The Sims Bunker is for times of anxiety, depression and stress, or for when you need to work out a problem creatively.
The Sims Bunker began as a way to relieve extreme stress, anxiety, and depression from being a single mom in college, when the original “The Sims” game was released in 2000.
It’s not a real underground bunker where I secretly play video games or anything, but an impenetrable state of mind where nothing exists but you, your comfort, and your game.
Like A Spa Treatment
I have found over the past 25+ years that playing certain games for an extended session is great as almost a psychological spa treatment. That if I “entered” the “bunker” as a raw, nervous, depressed, wreck of a person, and stayed in it playing for 2-4 days, I would be recharged creatively for several weeks or more, until life got too hectic again and I needed another “treatment”.
Games like Animal Crossing where there’s decorating and crafting involved allow me to be creative when I’m too burnt out to otherwise function. There are probably few feelings worse to an artist, than feeling so wrung out that a shower seems impossible, let alone an actual creative project!
Decorating a room or designing a house in Animal Crossing, then staging screenshots, is just as creative to me as creating an original photograph or digital collage, it’s just a different medium. It’s “post-photography“, if anything ever was, and gamers have had this figured out for decades!
The Sims Bunker is simple:
Step 1: Obtain one of the following games:
Animal Crossing
Stardew Valley
Hello Kitty Island Adventure
Story Of Seasons: Grand Bazaar
It doesn’t have to be these specific games, but I find these ones have one key thing in common:
👉YOU CAN’T REALLY LOSE OR DIE👈
This is actually a really key component to the Sims Bunker of 2026!
Step 2: Decide where you want to be for the next few days and set up your PC or gaming system for optimal relaxation. Pick a cozy spot where you can comfortably use a game controller, a mouse or your track pad. I also light lavender candles, cuz I’m extra and I like to engage all five senses like they would at a spa! It helps me clear my mind and stay in the moment! 🕯️🧘🏼♀️😌
Step 3: I know this part sucks, but try to FORCE yourself you have a shower. 🛀🏻 It’s not mandatory, I’ve definitely gone trash panda chic in the Sims Bunker a time or two, but trust me, you’ll feel better and enjoy this more if you start off fresh and clean. Plus, this gives your scented candles time to fill the room. 🧖🏻♀️ (Disclaimer: don’t leave candles unattended! *cough*)
Step 4: After showering, put on your favourite, most comfiest clothes. (Preferably clean ones! If you’re having executive dysfunction, choose clean over comfort!) This could be pajamas or sweat pants, satin or flannel, it doesn’t matter! Be naked if you want! 🙈 The only people who are gonna see you for the next few days are the people who live with you, and possibly Uber Eats drivers!
Step 5: Gather your softest, fluffiest blanket, your favourite pillow or Squishmallow, and TWO beverages of your choice. (I do not recommend alcohol, the point of this is hydration because this is a marathon, not a sprint, but you do you. 🤷🏼♀️)
Step 6: Grab a snack. (More on snack selection at a later date, but basically you want something you can eat with one hand, because you’ll be using your other to play the game!)
Step 7: GO PEE! You don’t want to have to get up just as you get into the game! Getting up = IRL interruptions! 💦🚫
Step 8: Get comfy and immerse yourself in your chosen game for as long as your schedule allows.
DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE
no cooking
no cleaning
no social engagements
kids can watch
pets allowed
Like I said, it’s pretty simple, but somehow magic! 🪄🔮
When I come out the other end, my mind is clearer and whatever problem I was having or state I was in when I started seems to have a solution or has dissipated!
The Sims Bunker is my way of life.
Now, when I’m burnt out from life, professional or just in general, I retreat to The Sims Bunker, immerse myself in a game for a few days, and usually all is well!
I’ve been doing this for 25+ years, since The Sims game franchise began, and I’m pretty sure that without this neutral outlet, my bipolar, anxious nature would have gotten the better of me by now!
This site is where I chronicle my mental health journey through gaming, the way I used to on LiveJournal, Patreon, and Twitter/X. Hopefully it’s of benefit to someone somehow. 😊✌️
