Lost almost 200 rating points in a few days

its norm.

Otb, you would be assigned a ? after year+ inactivity near your rating. This then makes your next games cause larger rating point swings. Being out of practice probably does lead to more losses or a drop in skill perhaps, which explain it here. Eventually things might start clicking, might require the right book or guide? I once took a break from playing from 2014 to 2021, an incredible absence.

Ratings fluctuate naturally, which is absolutely normal. I used to play a lot, but I took a 1.5-year break from chess, and my level dropped significantly. It took me some time to get back to my normal level. Maybe you're feeling a bit rusty? What helped me were several exercises focused on tactics, visualization, and calculation. I've described them here: https://stopmakingblunders.matbobula.com/

And of course, you have to keep playing, even if you are not happy. Your rating will hit bottom but then it will start to increase.

That guy wasn't trying to help

Chess is a mental game. How confident and concentrated you are is just as important as how much chess knowledge you have. If you feel unsure about yourself while playing, you wont perform as good. Thats normal.

Like me, I had gone straight from 800 to 500 and I had never actually increased. Now, my rating is 586, and maybe then it will increase, then decrease again... Though I hope it won't 🤞.

Er.. MatBobula, I think that if you're unhappy after a frustating loss, then you should call it a day and rest for a while, and then start. Of course you re a lot more experienced but I just told what I do.

I'm living the same situation. I'm currently under 1500, when I was ~1650 during an entire month with hundreds of games. So for my case, I think I ain't overrated, If I was overrated, how I was able to stay 1650 elo for 1 month ? Today I'm under 1500, I'm just... horrible... I've this feeling of being under my normal level; and this is so frustrating. I can't see basic tactics, I'm able to give my queen in 1 move or to lose some finals while I'm winning. I think it's just temporary, and we'll win our points who were lost. But before that, I'll personally take a little break

It happens to everyone. Our mental performance fluctuates quite alot. Of course it is temporary, your level is always a scale, not a certain number on a given day.

Very simple.

Once you make huge leaps in one time format (especially longer time formats) you need to solidify your improvement by letting the other time formats catch up. This will build intuition that will vice versa help you in longer time controls, so you know what to think about faster. If you never do that, you won't improve and even worse, you might get worse.

Took me like 4 months and I'm still not back to where I was. I only gained 100 back.