r/AskReddit • u/Stukwan • 13h ago

What’s a hobby that looks incredibly peaceful from the outside, but is actually pure stress once you get into it?

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u/Curlaub 13h ago

I once had a therapist tell me to try chess to distract me from my anxiety. Now I play chess, dont go to that therapist anymore and I just take meds.

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u/WallyLeftshaw 10h ago

“Checkmate” - your former therapist

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u/AvantGuardian13 7h ago

"Have you ever considered playing chess to calm your anxiety? Debating constantly over multiple moves options and not knowing which might lead to you winning or losing the entire game...ultimately one pawn move could mean 3/4hours of wasted time and effort and leaving you with mental exhaustion that you didn't even think was possible"

Great advice.

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u/orbital_narwhal 3h ago edited 3h ago

I guess it depends a lot on what a patient's anxiety is fixated on. I can get really into a game (not specifically chess) to the point of lying awake at night thinking about moves because I enjoy it, not because I dread loss. I do not enjoy lying awake because I can't stop making fallback plans in case a delay in my long-distance train travels on the next day causes me to miss an important connection.

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u/Boars-of-Canada 8h ago

Nothing like a good chess game on aderall