Anxiety before playing

I love chess as much as the next guy but it's not a sport. It's a game. I don't know why some people want to cling onto this "sport" title as if it weren't classified as a sport it somehow made the game less fun/respectable/worthwhile etc

Personally I found that playing daily games has helped me reduce anxiety quite a lot. It allows me to study the current position better as well instead of rushing moves due to stress. All in all, I found it to be more relaxing, althrough it is obviously a lot slower.

Hey,

So i have no clue why there are downvotes on your post. I think your struggle is very real and relatable for many, and i wish you the best in dealing with this. I don't know where the negative energy comes from.

A while ago I posted a comment in response to a similar topic, so I'll mention a little bit about what i said there -- i had said that i tried "Reminding myself of how interesting chess is and the way I enjoy puzzling things through, and tackling positions as interesting questions". I like logic/math problems in general and i found it helpful to think about chess in that way, especially as the logical nature of it was what drew me to it in the first place.

However, other than that, you also mentioned that anxiety has been a part of much of your adult life, so I do wonder if a professional psychologist may perhaps have something more to say about your experience than i do or others online. i remember seeing a post a while ago from someone sharing his negative experience of depression in chess that was much helped by working with professionals.

Also, I'm curious if you have a similar experience before you play bot games?

Got drunk and awarded a silver medal?  Wasn’t nervous at all. I was more worried about getting low on my whiskey if anything…

You got to have fun.

I have a couple of ideas. I know what you're talking about. I sometimes get full body shivers from the play anxiety. One thing I feel helps is playing only after I have solved some puzzles, watched some chess video and generally gotten a feeling that I have had a chance to warm up. If I do start getting very anxious, I like getting under a weighted blanket. Lastly, if you have ever heard of EMDR therapy, I highly suggest it. It trains your body to stop reacting to Non-life-or-death matters as is they are

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