How to heal from competitive gaming burnout: Know when to take breaks

I’ve played fighting games for quite literally my entire life. As a child, I spent hours playing fighting games with my friends. Capcom vs. SNK2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2Super Smash Bros. is also available. It was a simpler, much more innocent time — a time when mashing buttons was prevalent and training mode was a foreign concept. Then, I came across the fighting games community and discovered that I was hottrash.

Did you ever think to yourself that I would like to be better at video games but it wouldn’t ruin my entire life? This week is dedicated to health and video games.

Two videos came up while I was browsing YouTube one day. One of them was made by esteemed fighting game content creator Maximilian Dood as part of his “Assist Me” learning video series, and the other was a video of a match from Evo, the largest fighting game tournament. They featured my favourite fighting game ever. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. I found myself in a completely new world. It was clear that gaming had to be treated as homework if I want to succeed. Oh my god, I was desperate to get more credit.

I did eventually drop the weight. Marvel 3From frustration over the game (I was not able to play it and had no idea how training mode worked), I found myself in a larger world of fighting games. I started going to tournaments beginning in 2015 and was dead set on that classic “git gud” mentality. Although I did improve my basic skills, my game never really took off. There was never a time back then when I’d truly call myself good, or even OK. And to be honest with myself, that continued for a loooong, long time.

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From that point on, Street Fighter 5when I came out, my focus was on fighting games. I was grinding training mode combos like it was my job, but for me, that still wasn’t enough. While I was improving my skill in this genre, it was frustrating that there were not many big leaps in my play. I was straight-up obsessing over my growth and forcing myself to play in hopes of growing to the level of all the players I’ve looked up to for so long. Thanks to that obsession, I ended up falling into a spiral of tying my self-worth to my skill level in a video game and, ultimately, burning out on truly enjoying my time playing games — even with my friends.

What did I do then? The good news is that years later, I was finally able to get back up. Street Fighter 5After a year, I decided to take a break from all things music. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it just happened because I was so burned out. Yeah, I’d play with friends here and there, but my days of training, playing ranked matches online, and entering tournaments ended for an entire year. One year later when I was able to return to the game, it felt like I was slapping myself. I knew that I had been waiting for this moment.

In a TeamUSA interview, family physician and TrueSport Expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa brought up how important it is for young athletes’ mental health to take breaks in sports. Gilboa explained how overtraining can end up tying one’s identity to that sport and one’s success in it: “We don’t teach them how to do a sport sustainably. Their belief is that there’s only one way to excel in a sport. […] We narrow an athlete’s sense of identity so profoundly that if they aren’t an athlete in that one sport, they have no idea who they are.” In other words, they’re losing the sense that the journey is just as important as the destination. This is also true for competitive gaming.

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It’s not just me who’s had this experience. I’ve seen similar types of burnout happen to players so many times in the world of fighting games and competitive gaming as a whole. Over-competing is not something gamers consider a problem, unlike traditional sports. You might believe that the only way to become better in a videogame is to spend your time alone, going through the same training modes for several weeks, and losing every match to gain more experience. This can lead to mental exhaustion, just like physical sports.

This was something I had to learn the hard way. It led me into a very difficult position with this genre for a long time. But, like magic, I felt better after I got back from my break. Then, it clicked. I was now the favorite fighter in the world. The King of Fighters 15.. My perspective was changing, I saw patterns and was making predictions. I also was beating people in this genre. When I felt like I was getting burnt out, I decided to take another break.

It is important to take breaks for personal growth. It doesn’t matter if you take a break to play another game or try another activity. You just need to know when it is time to turn off the on switch. And that doesn’t just go for fighting games or competitive gaming. This may sound strange, but it is possible to spend time learning something that takes a lot of time. But it’s something that may end up saving your mental health — while also helping you get better in the process.