Chess giving me mental health problems. I quit.

I totally understand the frustration that can come with competitive chess, but it's great that you're keeping a positive outlook and focusing on improvement rather than ratings. The ups and downs are a part of the game, and you're right, focusing on becoming a better player can lead to better results in the long run. For those seeking more tips on managing the mental aspect of chess or any other mental health resources, www.mentalhealth.com could be a useful website to explore.

Dude, only advice I can give you is giving up is totally up-to-you and you only. Chess is no different than Gold, Tennis, etc it's a single person sport. There's no team or others to have your back etc. You win and lose on your own merit. The only thing to do is to get better and do a LOT of analyzing what's going on in your game strategy. I don't want to get into self-promotion, after just joining, but I'm going to cut a long story here short as possible. I'm 62 and a Polymath and I don't play chess but I made a statement that today "in 2023 technology" I could become GM within 6 months starting from total beginner. And my statement was excepted by a few people. So I decided if I'm going to do this I'm sure chess has A LOT of people, just like you, that believe it is too hard for them to learn to play, it's over their head, etc. So I decided to make a YouTube channel documenting my journey and giving my own insights in my learning and etc. I'm already very good at learning new things and cognitive ability but I have help in 2023 that can elevate my learning ability "and speed" tremendously and that is ChatGPT. And I will be demonstrating how I use this and everything. Get in touch with me here if you are still here and still interested in learning.

From time to time, I have felt like this too, a few months back when I was rated about 400 elo. I could only ever dream of being rated 1000 elo, and yet here I am, rated 1017 at the time of writing. I did sometimes feel discouraged, after losing 5+ games in a row. But, to improve, I played against the computers and tried to beat as many as I could. And I will tell you this. If you are not enjoying chess, maybe it is time to stop playing. If it makes you feel bad and degrades your mental health, then that's definitely not good for you. Maybe what causes this is the loss of elo every time you lose a game. But, when playing against bots, your rating is not affected. So maybe that could help. I'm not too sure ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Don't give up!

You are probably making the right choice. Get better. After reading your original post just now, it appears that even though a lot of what you say is most likely true, you also are probably not that talented. Many golfers, bowlers and tennis players are in the same boat as you but they continue to play and not suffer mental disease. Not everyone handles life situations the same.

OP is gone…..

I think I am going to take this advice as I slowly climb back from a losing streak.

Yes, mental health is very important.

1200 should be better than 90% of the players at chess.com. Seems a very good rating for me.

But no matter what rating someone has, extreme performance pressure can be very stressful and unhealthy and can destroy the pleasure of chess. And sometimes, it is difficult to solve, too.

Hey! I reviewed your games, and the reason you aren't gaining elo is because you keep blundering and overlooking moves from your opponent.

Good decision. I absolutely support OP. Mental health is very very important.

It's normal to feel frustrated when you see players who seem to be doing really well at a lower level than you. When I had such time, thc gummies helped me a lot (like these ones here https://joyorganics.com/products/beach-buzz-delta-9-thc-gummies/). You know, you can always give up, but going on is worth it.

I want to play chess every day but my mother didn't say that I can play chess every day so I play chess only Monday to Friday.

Pls dont quit

It's ok

HAHAHAHAHAHA! You are funny. 32 years playing this game and I go through low points as well. Play some other strategy games. Take up sports. Go do some dancing. Solve a Rubik's cube 2x2, 3x3, 4x4. Lots of games that can help improve our basic strategy skills and others that can improve our vision. I'm still only a 1550 and I agree I was getting beat bad for over a year in the 1200-1300 range and then I figured out one new move and it opened my eyes to a brand new quality to my gameplay and I worked my way up into 1550 range. I've always thrown my pawns at whatever side people castle to in order to nuke their corners but now I have a better understanding of setting up well defended pawn trenches and maximizing the use of my bishops. Setting up forks with my knights and avoiding forks as much as possible. Opening up my mid game faster with a more seasoned version of my favorite openings and attacks. Controlling the center of the board better. Avoiding backdoor robbers. Stacking my rooks. Been a long time sense I was in 1500s on chess.com and every 100 points people play differently. Fast out the gate and you can win a lot at the end on time. Not the most honorable victory but still a win. Learn a few traps and take out their queen. A lot of people will quit if they lose their queen early and you still got yours. Good luck. Go play some sports and take up an instrument. Do some painting. Travel and gets some dogs and go for a walk. Lot of enjoyable life out there. Go get in a bar and play some pool or buy a pool table and invite some friends over. Good times.

Chess has always been served to me as stress buster and allows me to cope up with difficult situational decisions efficiently. So please dont quit and reanalayze what's bothering you in chess.

After a loss, I, too, have had to ask why I do this to myself. Recently, I have adopted a method taught to new Go players by their masters. They teach the basics and then instruct their students to go lose 100 games. I have adopted this to my chess. I'm now on a quest to lose 100 games despite giving each one my best effort. So, I loaded a jar with 100 peanut M&Ms. I can only eat an M&M if I've lost to a real person (bots don't count). When the jar is empty, I've reached my goal, and hopefully, my game will have improved. And if not, I've enjoyed the world's best candy. Good luck!

Gaining control over your emotions is one of the most important things you can learn. It will be helpful in many situations. It is just as important as intelligence. Even a person with an IQ of 150 cound be stupid when angry or afraid