Video gaming is fun and exciting until you get eliminated early in a tournament and have to sit back and watch your friends have all the fun. You can easily lose your cool if you don’t take steps to calm down. There has been a suggested link between video gaming and psychological functioning as gaming has been shown to provide several benefits. Therefore, it can be useful to consider ways to keep your calm while reaping the many gaming advantages. Below are a few tips.

1. Stay in the present 

It is easy to get carried away with the end result when playing a video game. However, focusing on the moment is the best way to calm your nerves and perform at your best, whether making a new move or taking a clean shot. Learning to stay calm and composed is key to playing at your possible best. For instance, your muscles begin to tighten when you feel overly excited or nervous before or during a tournament. This can affect your confidence and cause your performance to suffer. 

2. Know when to distance 

Learn to step away from your monitor when you feel stressed while playing. You wouldn’t do yourself any good to continue playing while you are angry or agitated. You risk increasing your negative emotions when you continue. Chronic stress is a major health concern in the US, and continuing playing while constantly stressed can do more harm to your health than good. Therefore, take a break when you feel stressed from constantly playing. You can return once you have successfully separated yourself from the erratic thoughts and are ready to play in a more eased and improved mental state.
 
When you take your break, don’t just stay inside the house. It would be good for you to go out and do something that can help calm you and keep you present. Some people can find walking reduces their raised heart rate due to gaming, others may find solidarity and tranquility in meeting their friends and just being with them in a physical setting, but there are also people who take relaxation as serious as possible and will go all out. 
 
This can be in the form of going to a spa and getting massages, relaxing by the pool, or even getting a facial, as it can relax the tension in the face which can cause headaches over a period of time. If you aren’t sure where you can get one of these, you can always do a quick search online with key phrases such as ‘facial near me in Cherry Hill, NJ‘, or one based in your location, to find what you need. Constantly concentrating on the screen does cause head pain as well as eye strain. You may think that this is extreme relaxation for gaming, but there are serious gamers who do this for a living, if they don’t take care of themselves, they can’t do their best. So, if you are one of those people who gets super stressed when gaming, pick something relaxing to do before you go back to your game, your physical and mental health will thank you.

3. Avoid being a troll

You can be anything you want when playing a video game. However, the cloak of anonymity may disrupt gaming peace as it is easy to start behaving differently than your true self. While your opponents or teammates may not know you in person, it is no excuse to verbally attack other players because you are angry. You will likely feel stressed at the receiving end, which doesn’t help the gaming community. Ponder over this before responding to any insult directed at you. 

4. Remember to have fun

This is one of the most important gaming tips to keep in mind. Aside from the competition and the gratification that comes from being rewarded for completing tasks specified by developers, the primary point of gaming is to have some fun. Video games are enjoyable because they carry you to new realities while satisfying your desires for accomplishment and recognition. Puzzles and mini-games in video games also intrigue you due to their thoroughness. There are many ways to turn the fun up a notch. For example, you can get MTG proxy cards to make gaming more fun. 

The tips above will help you improve your gaming by remaining calm but also help you relieve anxiety and make your gaming community safer and more peaceful. Certain setbacks are inevitable and shouldn’t negate your abilities. Just believe in yourself and stay calm.