Joined: 8/18/2011
Posts: 18
Location: Vancouver, BC
Feeling anxious after spending time TASing - can anyone relate?
Basically, after working on a TAS or doing research for a route (I mostly do Pokemon), I consistently feel something similar to existential dread or anxiety.
This is not meant to be a trauma dump. I just wanted to see if anyone could relate and had any experience/tips dealing with this problem. I assume it'd be very hard to find a therapist who TASes, so I don't know where else to go.
I'm not a therapist, and I haven't experienced what you describe while TASing, but have you tried taking a break from TASing? It's not worth sacrificing your health for a hobby. If you get these feelings even when you're not TASing, the best course of action may be to see a healthcare professional in order to try to figure out what's going on.
Joined: 8/18/2011
Posts: 18
Location: Vancouver, BC
Dacicus wrote:
I'm not a therapist, and I haven't experienced what you describe while TASing, but have you tried taking a break from TASing? It's not worth sacrificing your health for a hobby. If you get these feelings even when you're not TASing, the best course of action may be to see a healthcare professional in order to try to figure out what's going on.
Thanks for your response. I agree that health comes before hobbies, which is why I haven't TASed in months. I was just hoping that if I could figure out how to solve this problem, then I could start TASing again
I agree that health comes before hobbies, which is why I haven't TASed in months. I was just hoping that if I could figure out how to solve this problem, then I could start TASing again
So does the problem persist? Or do you afraid that the episode of anxiety will repeat even after months of not TASing anything?
I don't think there are any certified psychologists in this community, but who is present here are veterans who is into TASing for a long time.
As one of them, I'll you what:
Existential dread is much more serious than anxiety. You should reflect on how severe your condition is (or "was", because I don't know what's the situation now, not several months ago. Maybe I'm not enough fluent in English). I'll try to address both levels of it.
- If your anxiety is severe, then it's a clear signal from your subconsciousness that TASing is just not your cup of tea. If you really want into TASing, you should consult with a psychologist first, because that's not something you may fix on your own.
- If your anxiety is not severe, then try to examine the nature of it:
Spend less time TASing and watch the feeling. Is it proportionally weaker? Is it the same?
Test your sense of imperfection: take a sheet and a pen and redraw something. Then redraw it again, then again. Do you feel a similar anxiety?
Test your sense of patience. For example, buy a Rubik's cube 3x3, shuffle it and build it back. It's preferable to try something you don't know how to resolve. How fast you will run out of patience and how fast you will put it away?
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
How long do you TAS for? I get tensed when I do long TASing session as I forget to take care of basic bodily functions, or let my brain cool down by getting away from the problem-solving mode for a while. Don't forget to take breaks.
While I felt it had to be mentioned, I don't think this will solve the issue, though. The key to understand why you get anxious will be to study your internal monologue and narrative around TASing. What pressure do you put on yourself? Why? What does that say about you? These are all questions a professional would help you navigate.
Do you think there is a cause of the symptoms (your anxiety) or is it "just happening"?
Is it because you think you are wasting time away, or do you remember something from the past?
Is the problem occuring when doing anything else besides TASing?
TASing is painful to me only when i realize the waste of time it is, i could be developing some professional skill and that's a little scary, it gets better when i realize it was a time of leisure anyway and doing more productive things lessens this feeling
I want all good TAS inside TASvideos, it's my motto.
TAS i'm interested:
Megaman series, specially the RPGs! Where is the mmbn1 all chips TAS we deserve? Where is the Command Mission TAS?
i'm slowly moving away from TASing fighting games for speed, maybe it's time to start finding some entertainment value in TASing.
Joined: 8/18/2011
Posts: 18
Location: Vancouver, BC
Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. I’ve read through them and there are a lot of great questions and perspectives here to process. I’m currently in the middle of an intense stretch at work, so I’m going to step away from the forum for a while to focus on that. I chose a really poor time to make this thread, so I apologize for that, but I do appreciate the support
