"Breaks" From Chess- Helpful or Hurtful?

I have often noticed that players at the tournament level take "breaks" from chess after a bad tournament in an effort to "recharge" their brain and prevent further poor play. These breaks can vary in duration, however many can last a few weeks to even a few months (or longer). I understand that mental fatigue is indeed a real problem serious chess players deal with, however I also believe that mental fatigue (associated with chess) rarely lasts weeks or months at a time. My question is whether short, week-long breaks from any chess activities after poor results can benefit the player at all? Another question I ask is when the break becomes detrimental to the chess player (after how long)?

A short week long break cannot be hurtful really. 

Taking a break from tournament play probably doesn't hurt much. Taking a break from anything related to chess, and I can tell a difference after only a day or two.

If someone stops for a few weeks or months after a bad loss, I think it's more emotional than anything.

Time off can be good in that you have time to consider your play. Not only how a single game went, but how your overall understanding or approach during games may be correct or incorrect. Sometimes you get an insight into your approach, and how it might be changed for the better.

One of my recent revelations while thinking of my own games, was that I tend to overvalue static features like pawn structure. Recalling various mistakes I'd made, they were related to undervaluing my opponent's piece activity, and overvaluing my pawn structure. If I were playing in a tournament every week, I don't know that I would have stopped to consider this.

No. Hurtful.

I vote for HELPFUL. Every time I retired from the game (generally for a couple of years, give or take) - I came back a stronger player. 

I took a 5 year(ish) hiatus from serious chess

(I might have gone to 1-2 scholastic tournaments in the meantime, and played chess casually, honestly at the time I had often prefered video games) and I'm improving fine!

Breaks are always good... when you need them. Had a bad tournament/game? Give yourself a break, enjoy life for a few days and then get serious, start looking at your losses with an open mind and try to improve on them, I feel that this approach is way better than running home like some mentally ill, egotistic dude all raged up because he lost some rating points just to analyze your losses in the heat of the moment and plan your next tournament, that is just asking for trouble.

I used to go to my chess club all Saturdays, wether I lost or won, that day, after the game, I just had fun and did what I wanted to do, wether they were videogames, hanging out with friends, sleeping, watching youtube videos, I was just lazy, the next day was when I analized my games, and boy is it better to analyze games with a cold head. I used to analyze games as soon as I got home and it really sucked, heart attacks whenever I saw a mistake, I started hating my opponents, frustration, etc...

JUST MY 2 CENTS.

Time away is not generally helpful if it means time away from chess.

 It is dude, you need balance, you dont want to end up like bobby nuts.

Of Bobby nuts? I don't think he's jealous of him. Are you? :-)

I used to study chess quite extensively in my youth, several hours a day almost every day.  Things were fine until they weren't.  I would get frustrated, or I would start overlooking obvious moves, or, more simply, I wasn't having fun anymore.  I was treating chess too much like work.

I took breaks from the game, from studying, often for a few weeks.  I would come back refreshed and eager, though my openings took a hit ('Darn, what's the sixth move of the Smith-Morra again?') and my tactical vision went way down for the first few days, and it took about a week to recover.

I also stopped playing completely for nearly a decade, and the same thing happened on a bigger scale: forgot basically all opening theory, most endgame theory and missed hanging pieces.  Believe me, it's know fun being a beginner, studying your ass off, putting in hundreds if not thousands of hours to get to 1800 rating ... and then forgetting everything and basically starting over.  I mean, I got my old rating back again, but it was not fun relearning.

TL;dr: small breaks are fine, try not make them last years.

+1

Life should dictate the time and duration of breaks from chess, not the results.  If your family or career or health needs attention, it is silly to try to devote much time to the game.  Not only will your focus be disturbed, but, while you're playing, you might feel guilty that you're eschewing your responsibilities.

Unlike physical exercise, I just have never found chess to be a good escape from stress in my life.  If I happen to have played well, then it made my return to my real-life issues even more of a downer.  And if played poorly, it put me in a bad frame of mind to deal with the real-world problems.

On the other hand, if your family/career/health issues are reasonably under control, play/study chess, even if you hit a bad stretch.  You never know what might happen tomorrow.  JMO.

"'Bobby Nuts?'  I resent that childish statement, BronsteinPawn."

"Yeah, and I resent it too, BronsteinPutz."

Are you drunk buddy? I dont play rated games but I am top 20 in a field where GMs would not even reach 1900.

Next time think twice before attacking papa. 

breaks renew vigour

2 AM? Speak for yourself lol.