Ranked Anxiety

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Before we start: Should you realize at any point whilst reading this guide that what you‘re experiencing is anxiety that is affecting your life outside of the normal, healthy boundaries or you‘re experiencing genuine fear, do not hesitate to contact a mental health specialist. We live in a time where we‘re asked for things more than we can give and there are people who can help you lessen the effects of what is burdening you.

This guide serves as educational material but not as a tool for self-diagnosis or self-treatment and things alike.

It is meant to show what is out there and what common approaches there are for people affected by ranked anxiety that is *not debilitating*.

If you or someone you know suffers due to the condition described in the following, do not hesitate to contact a professional or reach out to us to connect you to someone.

heading anchor do-you-know-thisDo you know this?

Playing only quick play or only playing ranked when you’re in your best shape - classic signs you are experiencing ranked anxiety. It’s easy to brush it off by saying that competitive is toxic and you just want to have fun or similar things. Deep down, however, everyone wants to feel rewarded after winning a tough match or wants to show off with a shiny plaque.

Whether it’s for you or someone you know, this guide will provide insights and fixes so ranked becomes your new go-to and climbing the ranks becomes day to day.

heading anchor symptomsSymptoms

First and foremost, how to know if you’re actually experiencing ranked anxiety?

A different term for ranked anxiety can be anxiety caused by playing competitively.
So ultimately, it’s the same as a general anxiety disorder - easy, right?
Well, no - as everyone experiences and reacts to anxiety differently, there isn't one specific thing that’s synonymous with it.

Nonetheless I’ve stumbled across enough people struggling with it and can confidently build the bridge between situations ingame and how you feel in them so you can be your own judge.

Situation 1: Choosing between game modes.
This is a simple one - do you jump into ranked without warming up or aim practice, or do you hesitate and rather go for the non-ranked option? Feeling like your not warmed-up self (or yourself at all) is not enough for the intensity of ranked should be taken note of.

Situation 2: You sweat and breathe as if you were running a marathon.
There’s a difference between trying hard because you’re desperate for a win, and thus sweating profusely, and sweating simply because you’re anxious to lose. If you stand up sweaty, shaky and needing a break from the game, even though you didn’t just play the game of your life, you should think about whether this might’ve been due to anxiety.

Situation 3: All you think about is winning or losing
Sometimes we are just playing a match to win and get that rank up, sure. If you’re always playing on high tension, being only able to focus on getting that win and stopping to genuinely enjoy playing, you’re reaching a stage where either you’re only playing to win (and being devastated if you lose), or you’re playing to have fun but can’t seem to do so.

Situation 4: Being afraid to go below a certain ranked point threshold.
If you catch yourself not wanting to go below a certain threshold (“I’ll lose my rank!”) and thus stop to play, you should look deeper into what’s really going on. It might be a case of imposter syndrome, to which we are coming now. (Insert among us joke here)

heading anchor reasons-for-why-you-feel-the-way-you-doReasons for why you feel the way you do

Whilst it’s impossible for me to tell you why you feel the way you do or at what point in your life these feelings emerged, I can tell you the experiences some people who experience ranked anxiety have in common. We will get to the fixes later so hang in there with me.

heading anchor imposter-syndromeImposter syndrome

At the top of the list and most common is imposter syndrome. It sounds funny, I know, but it’s one of the many reasons people hesitate to go into ranked. It’s a feeling of not feeling like you belong into the rank, thinking it was someone else’s help or luck getting you where you are. More often than not this is because everyone around oneself is so successful and confident, you just want to be part of the group and worry, you’re not good enough.

For some this can turn into burnout and can cause people to feel like gaming’s a chore instead of a fun hobby.

heading anchor social-anxietySocial anxiety

Plenty of studies have shown that the percentage of gamers within people with social anxiety is higher than the percentage of gamers in people who do not experience social anxiety. I think everyone can relate to the fact that those who have struggles in the real world are looking to escape into the virtual world more often than those who are 10/10 happy in their real life.

That some of these struggles appear in the virtual world might not come as a surprise and they show themselves in feeling unwell around others, especially when pressure is on. Feeling like one has to be talking in voice chat or meet your teammates expectations can be plenty of reasons for anxiety and avoiding competitive all together.

Furthermore, being insulted off cooldown is (sadly) common courtesy in most competitive games which is additional stress nobody, and especially anxious people, deserve.

heading anchor fear-of-losingFear of losing

Coming along with imposter syndrome is the simple fear of losing or deranking. It often comes with thoughts of having wasted time or feeling unaccomplished. Whilst this is usually healthy and causes us to give it our all when we’re playing, it can also be cause for serious concern when it turns into genuine fear and anxiety.

heading anchor how-to-fix-your-anxietyHow to "fix" your anxiety

Before we start - there’s no health pack or healing ability to “cure” you.

You’ll need to take every step yourself but there are professionals out there who can guide you and make those steps easier and faster for you. Let us know, if you’d like us to connect you to someone who can genuinely help you and your anxiety.

Let me address imposter syndrome first.
My tip: Make it your friend not your enemy.
The voice in your head telling you you’re not good enough can also be a voice telling you that you’re here to improve and remind you that being where you are is a matter of hard work. Use it to excel, instead of being scared by it.

Now, to the question about handling the rest of the anxiety.

There are two approaches to this.
1. Fall, wound yourself, put a band-aid on, repeat
2. Stop running in flip flops on uneven flooring

Let me rephrase them a little.
Either we try to lessen the anxiety by boldly heading into ranked, á la “face your fears” or we take precautionary measures so we can shut off all unnecessary anxiety causing things and, if we want, add them back one by one.

heading anchor option-oneOption one

As you can imagine, the first option is true horror for some but - it works.
It’s a lot at once. Insults, deranking, burnout, you name it. But once those things become second nature to you, there’s no holding you back. You’ve acclimated to all the scary things ranked can do to you - done.

You can make it easier by playing one ranked game per session and upping it to two as soon as you feel comfortable. Repeat it until you feel comfortable enough to let most of your games be ranked.

heading anchor option-twoOption two

The second option is for those who want to take a slow approach and understand the processes they are undergoing. As this isn’t as straightforward, give me a second to explain.

What I recommend is shutting off everything that causes you anxiety. So, what should you shut off?

If you’re genuinely anxious about socializing, turn off chat and voice chat. Whilst they can be an important tool for winning, they are also the main gateway for harassment

Unbind your stats key. In some games it’s impossible to do so or it will deprive you of crucial information, but if you don’t need to look at how many kills someone has, don’t. It will impact how you feel about yourself and how you perform.

Look away when it says what your current rank, points etc. are. This might be the reason you’re playing, if all you want to do is win, but it’s also the reason you’re so tense and uneasy when a match is not going well or if you’re on a losing spree.

Turn off that others can see your rank, if possible. It’s just added pressure from thinking about how others might perceive you and there are literally no benefits for you.

Step by step you can start doing these things again if you, ironically, don’t feel like looking at them anymore. When it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says or how others think of you - that’s when you’re finally comfortable with the things competitive modes entail.

heading anchor my-best-adviceMy best advice

There are some things to remember that can help you alleviate some of the anxiety.

It’s just a game.

I know this is a hot take but hear me out - remembering you don’t really lose anything and that you’re here to have fun can help you keep a cool mind and focus on what’s really important - winning your match.

You never lose.

You may lose a match, you may derank, but you will never lose. Ranked points can be regained. As long as you’re “learning by doing”, you’re gaining skill that will eventually show itself in you, even if only slowly, climbing the ranks.

Be confident.

In most games matchmaking is good enough to put you in a game where the other players are at the same skill level. The only way to win is by being just a little bit better than the rest - in other words, being better than your (now previous) best.

And to do that, you’ll need to be confident in yourself that that’s something achievable. And, between us, it is if you’re already here at SPARK trying to improve. You got this!

heading anchor youve-reached-the-endYou’ve reached the end.

Phew, that was a lot, right? To process all of this, come back later and look at the content that was most relevant to you again.

I wish best of luck on your mental journey and keep in mind that we’re there for you should you ever need help!