The Psychology of Overwatch Tilt & how to stop it in your games

[00:00] what is tilt the term has early roots in

[00:04] pinball and was popularized in poker

[00:06] these kids are cramming here taking me

[00:08] on tonics come down please

[00:09] before being adopted by eSports players

[00:12] worldwide in short tilt as a state of

[00:19] mind where one makes poor decisions

[00:21] because of anger shame or other negative

[00:23] emotions so if you're on tilt you're off

[00:26] your game

[00:27] which is why blitz teamed up with

[00:29] psychologist Sam Greenblatt to go

[00:31] through the three stages of recognizing

[00:33] and preventing tilt prompting

[00:35] vulnerability and mindfulness prompting

[00:39] usually tilt starts with a prompting

[00:41] event a moment that can trigger negative

[00:43] emotions it can be as obvious as an

[00:46] abusive teammate or more subtle like

[00:48] being alone in team chat prompting can

[00:51] also take the form of being pressured to

[00:53] play a role you don't like a teammate

[00:55] saying there's not enough healing

[00:58] someone locking in an attack Torbjorn

[01:00] maybe even a little spawn room chaos

[01:03] here's the thing we encounter prompting

[01:05] events every time we queue up but how

[01:07] they affect us depends on our

[01:09] vulnerability there are a number of non

[01:11] game factors that can make you more

[01:13] vulnerable to prompting events some of

[01:15] the most common causes can be the time

[01:17] of day hunger recent events in your own

[01:19] life a losing streak fatigue and even

[01:22] physical discomfort most of the time

[01:24] falling into a pit is fine and a hunger

[01:26] doesn't make you rage but it's the right

[01:28] combination of prompting and

[01:30] vulnerability that causes tilts which

[01:32] can last anywhere from one verbal lash

[01:34] out to a negative mindset for an entire

[01:36] night of gaming but we can make all this

[01:39] less likely using mindfulness

[01:41] mindfulness of our vulnerabilities

[01:43] reactions to prompting events and how to

[01:45] de-escalate tilt that we do fall into

[01:49] being mindful means having full

[01:51] non-judgmental awareness of what's going

[01:53] on both in game with your and your

[01:55] team's actions and out of game in your

[01:57] body and mind being mindful of

[02:00] vulnerabilities means first taking note

[02:02] of small factors that make you more

[02:03] likely to tilt some players experience a

[02:06] shorter temper late at night maybe you

[02:08] make bad decisions when you skip dinner

[02:10] if you can name these factors ahead of

[02:12] time you can be proactive about

[02:14] setting a cut-off time at night or

[02:15] planning snack breaks for those long

[02:17] grinds we can also be mindful about

[02:20] prompting you can't predict when these

[02:22] events will happen but you can prepare

[02:24] for how you process them next time you

[02:26] get frustrated be aware of yourself

[02:28] order the physical sensations that you

[02:30] experience may be tightening shoulders a

[02:33] change in posture increased heart rate

[02:35] palms sweaty MA spaghetti also notice

[02:39] how you think about the situation say

[02:41] you're in game and you have a Genji on

[02:43] your team who's not doing well this

[02:45] Genji sucks and is throwing the game is

[02:47] a judgmental response this Genji keeps

[02:50] diving solo and isn't landing effective

[02:52] damage is an objective response that can

[02:55] address the situation without digging

[02:56] into negative thoughts ultimately

[02:59] training ourselves to recognize negative

[03:01] physical and mental reactions can make

[03:03] it easier to notice the starting signs

[03:05] of tilt and give ourselves more space to

[03:08] choose a healthier response if you do

[03:11] find yourself escalating into tilt

[03:13] simple deep breathing and meditation

[03:14] exercises can help you calm down

[03:17] deep breathing forces you to regulate

[03:19] your breathing and heart rate and once

[03:21] those slow down so does your brain try

[03:24] counting long and deliberate inhales and

[03:26] exhales until you feel yourself calmed

[03:29] down there are even a couple of websites

[03:31] and apps that offer calm breathing

[03:33] timers when we get anxious we bury

[03:35] ourselves in our own heads focusing on

[03:38] your other senses forces you to redirect

[03:40] your thinking outwards and helps bring

[03:42] you back to the present one at a time

[03:44] take note of a few things you hear a few

[03:47] things you smell feel and taste this

[03:50] will help you return to a non-judgmental

[03:52] mindset be patient and letting yourself

[03:54] reset it took some time for you to fully

[03:57] tilt so you can always expect an instant

[03:59] reset don't just sit there count to 10

[04:01] and riku instantly thinking your

[04:03] untilled 'td it takes up at a time

[04:05] sometimes there is no magic trick and

[04:08] the only way to really until is to log

[04:10] out and walk away for a bit don't think

[04:12] of it as giving up consider it an

[04:14] investment into your future sessions

[04:15] it's better to log off now and play with

[04:18] the fresh mind later rather than lose a

[04:20] bunch of extra points right now on a

[04:21] tilt spree so that's tilt in a nutshell

[04:24] it's much more of a slow build than an

[04:27] instant

[04:27] snap and practicing mindfulness can help

[04:29] you curb tilt before it even begins and

[04:32] remember it's human to get upset so

[04:35] don't beat yourself up about it for

[04:38] moreover watch interviews and analysis

[04:41] subscribe to our Channel you can also

[04:43] find stats discussions and more on our

[04:45] website and mobile app at blitz eSports

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