Imagine you are 2v3. You are playing Counter-Strike and you are holding the site. You are guarding it from terrorists. Suddenly, you hear a BOOM. It was a gun shot and your friend died. They are about to push. The round is on your shoulders. How do you feel? Are you stressed? Are you nervous? Shaky aim? Or are you calm and collected ready to strike?
We all strive to be as calm as we can so we can perform our best. But it is not so simple. What to do if you are nervous during clutches? Or even nervous to communicate with your team? I am going to go over just that.
Stress Is Normal
Before we start, I want to put out an important disclaimer. You can’t get rid of stress entirely. It is a normal human biological response. It helped prehistoric men survive in tough situations. Therefore it is in our genes. Nervousness is inevitable. You shouldn’t be afraid of the nervous feeling. Don’t freak out. Realize it is natural and everyone at some point experiences some type of stress.
But if your gameplay suffers from it, then we need to take some action and try to minimize it. But realizing that some degree of stress is normal is the first step for getting rid of it.
Get Your Mental Health In Check
I will be real with you. If you are afraid to communicate with your team, or you are having panic attack symptoms in clutches. You need to get your mental health in check. Your gameplay is just a reflection of yourself. If you are feeling these kinds of feelings then you need to take care of yourself. This is no easy task, but it is 100% worth it. It will not only help you while gaming, but it will help you in life in general. Here is the foundation of a good, healthy lifestyle:
- Diet – Yep. Eat healthy. Eating healthy has so many benefits that I would need to open a brand new website just to cover every benefit. Eat healthy, get your greens and vitamins, make sure you are hydrated, and that’s it.
- Sleep – It’s really funny that everyone knows and keeps saying that sleep is very important. And then, everyone sleeps for 6 hours and goes to work. I would never get that. Get at least 8 hours of sleep. There are so many studies[1][2] that are linking sleep deprivation to anxiety. Get your sleep in check!
- Exercise – It makes you look better. It makes you more confident, focused, calmer. And the most important thing of all: reduces stress and anxiety. What’s not to like about that?
- Meditation – Meditation reduces stress, controls anxiety, enhances your self-worth, improves your sleep, and the list just goes on and on. Try and meditate 10 minutes a day for a week. And I promise you, you will see improvement.
Find The Cause Of Your Stress
Finding the cause of your stress is very important. Once you pinpoint exactly what’s triggering your gaming anxiety, you can work to fix that. Is it the desire to impress everyone? Is it fear from toxic teammates? Finding the source of your nervousness can massively help you on your journey.
- Fear From Toxic Teammates – Are you afraid that if you make a mistake, your teammates will start to make fun of you? If this is the case, you have to stop caring what they think. You are playing together for 20 minutes. That’s it. Everyone has the same goal. Win the game. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. Sometimes you make a mistake, and you find yourself getting shouted at. But realize that your self worth is much better than that. Everyone makes mistakes. We are humans. If you are getting shouted at, just mute them. That’s it. Don’t take them too seriously (especially if they are toxic). In a few minutes, a new match will start and you will be on your way with new people (preferably better). You can try and play with a friend. Then, if you make a plunder, your friend gets your back. It happens, and that’s okay.
- The Pressure To Impress – You are playing with your friends, and you want to impress them. You are playing the best you can but you are too stressed. If that’s the case, then again, you have to realize that no one cares. Sometimes you do good. Sometimes you do bad. Don’t strive for perfection. Strive for consistency. At the end of the day, no one cares about your skills. Do it for you. Make sure you are proud of your achievements. That’s what’s important.
- High Expectations – You are in a clutch situation and you expect yourself to win. You are stressed because of your high expectations. If that sounds like you, again, realize that mistakes are inevitable. Strive for consistency. Being consistent is what is important. You can’t be stressed on every clutch. Look at the big picture. You will realize you are way better than you think.
Specific Tips
Be Confident
Be more confident in yourself. Use pep talk to hype yourself up. Before you launch your game, say this to yourself. Today, I am going to rock. I am going to do my best, and I am going to top frag. It’s going to be a great day (and a bad day for my enemies). Entering the match with that kind of energy is unbeatable. Going into the match and thinking you are the bomb is a sure way to reduce stress.
Even at difficult times, use realistic, positive self-talk to cheer you up. Talk to your teammates as if they are your friends. Because they are. They are your friends for 20 minutes. So make the most out of that relationship.
Stay Focused
Staying focused while you play, will make you more calm and a better player overall. Focusing on the right things, will clear your mind and reduce your stress. If you are in a clutch situation and you find yourself getting nervous because you are afraid of your team’s response if you lose. Then you should stop. Focus on the current moment. The current moment is: You are in a clutch situation. Think about your position, your resources, etc. It is way easier said than done, but it is a must. I have written and article about that: How To Improve Focus While Gaming.
Get More Experience
It is a no-brainer. But once you play more and more, it becomes like second nature. Put yourself out there. You will gain experience, and with experience comes confidence. When you are confident in yourself and your plays, you will be less stressed about your gameplay which will in turn cause you to play better. Win win. So just keep practicing, keep playing. And you will get better and more confident.
If you are a good player, you will have way less doubts. You can just take a glance at your K.D, your rank, and that’s it. It just gives confidence for those bad days. Those days when you make some mistakes and perform poorly. That’s fine, look at the bigger picture. You are one of the best and that’s what matters. Consistency over time.
Breathing Techniques
There are so many breathing techniques you can try to alleviate symptoms and start feeling better. The moment you feel a slight sense of nervesnous. Try this:
- Take a deep, deep breath through your nose while keeping your body relaxed. Hold it down for 4 seconds.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6-8 seconds. Rinse and repeat.
There is so much more into it and there are so many breathing techniques, this is the one I follow with great success. Anytime I feel a slight sense of anxiety due to performance anxiety, I take a deep breath and a long exhale out of the mouse and I am instantly better.
Conclusion
You can be more calm and reduce your stress by,
- Getting your mental health in check, good diet, 8 hours of sleep, exercise and meditation.
- Finding the cause of your stress, and working specifically on that.
- Utilizing breathing techniques and staying more focused on yourself and your gameplay.
- Getting more experience and being more confident in yourself.
- realize that stress is a natural thing and everyone experiences it.
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
