Lack of Esports Mental Health Coach in India

Lack of Esports Mental Health Coach in India, Esports though look very fun and games, have a lot of pressure and stress the gamers need to face. The gamers need to practice at least 10-12 hours a day on average, so this long exposure can lead to many mental issues such as stress and depression. Since the gamers need to perform, the gaming organizations need to take care of the mental health of these gamers.

Things get harder for the gamers when there is any competition nearby, they sleep late which ultimately affects their sleeping cycle, they also practice 6 days a week and after these long gaming periods they face many issues such as insomnia, depression, aggression,
anxiety, lack of social skills among others. Rubenstiein one of the co-founders of Misfits, an organization that looks after the mental health of Esports players said “Pro players are relying on their brains to perform and be on for very precise moments”. “This is a lot of
pressure and can create anxiety which impacts focus. So, in order to access all their skills and logical reasoning, emotions must be managed in-game and out of the game. Most major psychological disorders like anxiety or depression impact focus and concentration and
general functioning, so if not treated correctly impact performance. These disorders are treatable but are often neglected due to lack of awareness of the signs and treatment criteria” she added.

A study showed that esports players have the same amount of pressure as an elite-level athlete, which includes communication problems and concerns with competing in front of live audiences. NAVI one of the elite Esports organizations in the world, arrange regular
sessions of both physical and mental health for their gamers. They started this after gamers had eyesight and anxiety problems due to the long exposure to the screen.

Many Indian gamers too faced the problem of mental health when it came to long hours gaming and also the lack of proper mental health coaches. SCOUT a famous Indian esports player and YouTuber said that he had to leave many competitions since his organizers didn’t
care about his mental health but only about the money that came from the competitions.

The Indian Esports market is expected to rise to 3.9 billion US$ by 2025, and this reflects the growing gaming community of India. While the team of other countries has proper mental coaches, Indian teams also need to upgrade their staff to check after their players. The
awareness of proper mental coaches should be added, and the gaming organizations need to look after the player’s both physical and mental health so that they can perform better.

article by: Subhendu Das

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