okay so what just happened to me?

Post Reply New Topic

so, i was playing ssb4 like i do fairly regularly, a bit of backstory here so this doesn't sound like im a 3 year old:

ive been playing this game since it launched, never having a main till much later on, always being beaten at the game easily all this time, i have the huge desire to be good at it but never seem to be able to, no matter how hard i try im always really really bad, to the point where i play against players i KNOW are bad and they still beat me (i main charizard if your curious). it gets to me a lot, since i deeply care about the game and so want to be good at it so i can get very down about it or even angry. but heres where the topic actually begins (with that backstory)

it got to the point where i was beaten so many times in a row i began to lose the ability to see the point in trying to be good anymore and get REALLY angry, my parents are out luckily and so is my sister at this point, but i got SO angry that i began swearing and shouting really loud (i never swear, this is completely unlike me) i slammed my desk so many times my hand actually has peeling skin on it now, i began shaking almost. so i turned off the game, drank a glass of water, and breathed, and calmed down, im still kind of shaking a bit (but calm and a bit mellow) and i feel tired. im kind of embarrassed, what the hell? i turned into some sort of 3 year old having some sort of fit OVER A GAME, its just a game, it doesn't matter that much. im not going to die or lose my family if im not good at it.


i mention it now because this seems to happen to me on a fairly routine basis, usually like at least 2 or 3 times in the space of 4 weeks. do i have anger issues? is there anything i can do about it? how could i prevent it? its not just exclusive to that game, it just seems to be at anything that happens at the time, like i can sort of feel it in the morning, like a pre-warning, a slight bubbling of being annoyed for no reason (but not enough to effect my overall mood) and then boom later that day. i think as a sort of description of whats going on as i sort of fly into it is like, my mind is trying to control the character or you know, do something that requires you to get hands on or use your brain, the music in the game is playing making me feel really kind of tired and a little panicked and lots of things are going on in my mind having to do multiple things at once, i guess its sort of like a sensory overload i guess.

this seems like im rambling now, and im kind of embarrassed, usually when this happens im able to confine it to my room and be quiet about it, but this time since everyone was out it got out of hand as i didn't think i needed to control anything.

I've never gotten so angry that I was violent or throwing things, I usually direct it inward, but when I was really obsessed with chess, losing a game would make me mad for days. It's like I was so dedicated to doing everything I could to win and I would still lose. I don't know what the solution is, but I know how you feel. I hope your able to find some answers.

Take care.

You just have to make a decision that you won't let it escalate. Do what you did when it did escalate but before it escalates; breath, take a walk, get away from it. The problem is there isn't really a place to act like that where it is acceptable. It also can turn into a habit...no one around so who cares. You don't want this habit. No matter where you are you have to learn to not do it. Games get you going....but you have to handle the energy--frustration. The payoff is you still get to enjoy the games. I'm glad it bugs you that you aren't great at the game but if you still like it then don't ruin it for yourself. I'm not too good either, no matter how long I play I make sure whatever I get hooked on has a single player mode and I just play alone Being a maniac is a choice or you wouldn't be writing it here....don't let it rule you. It is always better to correct a behavior when it hasn't become a habit.

I don't know what game you're talking about, and I'm old so my references are going to be a little off here.

Okay so when I was little the Atari and similar systems had just came out. Not everyone had one because they were expensive and you would be kind of respectful of the joystick and the machine itself. I don't recall seeing people get into rages, but then the games were also different. There weren't as many people playing them for hours.

When my little brother started playing Nintendo when he was four or so, I started to notice he (and my older brother who would have been...16?) would both sometimes get into these rages you're talking about and throw the controller. Usually when getting to someplace important and losing the game with no save point, especially if they lost while doing something stupid. My little brother is autistic, my older brother was not. I believe this is a universal phenomenon. My little brother was VERY good at these games (almost savant like) and my older brother was just okay at them. I don't think not being good at the game is your problem. I think it's the focus.

I've heard it referred to by a name before, but I can't recall what it is. Like how "'roid rage" has a name? It was something similar.

I would try looking it up and seeing if there's stuff to read about it. Otherwise, I would try to break your own focus periodically. Make yourself save the game as much as you can, but also get up, walk around, eat something, and actively think about something else before returning to the game. You should play better and you should also get less angry.

I just had another thought. I also am not sure what game your playing, but I've found I really enjoy turn based games, or games where you can pause time, as opposed to real time. Something like Europa Universalis IV or any of the Syd Mier's games because it's incredibly challenging, but it's not as stressful because you can take all the time you want to decide what you want to do. The timing / coordination stress isn't fun for me in real time games, it causes too much anxiety, but I just found other games to get the challenge from.

*Edit: Oh, and the background music in Europa Universalis IV is fantastic, really relaxing.

Hello random,

I used to be in the same spot as you with both video games and tennis. When I played tennis I would get unreasonably angry when I missed a shot I thought I should have made, due to my own mistakes. I would get so angry at myself because I 'knew' I was better than that. This was a problem for awhile and eventually I realized being angry all the time isn't healthy and doesn't make me look great. I looked inward trying to find out why I was getting so angry and found I was getting angry because I care too much. If I didn't care so much how could I get angry? So because of that I decided to stop caring about the outcome of my game and just play. In the end it doesn't really matter. This helped me with my anger issues and I would you suggest you try to emotionally detach yourself from the outcome. I know this probably isn't the best advice because you end up caring less about something you obviously care so much about. I think it would help to give it a shot because I think not getting angry is more important.

okay UPDATE: i turned the sound off, got myself purposfully at a point that would make me angry (being beaten repeatedly) did breathing while it was happening as well, and it works! im okay. thanks guys!

I'm curious, could this issue be considered a meltdown? I'm still somewhat new to this, so I'm not quite sure.

It doesn´t have to be.
It sounds like built up frustration over never getting the reward - winning.

I´ve been there over a simple card game which I COULD NOT WIN - NOT EVER over the person I used to play with.
(She had perfect card memory).
It just got under my skin and connected with my general sense of defeat in other matters - and thereby it got very painful.
(I was a teen. Wouldn´t react like that now).

The subconcious is often playing dirty tricks on us.