SoloQ Anxiety

PlagueDoktorFiSH·10/11/2014, 5:47:46 PM·6 votes·1,349 views

I enjoy League. I really do. I haven't been playing long, but I know it's something I'm gonna be playing for a very long time.

Here's my issue, and my title may be misleading as it's not restricted to only SoloQ, but whenever I'm waiting to get into a game or invited to a game with players I don't know, I get crazy anxious. Like, guts-physically-churning anxious. I can't stand the idea that I might be stuck in a game that could very well go over an hour with somebody who can't handle a losing game without turning into the mental equivalent of a preschooler.

Anybody else get this? How do you deal with it?

Also, any FRIENDLY players who might wanna have a couple games in the future, feel free to drop me an add. My only prerequisite is that I like to have a chat beforehand so I know the person I'm playing with just a little.

12 Comments

YGW Caspie10/11/2014, 7:31:27 PM2 votes

For anxiety I just focus on a breathing exercise, deep breaths... breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth... I find that relaxing. Anyways, just remember that you're playing a game to have fun. Just think of cute bunnies :D

(\ /) ( . .) C(")(")

Hegemony10/11/2014, 6:43:06 PM1 votes

"/mute all" at the beginning of every game, until Riot makes an option to toggle the chat on or off by default.

1 piece of pie10/11/2014, 6:47:11 PM1 votes

Get this all the time. In fact, i'm one of those who keep surrendering on the team and the other 4 keep saying NO to surrendering. See attached screenshot for outcome

Ashe -1 piece of pie from SOLO Q

Alilwet10/11/2014, 7:01:37 PM1 votes

I played 5 games of ranked last night, first time since the beginning of season 3. I used to feel this way, but to be honest, I wont let some tween/teen, or adult who acts like either of the two ruin it for me...

If someone gets vulgar I immediately mute them, no comments from me at all. I play the best I can, help out where I can, "gj" people when they make a play, and win or lose try to learn from the mistakes I made and move on to the next game.

I challenge you to do this, next time someone rages at you, mute them, then after the game go look up their stats. I will bet that they are either on par with you or worse. My point is, they will talk the talk, but they aren't that good themselves. Some people need their ego's boosted constantly and running their mouth to others is one way they do it. To them that is just as good as having challenger level stats.

Thr33Wishes10/11/2014, 7:02:59 PM1 votes

Best thing you can do is immediately mute people who you know will be a problem.

If you're playing poorly you might as well mute everyone because someone is going to get mad it's just what they do.

It happens much less in normals, and I avoid ranked as much as possible.

Sgt Aqua Prison10/11/2014, 7:49:36 PM1 votes

I used to have this problem. The best thing I found was joining a community. I'm in eloheaven, but there are lots of others with different focuses- eloheaven is very much about improving, but the clan I was in before was basically 100% about ARAMs all the time. Others may be more about tournaments, making friends, specific game modes, but any one you join will put you in touch with people you can hang with. Once I was more comfortable with the game from playing with friends, solo games became a lot easier and more fun- I didn't necessarily win more, but i learned to play defensively and turn losing games into practice sessions instead of being frustrated by them. It also didn't hurt that playing with others got me used to a higher caliber of opponent and introduced me to strategies I would not have learned solo.

Diljic10/11/2014, 10:30:57 PM1 votes

The first thing to do is to stop believing there is going to be a problem. If you stop concentrating on the perceived (possible)negatives you will find that the vast majority of games are problem free.

If you need help doing this queue with a friend or two who will not only help create the positive experience but doesn't dread playing to begin with. Their outlook *will *begin to influence yours.

OscarOwnsAdam10/11/2014, 11:06:34 PM1 votes

I found that the champion select music gave me anxiety before games, muting that actually helped a lot

redniwediS10/11/2014, 6:20:29 PM1 votes

I know exactly what you're facing here. I've finally worked myself up to finishing my placements (much to my enjoyment I made it to silver 2) and have only played one game since.

The first thing I would recommend is getting a group of people to play with. I absolutely despise playing with PUGs, but I have a group I am very comfortable playing with, even on my off days. I've played with them enough that I am actually quite confident in my ability to play. You should try this, find a few friends to practice with and keep practicing until you know what your strengths and weaknesses are.

Once you're confident in your ability to play things get a little trickier. You know you CAN do it, but now you have to convince yourself TO do it. I've gotten into the habit of playing a game of ARAM, Team Builder, or a PBE match since all of these are typically less serious queues. A warmup match is always a good reminder that you CAN do it, particularly if it's in a relaxed environment with strangers. It doesn't always work, but it's a start.

I usually listen to music that will get me in the mood for a challenge while I play. You'll have to find the music that works for you, but I usually use soundtracks, or even the music from the team builder queue. Music can alter your emotional state far easier than encouraging thoughts can.

The only other thing I can think of is if you have a bad game take an immediate break afterward, but force yourself to come back. You don't have to play a game right afterward, or even for the rest of the day, but making a habit of playing a normal the day after a bad encounter will help reduce that anxious feeling after a while.

Just keep in mind these tips are not an instant fix, these things take time to overcome. I'm still dealing with this crap myself, but with a bit of persistence I've made some progress. Just keep at it and you will too.

TenSlashTen10/13/2014, 2:16:28 AM1 votes

Maybe you should just practice confidence training? I mean maybe you have issues with losing things. And not just video games. You should fix that issue(very quickly imo), because life is full of failure.

The difference between a successful person and a bum is the guy thats successful built upon his mistakes after learning from them. The bum didn't care how many mistakes he made and never learned anything therefor he never got a real job going anywhere with his life and probably ended up working for hardly above minimum wage.

I'll gladly play a game with someone but I don't talk about my personal life, you can have my real name and nothing more.