How do you handle losing?

I get upset, then remind myself that I haven't had my morning tea.

It's just a game.

Never give up. At least 7313 times.

Online it's pretty easy, just start another game, or go do something else. Sure I can get p!ssed and yell at the screen, but after about 10 seconds it's over heh.

OTB it's a lot harder

That's one aspect of professional play amateurs may underestimate (in any sport or competition): learning how to lose.

Play bullet! If you are losing, you can still win by time!!

Like a good sport maybe?

Here's my system:

If I lose to a twelve-year-old, I play an eleven-year-old next time.

Eventually I find somebody I can beat.

But why not first start  with 13 years old? How do you decide which age to first start?

If you can't stand losing give up the game. Because if you play the game you will lose a lot. 

I have played 6933 daily games of chess on chess.com and I have lost 2088 of them. I lose games every week. And I love the game. 

Don't get me wrong. When I play any particular game I try everything I can not to lose. I would rather win than lose. And if I can't win I would rather draw than lose. But once the game is over I think that every game that I lose is a learning opportunity. Use that game to make yourself better. Analyse the game. When you say you don't want to spend an hour playing a game you lose - well, let me tell you that I sometimes spend an hour analysing a game that I lost and annotating it. That way I understand the opening a little better. I can see where I made mistakes. And hopefully I do a little better next time. 

If you think you can get great at chess without any effort and without losing any games then you are mistaken. 

That said, you do need to match yourself appropriately with an opponent. If you want to do that play the computer at live chess. They have levels all the way from the bottom to the top. Beat the bottom level (Juan-BOT) and then move on to the next one. When you start losing games you have found your level.

If you can't take losing, take my advice....chess isn't for you. We ALL lose. We ALL lose. Even grandmasters, even Magnus Carlsen has lost many games, you name them, they all lost, somewhere along the line. The bottom line: Chess is a game. In every game, there's a winner and loser. If you're looking to improve, evaluate and analyze your games and yourself, what are your strong points, make them stronger, what are your weak points, make them your strengths. But if you can honestly say you can't take losing, then my best advice...chess isn't for you.

If you take a closer look at your games you lost, and analyze them, you may be surprised at how well you may have been doing. Don't just look at it as a loss. What was that one mistake you made? Find it, so you don't make it again. If you can't evaluate the games that count as losses, then they truly are losses. Remember that. 

Volunteer at a children's hospital, works like magic to put things in perspective.

Volunteer work is actually a great suggestion.

I haaate losing even if its a game it makes you feel upset and it is ssssooooo depressing

Talk to yourself. Make your ego accept the loss and then ask why it happened?

I try to to convince myself: its JUST a game.

I love PawnofLife's attitude - I think that will help me through my next 1000 losses, (tomorrow I'll re-read it for the next 1000)
KrazyKat's 2d post I agree with - analyse the game, learn from it, even those that seems not-worthit.
If you can't take loosing - chess is still your game - - that's what causes the chess rush in those close games. How much excitement would it be if you didn't care to loose , but discussions like this help to survive it

You should think how you essentially did a good, constructive thing for your opponent by allowing them to build up their rank, and become more confident players!!!! For all you know, they might've been even more depressed or sad than you, and that their win against you could be improving their mood!!!

You could also try forcing yourself to smile. They say it even makes being physically beaten up more tolerable if you force yourself to smile.

Troll the forums....you should try it!