anxiety

Does chess cause anxiety?

Only if you let losses turn into self hate and disappointment

Chess is a good ego checker for most people, you gotta realize your not ever gonna be the best and not let losses get you down. Especially losses that you knew you could win but mouseslipped, had a brain fart, or just throw away on accident. It happens and you just gotta laugh at it

Hello,
Actually i didnt mean when losing. I meant when you start focusing and calculating as this is triggering stomach problems related to colon spasms

hmm.

yes. sort of.

 

there are situations where I feel anxious.  on the flip hand there are times when I feel clever,delighted, and amazed.

 

do you feel anxious about chess, OP? if so you are not alone.  on the other hand; to progress surely means getting it...  your hardly playing your best if your all anxious.  and that (playing as skillfully as you can ) IS the point of this hobby.

oh.

 

still I feel, moments of jitters.   like when I begin in a tournament; or are playing blitz

 

and it feels like a stomache ache kind of feeling.  the body is "expressing" what your feeling.  its all very normal.  kind of annoying.  but possible to overcome.  do more NOT less- and these kind of feelings will be less intense and uncomfortable. (I think)

 

*disclaimer, since I'm not a doctor its got to be said that there's possibly more to it than that.  if you feel any pain,spasm,etc repeatably; perhaps its NOT just nerves.

 

Wow well I don't know if I get that one much, I think you might be just over worried about bad moves. Studying theory might be a good way to overcome it and to be able to have lots of reasons for making a move so you don't get anxious about it being totally wrong. If you've already studied a lot and your higher rated than its probably more understandable because your holding yourself to a higher standard, but even than keeping a calm mind is more benifical for your improvement which might be insentive to help yourself calm the mind. Keeping good posture and taking deep breaths might help bring the nerves down aswell. I can imagine if you feel like you need to make a statement on the board that each move would be rather intense

 

Only if you are prone to anxiety generally.

@mech.

 

sometimes I feel this too... espacially when something is new or when something usually doesn't go well.

 

for example G5!

 I hate that time control-- I'm all but blind playing chess that fast and my stomach knows it!

 

surely working to mentally relax is great advice.

 

So, yes.

Interesting.

For me, chess is a form stress relief. It helps direct my focus away from things I don't need to be stressed over.

I feel this way all the time when I get paired up against 1800+ opponents (me being only 800 USCF). I try to mitigate the anxiety by trying to not pay attention to my opponent (just the board). This helps a little but I still get very nervous.

Yes.  But thankfully that never happens anyone!