Did you ever feel chess might cause you're be depressed?

Edit: saw my incorrect spelling in the title. It is supposed to say "...you to be depressed" not "you're"

This is a question rather than a claim. Sometimes I feel kind of depressed and I am wondering whether the fact that chess is difficult and very few actually become skilled players might be it. Of course I am involved in many things other than my casual hobby of chess. But I am wondering whether anyone has ever felt that chess is a never ending rabbit hole and/or felt depressed from playing chess. Maybe it is a result of losing. Maybe it is a realization of the limits of one's own experience and computational abilities. Maybe the feeling that there isn't an objective purpose to chess. I don't know, but I'd love to read what others think.

Nope, quite the opposite actually. When I'm feeling down a good game of chess always helps me take my mind off things.

Talking about rabbits, here is a question that no chess player has ever solved correctly. This will cheer you up.

  If you gave me 2 rabbits and a pair of rabbits and a couple of rabbits, how many rabbits would I have?

Didn't rabbits destroy the ecosystem of Australia?

didn't the ecosystem of australia destroy the ecosystem of south america?

Since two is always two it's two rabbits ^_^ 

Dragwood, yes chess can lead to feelings of depression, especially once you approach your "plateau" -- the level of skill where any further progress will take serious work.  Chess then becomes more work than fun, assuming you are determined to win more games than you lose.

But although it feels somewhat like a "mid-life crisis", this plateau can provide motivation to re-evaluate your learning methods.  Maybe there are useful learning resources you've been unaware of, or have ignored.  Spend some time watching chess videos and reading blogs to get some inspiration regarding new approaches.

Another important aspect of the plateau is psychological.  The depression sometimes originates not because of the stark fact that the period of easy improvement (and frequent wins) is over.  For many, the depression instead results from a kind of emotional immaturity in which one resists the natural fact that suffering losses is part of the process of improvement (assuming one tries to understand the specific causes of lost games).

Evidence of this emotional immaturity is rampant on this site, where the loser of a game often lashes out irrationally at the winner.  Many people don't want to accept that they are not as skilled as they think, and that true mastery has to be earned by hard work and suffering.

If you are willing to work to improve your chess, your results will improve, and consequently your enjoyment will increase too.  Winning for its own sake is fun, but winning streaks can only last for a short without growth of basic skills.  In the long run, true enjoyment will come from the satisfaction of improving one's skills.

This took me years to figure out on my own (I've never had any coaching).  But this attitude change helped me come to terms with the existential suffering that accompanies any form of competition.  I can still enjoy chess despite its zero-sum nature.  I still feel the sting of losses, but I no longer fall into despair.  And this re-orientation also helped me reach a new plateau a few hundred rating points higher.

I accept that I will probably never reach master level (maybe expert), but I'm okay with that.  And note that everything I've said here applies to challenging life activities in general.

Talking about rabbits, here is a question that no chess player has ever solved correctly. This will cheer you up.

  If you gave me 2 rabbits and a pair of rabbits and a couple of rabbits, how many rabbits would I have?

You would get rabit stew. 

I knew I'd never get a straight answer.

I'll wait for the obvious answer.

I said two since a pair and couple are synonyms meaning two of a kind therefore it's two.  

As for the plateu no matter how much time I practice calculation, position play, and endgames I never seem able to make master.  Experts look weak when looking at IM or GM vs. expert games but I can never really seem to win with that kind of energy and confidence.   

Just get an anti-depressant pill from your doctor.  Easy solution.

I think what makes chess so great, is that its "you"  Win, lose, or draw, the result is on you.  You dont have others to blame, just you.  And for some that is a hrd fact to accept.  Preparing is on you...playing is on you...your results are on you...Sure you can make excuses, and try and blame others, or other things, but in the end its all on you.

Those who say no, havent yet played it enough! Afterall the answer to lifes puzzle is no way chess. Time is the ultimate check mate for everyone.

Ugh, I just typed out a long answer and then my computer crashed.

I'll try to remember everything I said. Drawgood, I agree with what TurboFish wrote, but I also think there might be another, simpler component to the depression you're feeling. My first intellectual love is books, yet I can sometimes feel depressed while reading. I think this is in part because some authors are overwhelmingly brilliant, but also because reading can be quiet, and quite solitary. Chess is similarly quiet, similarly lonely - especially online chess. Despite what introverts might say about themselves, everyone needs some amount of social interaction and physical activity. So some very simple, if partial, solutions to depression are to get outside, go for a run, see a friend, or try a new activity (new activities are good for the brain). Numerous new studies are indicating that long periods of sitting every day can be surprisingly unhealthy. You should be standing and walking for at least ten minutes of every hour (if you can).

But also, I think that it's interesting that quiet activities can be so depressing. I would never tell anyone to dwell in sadness, but I also don't think anyone should rush to distract themselves from sadness they might be feeling, as this only hides the problem temporarily. Definitely take steps to figure out the root of your sadness, or to try to alleviate or solve it. But sadness is a part of life, and for that reason, a certain amount of quiet can be good for the soul, I think.

Still, please don't take this to mean I think you should dwell in depression. You seem like a very thoughtful person to me (thoughtful people are often prone to periods of depression), and I hope you will soon feel better, when you're playing chess and also in general.

Thanks masmai for sharing your insights, especially about how we all need social interaction and physical activity, and how online chess satisfies neither of these needs.  As an overly intellectual introvert, I think I have made progress on existential questions of life, but lately I'm realizing that I live too much within my own mind, neglecting the body's needs, and the need for quality human contact.

I miss graduate school -- I walked far and often, and had the luxury of playing chess face-to-face with numerous friends.  Now I'm having trouble finding a chess club in Tampa, and sit way too much (my other hobbies are math and programming).  Fortunately my teaching/tutoring job allows time for walks each hour, as you suggested.

Ok, I'll be serious, I'll bite the carrot, but first let me go get my rabbit foot for good luck. ... ok got it. 6 rabbits?

This is because chessplayers always want Ext Rabbits.

Did you say 6 rabbits ????!!!!!!

Incorrect. 

I would have 7 - I've got one at home.

This is impossible to answer...

We don't know how many rabbits you were in possession of before you gave six of them away. 

And were any of the rabbits you had at home pregnant?

If so you may have more rabbits than you realise!