I remember when dealing with depression an felt like I didn't have control of my thoughts at times. Doctor told me to "do what you liked to do before it was this way, even if you don't like doing it now".

For me that was video games. So I played final fantasy and other games a great deal and found that the issues I was thinking of often did start to fade over time.

I don't know if it was the fact that the task required my attention so much or a sort of zen experience I could get with the game ... or just time passing, but it felt like it worked.

The only downside I felt was how not "in the world" I was at that time. Not really socializing much and etc in favor of drowning myself in video games.

Ultimately I think it helped me cope, but I also was aware that it was a very alluring sort of way of life to work, school, escape into video games, and nothing else.