flippers—and whether the result is good or bad is dependent on where the flippers send the ball.
When it comes to your mental health, you want to use a couple of tools—a couple of flippers, if you will—more and more effectively. Improvement probably will not happen all at once, but you can do the work to steadily make progress on your mental health. Be patient and be intentional.
Getting Better Takes Time
Whether you are talking about playing pinball or pursuing improvements in your mental health, one thing is true: getting better takes time.
The pinball player steadily learns just when and exactly how hard to flip the flippers to send the ball where they want it to go. It can take a lot of quarters to see that improvement, but if you stick with it, you will get better at the game.
The person seeking improvements to their mental health might gain insights and strategies in therapy and benefit from medication. You might think of therapy as one flipper and medication as the other. They work together to help you reach your mental health goals—and to maintain improvement over time.
We Are Not Wizards of Any Kind—But We Can Help
Treatment for a mental health disorder is not magic, so no wizardry is required. What is required is a commitment to evidence-based, personalized treatment plans grounded in expertise, experience, and empathy. That is exactly what you will find when you pursue treatment at Peak View Behavioral Health.
Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Peak View Behavioral Health boasts a top-notch staff of mental health professionals who can help you address a range of issues. Whether you are struggling with one of the various kinds of depression, an anxiety or panic-based disorder, an issue centered on traumatic experiences, or another mental health challenge, we can help.
It is, of course, up to you to take the first step. To put it in pinball terms, you need to press “start” and pull back the plunger. When you are ready to get started, we are as well.
