Is it normal to feel this bad about losing?
Now I’m not a stranger to competition nor competitive people. My fathers entire family is highly competitive, but I seem to be a rather extreme example. Whenever I lose at something I feel an intense mixture of anger and sadness. Now this happens in many facets of life for me but it’s mainly in things I would consider myself good at or proficient in. If I were to lose my first ever checkers game against someone who played every day I wouldn’t be as upset. However if it is something I have a good bit of skill or experience doing then losing at it reliably sends me into such deep anger and pain that I feel betrayed by existence itself. As if the very universe has robbed me of something. Losses in any of the aforementioned type can remain in my mind for days and have sometimes kept eating me alive mentally for weeks afterward. I don’t mind being competitive but I really wish I could dial this back a bit. Despite all this It’s never caused me to act negatively towards the person who wins against me. I try and treat everyone respectfully but can never shake the feeling that they didn’t truly deserve to beat me. And the idea of someone going about their life while believing they are better at it than I am will tear me apart normally for hours after suffering a loss that I believed was unjust. Does anyone else feel this way? Is it supposed to be this painful? Thanks to anyone for taking the time to read this.