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Comment by thamer | Hacker News Reader

Somewhat a side-topic in this article, but I found this sentence striking:

> When I'm losing, it's pain coupled with RAGE, depending on how bad the loss is, or how futile I feel playing.

This doesn't sound very healthy, and is kind of scary. What is this enraged person capable of in this state?

A feeling of RAGE (in all caps!) caused by a video game might be revealing some serious anger issues that (in my opinion) should not be left unaddressed.

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In my experience, some people are more competitive than others and/or have stronger emotional responses to winning and losing.

It doesn't have to be a mental illness, just a matter of different wiring.

Recognizing how oneself is wired, and taking steps to mitigate the negative or unhelpful results of that wiring, seems like an what a well adjusted person would do.

As someone who can get quite competitive, I’ve had losses in certain games make me enraged internally. Externally if you asked someone they’d probably tell you I seemed grumpy. If it’s a game that consistently makes me feel that way I generally just stop playing it/participating. Generally because there are games of skill in real life I’ll keep going back to because you get better with practice. And depending on the circumstances, sometimes it’s a game of fun, sometimes it’s a competition. Looking at you golf…

Part of being an adult is learning to control how you react to the way you feel.

Yes, the horror that someone might have a competitive streak inside of them. I'm sure the world cowers in fear of Tom Brady when he's enraged on the sidelines after an interception. Who knows what else he's capable of!

The author is capable of identifying their emotional state and adjusting their behavior accordingly.

> A feeling of RAGE (in all caps!) caused by a video game might be revealing some serious anger issues that (in my opinion) should not be left unaddressed.

The only anger issue is the belief that it validates wrong behavior. Otherwise experiencing, recognizing, and doing right behavior is completely healthy.

I felt rage in games but only when there was a sudden change in difficulty that would destroy all my efforts. Felt like the code had a turbo mode to eradicate normal players.

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