When emotions run high in Overwatch, a little calm can help – along with the practice of psychotherapy.
Matches in Overwatch can sometimes take a toll. Even when you do your best, you can’t win every time. Occasionally, there are entire series of defeats and unpleasant thoughts emerge. “The balance is terrible” or “I always have idiots on my team” and “Why do I always face smurf accounts?”
This was also the case for Reddit user SirBenny, who often faced frustration when things weren’t going well in Overwatch. However, he found a solid way to combat it.
His wife, a psychotherapist, recommended an exercise from dialectical behavior therapy. Whenever SirBenny felt frustrated, he should stop playing and write down his negative feelings and impressions. Once the initial anger had subsided, he was supposed to take the note again and approach the situation more calmly, viewing it from a positive perspective.
With a clear mind to a calm spirit
The first angry reactions looked like this:
- “My team is trash”
- “I should be better than silver”
- “Blizzard always makes me play against smurfs”
- “No one played DPS or countered Pharah”
- “I will continue to just lose”
After some moments of reflection, the thoughts then transformed into positive or encouraging ideas.
- “I can learn from my mistakes”
- “My skill rating is an accurate representation of my skills”
- “Smurfing is not the real problem”
- “It was nice that so many people played Tank and Support”
- “I will improve”
Apparently, it helped SirBenny to dive back into the game with a fresh mindset. Seeing his own thoughts on paper can definitely help gain more clarity about them. Perhaps taking some time to think calmly is a good idea for other players as well, to better cope with their own frustration (Otherwise, you can just play Hanzo).
What do you think of this method for dealing with frustration? Is it a good thing if it works for some? Or should it never get to the point in gaming where one has to rely on such exercises?
