4 Tips To Manage Anger During Gaming

 

When I was in my teens, I kicked the dry wall and dug an eight inch hole in my room. Why? I died playing a first-person shooter. This may either sound extremely silly or extremely familiar. If this is the latter, here are some tips to control the urge to explode.

1. Relax and Don't Give In

A lot of these tips are going to sound obvious and not helpful. But this is the best thing you can do for yourself. It may feel good to release that pent up energy at the time, but you will immediately regret that decision in the long term. That feeling of releasing the anger starts to get addicting; it will start to happen more often and get worse. The sooner you pretend to act calm, the more likely you will end up calm.

2. Have Other People Around You

We are all social creatures and go out of our way to not embarrass ourselves in front of our peers. If you're with other people, you're less likely to act out. But if you play online either in coop or competition, chances are the other people are the problem. It's a good idea to have a friend watching you who isn't playing the game. They can be an outside observer to help you laugh things off or make you aware, if or when the rage is bubbling.

3. Recognize What You're Angry At

99% of the reasons why people get frustrated at gaming is because they're mad at themselves. We are our own worst critics, so try to think of the best things about yourself. Think about your accomplishments, even if it's something small like beating a level or getting a good score. Know that even if you never conquer the specific task you can't do at the moment, that doesn't make you any less than you are.

4. Know When To Walk Away

Again, this seems very obvious, but I am almost always guilty of continuing to play a game when I shouldn't and giving into my darkest instincts out of spite and refusal to give up. Walk away. Do literally anything else. Calmness and reasoning will start flowing back. You'll probably be motivated to go back to the game and do better now that the anger won't be a distraction.