Mental Health and Open Toxicity

Muted Observer·Apr 19, 2018·2 votes·2,961 views

I have a very important question for the community as a whole is it more healthy for you as a player to

A. Keep all your frustration and discontent bottled up and not show any toxicity to the cause/causes of the stress and struggle on B. Openly express your emotions in a non-aggressive non-insulting manner but still risk people being told such things as reporting you for being toxic.

Allow me to clear this up. I am not asking what is better for the community, or for the game, I am genuinely interested in the physical ramifications of a non-toxic playstyle on the individual players health and well being. I am not encouraging the derogatory comments or the use of flame to excuse one's own anger and frustration at their level of skill or teammates but I am questioning what the actual impact is on the player which might more commonly be known as tilting, is if they do not openly discuss their issues with a given player, game, or situation.

Please, Please, do not respond with "It's just a game stop caring" or "It's never okay to be toxic" That is not the point of this discussion I am more interested in finding out if league is physically hurting its playerbase with it's draconian level of anti toxicity while aggressive player behavior toxicity is unchecked, uncared, and unrestricted.

If you have something intelligent to contribute please do so otherwise just use the poll

35 Comments

HalcyonDwellerApr 19, 20186 votes

I think you're looking at this all wrong. Getting frustrated is normal, and bottling things up inside is generally not good for you, but the alternative is potentially worse for you. If you escalate a situation because you let rip, you're going to come out of it feeling worse than if you had just bottled it up.

But again, that's the wrong way to look at it. You don't have to let things get to the point where there is this dichotomy of either expressing or bottling up frustration. If you start matches off by being nice to teammates and giving them emotional support when things go badly for them, they are going to be a lot less likely to harass you or do things to frustrate you.

League is a team game and that means that you need to get your teammates to work together if you want the best chance of winning. So earning their respect by being kind and by complimenting good plays and giving condolences when plays go badly, you will be able to win their loyalty so that they listen when you need to give them advice like, "if you ward river you will be able to see the next gank coming and avoid it." Or, "if you stay behind the tank next fight you might be able to get more of your damage off without being attacked."

Also it helps to use future tense whenever talking to people about a play. If something happened and it went badly, talking in the past tense will just make them think you're blaming them, which will escalate things even if you didn't intend it to. Instead focus on the future by talking about what can be done next time to hopefully avoid the problems that just happened.

Anyway those are my thoughts off the top of my head for now. Let me know if you want to discuss this further it's an interesting subject.

Muted ObserverApr 20, 20181 votes

I agree with your suggestions but let's take this in a scenario where you saying "if you ward river you will be able to see the next gank coming and avoid it" and that player responds with "If our jungler wasn't garbage we wouldn't need to ward so often" or something of that nature. Should the jungler speak up in their defense knowing that it is lets say the ADC who is over extending and making themselves vulnerable and possibly be considered toxic or should he swallow his pride and just accept that the ADC thinks he is the cause and continues to blame him. We are talking about a game where you have an actively toxic player in this scenario and for fun lets pretend mute doesn't exist.

HalcyonDwellerApr 20, 20182 votes

[{quoted}](name=Muted Observer,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2018-04-20T03:33:29.922+0000)

I agree with your suggestions but let's take this in a scenario where you saying "if you ward river you will be able to see the next gank coming and avoid it" and that player responds with "If our jungler wasn't garbage we wouldn't need to ward so often" or something of that nature. Should the jungler speak up in their defense knowing that it is lets say the ADC who is over extending and making themselves vulnerable and possibly be considered toxic or should he swallow his pride and just accept that the ADC thinks he is the cause and continues to blame him. We are talking about a game where you have an actively toxic player in this scenario and for fun lets pretend mute doesn't exist.

Actually, in that situation I'd simply respond with, "I'm not talking about the jungler, I'm talking about you. There is a choice you can make right now that will help you win the game. There is literally no reason not to make the choice."

They're just deflecting because it feels good to do that. You just have to refocus them and set their priorities straight.

If they try to press on about the jungler then I'd say, "they aren't playing perfectly, get over it. Man up and deal. You can't always expect teammates to be perfect. You can try to win the game or not, but if you don't try your best then you're in no position to blame others for the loss."

Muted ObserverApr 21, 20181 votes

I completely and totally agree with your assessment of the situation

HalcyonDwellerApr 23, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Muted Observer,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=0000000000000000,timestamp=2018-04-21T07:07:05.680+0000)

I completely and totally agree with your assessment of the situation

Thanks. I've been through this enough times to have a system in place.

130xApr 20, 20181 votes

{quoted}

I think you're looking at this all wrong. Getting frustrated is normal, and bottling things up inside is generally not good for you, but the alternative is potentially worse for you. If you escalate a situation because you let rip, you're going to come out of it feeling worse than if you had just bottled it up.

But again, that's the wrong way to look at it. You don't have to let things get to the point where there is this dichotomy of either expressing or bottling up frustration. If you start matches off by being nice to teammates and giving them emotional support when things go badly for them, they are going to be a lot less likely to harass you or do things to frustrate you.

League is a team game and that means that you need to get your teammates to work together if you want the best chance of winning. So earning their respect by being kind and by complimenting good plays and giving condolences when plays go badly, you will be able to win their loyalty so that they listen when you need to give them advice like, "if you ward river you will be able to see the next gank coming and avoid it." Or, "if you stay behind the tank next fight you might be able to get more of your damage off without being attacked."

Also it helps to use future tense whenever talking to people about a play. If something happened and it went badly, talking in the past tense will just make them think you're blaming them, which will escalate things even if you didn't intend it to. Instead focus on the future by talking about what can be done next time to hopefully avoid the problems that just happened.

Anyway those are my thoughts off the top of my head for now. Let me know if you want to discuss this further it's an interesting subject.

He never said letting feelings out was behaving over the top cultural wise, but just simply letting people know how you feel.

"That was a bad play," "How can you all be 0 6 0 while I am 5 0 3?," "Are you inting?, please stop." "This is the worst game I have ever played." Or even "you all are the worst team I have ever had."

None of these above phrases are allowed anymore, but they are very mild and should be to simply communicate frustration. I know you are a believer of forcing your beliefs on others but not everyone is the same as you. Not everyone can express themselves in the same way. Culture is huge here and completely overlooked in league but it is the key seperator in all of these behavioral lines they are creating. In my culture it is not in my place to make others feel good sbout themselves. Not even a little. But it is also not acceptable to verbally hurt people by spouting lies or excessive truths.

Really, watch the news. A lot of the horrible things happening are due to being forced to restrain all of your emotions. In the past someone spit on you, you smash their face into the wall. Now they spit on you, you are not allowed do anything other than ask for help. This is not normal human behavior. Pick up and read any history book to find out how we are supposed to naturally behave.

HalcyonDwellerApr 20, 20181 votes

{quoted}

He never said letting feelings out was behaving over the top cultural wise, but just simply letting people know how you feel.

When I said "let rip" I really just mean express frustration in general. It doesn't matter how severely you do it, the only factor that matters is how people receive it.

"That was a bad play," "How can you all be 0 6 0 while I am 5 0 3?," "Are you inting?, please stop." "This is the worst game I have ever played." Or even "you all are the worst team I have ever had."

None of these above phrases are allowed anymore, but they are very mild and should be to simply communicate frustration.

I agree that in some contexts they are mild, but in some contexts they are used to be passive aggressive against teammates. Hence why Riot simply doesn't allow it at all. This is why we can't have nice things, because some people fuck it up for the rest of us by misusing such language to harass others.

I know you are a believer of forcing your beliefs on others but not everyone is the same as you.

I'm not forcing anything, I'm giving advice. Shove off.

Not everyone can express themselves in the same way. Culture is huge here and completely overlooked in league but it is the key seperator in all of these behavioral lines they are creating. In my culture it is not in my place to make others feel good sbout themselves. Not even a little. But it is also not acceptable to verbally hurt people by spouting lies or excessive truths.

I'm not saying you should coddle people in order to make them feel good. I'm saying you should do it because it makes them more likely to listen or cooperate when you make calls or give play advice.

Really, watch the news. A lot of the horrible things happening are due to being forced to restrain all of your emotions. In the past someone spit on you, you smash their face into the wall. Now they spit on you, you are not allowed do anything other than ask for help. This is not normal human behavior. Pick up and read any history book to find out how we are supposed to naturally behave.

Nowadays if someone spit on me I'd still smash them. So would a lot of people. Real world actions are not the same as shit-talking over the internet. It's basic human behavior, if someone does something and you give them attention for it then they're going to do it more. That means arguing back only encourages a flamer to do it more. You can't equate real world to online because it is very different.

130xApr 20, 20181 votes

Only response is to the last part. I hear a lot of people talk like the internet is not "the real world." I do not understand this mentality. I am here, I am alive, and what I am writing is very real and really effects a real person. Maybe my viewpoint is unusual but to me it is like you just said, "The color red on your shirt is real, but the color red on that computer screen is not." Not seeing online as real.... Such an odd concept but now thinking about it I think many people see it the same as you.

HalcyonDwellerApr 20, 20181 votes

In the real world you have actual physical presence with which you can threaten someone who harasses you.

On the internet there is no such presence. You could spew venomous words at them and the only thing it will do is make them laugh. Nothing you can say will actually work to stop them, especially not anything that obviously is done out if anger. The best solution is to simply ignore them, because giving them attention will only feed their behavior.

Silent GravityApr 20, 20184 votes

Everything is practice.

Everything is building the habits of the person you're becoming.

If, when confronted with something frustrating, you break out in anger. You're training yourself to break out in anger more fiercely and at less provocation.

If, when you're confronted by the same situation, you control your responses, then you're training yourself to be controlled in the future in the face of even more provocation.

I am very specifically NOT saying that you should never express your emotions, or that the correct action in any frustrating situation is inaction. But, in the situations where action is required, having clouded thinking and mindlessly reacting will often produce unproductive action.

You can say to yourself, "I am angry" or "I am afraid" and because of that I am going to take this or that specific action. Deciding your own actions in response to a set of stimuli is a very powerful thing.

League can be very frustrating. Anything you focus time and attention on can be frustrating. Making little carvings can be frustrating when you make a mistake or someone accidentally sets a large book on an almost finished piece. Parenting is frustrating.

Choosing a response that creates the best outcome for yourself, the person you're interacting with, your team, and the environment of the game as a whole is a goal that sounds good to me. Choosing a different response sounds sub-optimal.

A long time ago, someone told me to "do everything on purpose". I have yet to come across a situation where that wasn't a good idea.

When you're feeling frustrated, I suggest expressing that emotion to someone important to you. Anything that is important to you and you care about is worth discussing with those you love. While my father was still alive we discussed everything. Choose wise people to share with. They can help you learn how to interact with your emotions.

Muted ObserverApr 20, 20182 votes

all sound advice your father sounded like a wise man I am sorry for your loss

YOU SO BADApr 20, 20183 votes

If your getting so upset that you need to verbally abuse people over a game then you have serious issues and need to seek professional care.

Its that simple. Getting frustrated is human sure no big deal. its more about how you deal with that frustration, But when you feel the need to spew negativity at other people for any reason cuz your feeling down upset sad mad whatever then you have issues and need to get help.

The real issue here is not weather bottling it up or letting it out is better or worse for someone.

The real issue is why do so many people not have the basic tools to help them handle emotions that they dont like.

A Pretty UnicornApr 20, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=YOU SO BAD,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=0003,timestamp=2018-04-20T07:01:25.979+0000)

If your getting so upset that you need to verbally abuse people over a game then you have serious issues and need to seek professional care.

Its that simple. Getting frustrated is human sure no big deal. its more about how you deal with that frustration, But when you feel the need to spew negativity at other people for any reason cuz your feeling down upset sad mad whatever then you have issues and need to get help.

The real issue here is not weather bottling it up or letting it out is better or worse for someone.

The real issue is why do so many people not have the basic tools to help them handle emotions that they dont like.

This game is primarily played by men and young men. In many places, we're taught from a young age that showing negative emotion besides anger is showing weakness.

When anger is the only "appropriate" outlet you're offered, handling other emotions is very difficult.

YOU SO BADApr 21, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=A Pretty Unicorn,realm=EUW,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=00030000,timestamp=2018-04-20T10:50:57.312+0000)

This game is primarily played by men and young men. In many places, we're taught from a young age that showing negative emotion besides anger is showing weakness.

When anger is the only "appropriate" outlet you're offered, handling other emotions is very difficult.

I was never taught that? Also there is no such thing as a negative emotion. there are undesirable emotions that you dont want to feel or deal with. But no emotion is negative. What you choose to do with that emotion can be negative though. An this goes back to your point that people do not understand their own emotions or how to handle emotions that they do not desire. Only a person who is Emotionally retarded would teach that kind of thinking to someone. So basically you agree with me then? The average person is Emotionally retarded Because they were never taught how to handle their emotions properly because they were raised by other emotionally retarded people. An the core issue has nothing to do with holding it in vs letting it out but rather peoples inability to deal with basic factors like emotions that run their lives.

TLDR the average person has no clue about how they think feel or act so its impossible for them to relate to how others think feel or act and this has been perpetuated by society for so long its to the point of being able to call it a mental handicap although factually id say 80% of the world have this handicap so its just normal.

Muted ObserverApr 21, 20181 votes

Actually if you check the boards there is a post about a person who suffered a heart attack from the stress league has placed on their body and due to the nature of league they are unable to stop playing knowing full well that it is not healthy for them to do so. I saw that after I made this post so I'm not going to say it inspired the idea but most people don't realized the amount of unhealthy stress they deal with until it is already a problem.

Many people live misserably, get up go to a job they hate, for people they hate, live a life they hate but because our society our culture is so muted that showing any emotion is a terrible thing and could upset the status quoe we are taught from a young age not to show it. The most common form of this is "boys don't cry" which even today is a prevalent ideal. We are taught that any emotion anger, sadness, happiness, or fear shown in the wrong context or in the wrong levels is a disease. There is nothing we can do to fix this but at least in video games a hobby for relaxation and escape we can be honest with ourselves. Some games make me want to cry, they are so bad, I am so frustrated that these people just don't see the game like I do but I'm stuck with them and when I try to make the calls they just refuse to listen. When I confront them they deflect with "trolling/it's a smurf who cares/ it's just normals" but you still have to play those games to get to 30 to get to ranked to play the REAL game. It's frustrating and luckily I was raised in such a constrained environment that I personally experienced the end result of sequestering your emotions until they overflowed. I was black out violent as a child, meaning I would get so mad and not do or say anything that it reached a point where I would lose consciousness and go on a rampage. I don't do that anymore, now I vocally complain when something annoys me. People don't always like it but there are three things I live my life by. I never compromise my personality to suit others, I never lie, and I never keep my thoughts to myself. I feel I'm a much happier and healthier person for it, but that's just me, everyone has their own way.

YOU SO BADApr 21, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Muted Observer,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=0003000000000000,timestamp=2018-04-21T06:59:42.260+0000)

Actually if you check the boards there is a post about a person who suffered a heart attack from the stress league has placed on their body and due to the nature of league they are unable to stop playing knowing full well that it is not healthy for them to do so. I saw that after I made this post so I'm not going to say it inspired the idea but most people don't realized the amount of unhealthy stress they deal with until it is already a problem.

Many people live misserably, get up go to a job they hate, for people they hate, live a life they hate but because our society our culture is so muted that showing any emotion is a terrible thing and could upset the status quoe we are taught from a young age not to show it. The most common form of this is "boys don't cry" which even today is a prevalent ideal. We are taught that any emotion anger, sadness, happiness, or fear shown in the wrong context or in the wrong levels is a disease. There is nothing we can do to fix this but at least in video games a hobby for relaxation and escape we can be honest with ourselves. Some games make me want to cry, they are so bad, I am so frustrated that these people just don't see the game like I do but I'm stuck with them and when I try to make the calls they just refuse to listen. When I confront them they deflect with "trolling/it's a smurf who cares/ it's just normals" but you still have to play those games to get to 30 to get to ranked to play the REAL game. It's frustrating and luckily I was raised in such a constrained environment that I personally experienced the end result of sequestering your emotions until they overflowed. I was black out violent as a child, meaning I would get so mad and not do or say anything that it reached a point where I would lose consciousness and go on a rampage. I don't do that anymore, now I vocally complain when something annoys me. People don't always like it but there are three things I live my life by. I never compromise my personality to suit others, I never lie, and I never keep my thoughts to myself. I feel I'm a much happier and healthier person for it, but that's just me, everyone has their own way.

Meah like i said this boils down to the average person being on the verge of mentally deficient. The average IQ on the planet is around 80 the same as a gorilla. Most people just are not capable of handling anything at all in their lives and the sad thing is its not really their faults. But when you point it out to them they will do everything they can to try and protect their fragile egos. Rather then look for a solution to grow. What we are talking about here goes way deeper then league and general toxicity. It boils down to the Subjugation of Intelligence of our entire species. whether that intelligence is emotional or otherwise.

Muted ObserverApr 21, 20181 votes

I feel we could have a very interesting discussion via discord

YOU SO BADApr 21, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Muted Observer,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=000300000000000000000000,timestamp=2018-04-21T07:14:18.273+0000)

I feel we could have a very interesting discussion via discord

Iv said to much already,

The man is watching.

Muted ObserverApr 21, 20181 votes

How do you know I'm not him?

Silent GravityApr 21, 20181 votes

By definition, the average IQ is 100.

YOU SO BADApr 21, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Silent Gravity,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=000300000000000000000001,timestamp=2018-04-21T13:09:11.797+0000)

By definition, the average IQ is 100.

the average "tested" IQ in america is 100. the average IQ of the world is 80

Silent GravityApr 21, 20181 votes

You don't understand. The average IQ is defined to be 100. The standard deviation is defined to be 15.

When an IQ test is created. People take the test. The median score of those tests, whatever that is, is defined to be 100 IQ. The standard deviation is 15. No matter what % of questions were answered correctly at the median or at the cutoff points of deviation. The median is 100. The standard deviation is 15.

A Pretty UnicornApr 21, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=YOU SO BAD,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=000300000000,timestamp=2018-04-21T03:44:50.536+0000)

I was never taught that? Also there is no such thing as a negative emotion. there are undesirable emotions that you dont want to feel or deal with. But no emotion is negative. What you choose to do with that emotion can be negative though. An this goes back to your point that people do not understand their own emotions or how to handle emotions that they do not desire. Only a person who is Emotionally retarded would teach that kind of thinking to someone. So basically you agree with me then? The average person is Emotionally retarded Because they were never taught how to handle their emotions properly because they were raised by other emotionally retarded people. An the core issue has nothing to do with holding it in vs letting it out but rather peoples inability to deal with basic factors like emotions that run their lives.

TLDR the average person has no clue about how they think feel or act so its impossible for them to relate to how others think feel or act and this has been perpetuated by society for so long its to the point of being able to call it a mental handicap although factually id say 80% of the world have this handicap so its just normal.

Interesting. No one ever told you to "man up" because you were crying? No one implied it wasn't masculine to be sad or depressed or anxious or some other undesirable emotion besides anger? You're lucky then.

It's not "people", most women handle their emotions better, or, at the very least, feel less shame in asking for help.

YOU SO BADApr 21, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=A Pretty Unicorn,realm=EUW,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=0003000000000001,timestamp=2018-04-21T11:43:15.974+0000)

Interesting. No one ever told you to "man up" because you were crying? No one implied it wasn't masculine to be sad or depressed or anxious or some other undesirable emotion besides anger? You're lucky then.

It's not "people", most women handle their emotions better, or, at the very least, feel less shame in asking for help.

Well yeah of course iv seen it though media peer pressure coaches at school ect but i knew from a young age how ignorant the average person was so i didnt listen. Most people dont have that benefit though i suppose.

A Pretty UnicornApr 20, 20181 votes

If someone feels their inability to be toxic is causing any sort of health problems, they should seek help.

I suffer from clinical depression and GAD (severe enough that I need medication to help me manage), I know struggling through mental illness is hard, but it simply doesn't excuse breaking the rules.

Muted ObserverApr 20, 20181 votes

I wrote in the original post that I am not trying to excuse rule breaking I'm doing a medical inquiry.

A Pretty UnicornApr 20, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Muted Observer,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=00020000,timestamp=2018-04-20T06:10:37.979+0000)

I wrote in the original post that I am not trying to excuse rule breaking I'm doing a medical inquiry.

My point is that someone who says their health is affected by not being able to flame needs to acknowledge they have a problem that they need help with. I know you're not excusing that behavior, but they are.

fatherdariusApr 20, 20181 votes

I wish you'd added an option C: Don't allow the game (an external stimulus) to influence your inner subjective experience. By simply not becoming emotional and staying Zen, you avoid the need for both A and B.

There's no anger to 'control' or 'bottle up' if you simply don't get angry.

Alternately, be like Doctor Banner. ALWAYS be angry. :D

Pandemic PunchApr 20, 20181 votes

There is truth to what you are saying, but the best players care the most. The more you care the more it is vital to express your thoughts. How you express your thoughts can be controlled though.

Muted ObserverApr 21, 20181 votes

I mentioned it in an earlier post but it is physically impossible to not have a game that depends on social interaction impact you physically. Stress is unavoidable in life and worse it is insidious in how it gradually builds like a hole filling with sand. Right now its around your toes and you feel fine but the longer you stay in that hole the mores sand comes in. Now its at your knees you feel a bit annoyed but you're okay, time goes on, now its at your waist and you feel trapped, time goes on, now its at your chest and you can't breath, time goes on, now its above your head and you can't even see outside of the hole anymore. Stress will consume you if you don't actively combat it.

YOU SO BADApr 21, 20181 votes

[{quoted}](name=Muted Observer,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=a6igBaVH,comment-id=00040001,timestamp=2018-04-21T07:09:28.080+0000)

I mentioned it in an earlier post but it is physically impossible to not have a game that depends on social interaction impact you physically. Stress is unavoidable in life and worse it is insidious in how it gradually builds like a hole filling with sand. Right now its around your toes and you feel fine but the longer you stay in that hole the mores sand comes in. Now its at your knees you feel a bit annoyed but you're okay, time goes on, now its at your waist and you feel trapped, time goes on, now its at your chest and you can't breath, time goes on, now its above your head and you can't even see outside of the hole anymore. Stress will consume you if you don't actively combat it.

If i get frustrated i go an play a single player game. Its that simple you have to be able to self regulate your emotions. Exercise, talking about it to someone, a game you can relax playing, reading whatever it is. People just dont have no clue about any of that. we are not educated on the things we should be in school or the things that really matter an there is a reason for that.

fatherdariusApr 21, 20181 votes

Try the mantra below (I'm not joking!)

Litany Against Stress:

"I must not stress. Stress is the mind-killer. Stress is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my stress. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the stress has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."¹

I know it's corny but it actually works for me.

¹ - with sincerest apologies to Frank Herbert.

KyazaApr 21, 20181 votes

For me, I prefer to keep it all bottled up, but thats more to do with me wanting to give everyone a chance, even if they get off to a bad start

Muted ObserverApr 21, 20181 votes

The downvotes this topic has received has been eye-opening, nobody wants to actually deal with toxicity in this community. Banning doesn't work because they just make new accounts. If people realized that ignoring the abuse you have to endure is not healthy maybe this community can start to improve and repair itself not by becoming completely and outwardly toxic but by understanding that when you say those things that you think are harmless to make yourself feel better you are actually physically hurting another human being even if you don't know it or can't perceive it. The things we say to one another in the heat of combat leave lasting physical impressions on us and most of us laugh it off or try to ignore it, but, it is impossible to completely block out the effect it has on you. For some it might be immediate for others it might be gradual but everyone, eventually, reaches the point where the toxicity of this game will start to hurt you. I hope no one ever has to suffer stress from a video game as that is the complete opposite reason they exist in my opinion. When dealing with people we need to stop thinking of them as characters and champs because flaming that inting ashe is easy but looking another human in the eye and saying "You're a worthless piece of garbage I hope you die" Is a lot harder than typing it on a keyboard.

Thee Pie ManApr 21, 20181 votes

I'd recommend distancing yourself from the situation and seeing how much happier you probably are. If what you're saying is true about anyone, they should probably not be playing this game be exposing themselves to the stressors that create that kind of mental level of frustration/anger. I'm not trying to devalue your feelings, I'm trying to protect them. There's a lot of mean people on the Internet in general, because anonymity creates a barrier for a lot of people that makes them feel protected when being very rude.

I wouldn't say toxic behavior is unchecked- as much as just there's no system in place to catch it proactively. Aside from getting reported, there's not much else that can be done about them. Muting them is a bandaid so you can remove yourself from the situation in general, unfortunately that doesn't stop you from the initial blast of toxicity. Do you find that the enemy team makes you feel like this more, or the ones on your side? If it's the former I'd suggest disabling crosschat, it can help a great deal. If it's your own team that you seem to run into trouble with often then /mute all might be a good option. Both of these things are "proactive" in the sense that they prevent this kind of frustration from even appearing towards you which might enhance your experience a great deal.

I know it's not the best solution, but other than what HalcyonDweller said, this is all I can offer as advice if you really feel like that.