User:Diriector Doc/Posttraumatic Chess Disorder

Posttraumatic Chess Disorder
Symptoms	thoughts, hallucinations, or dreams related to the chess
Complications	Loss of focus
Duration	> 1 day
Causes	Exposure to chess
Treatment	Time
Frequency	8.7%
Deaths	None, hopefully

Not to be confused with PTSD, but come on; if you're confused, there's no hope for you.

Posttraumatic Chess Disorder (PTChessD) is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to chess, and is a more specific diagnosis for someone experiencing the Tetris effect. Symptoms may include thoughts, hallucinations, or dreams related to the chess. These symptoms last for more than a day after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress but instead may become more skilled at chess. A person with PTChessD is at a higher risk for prolonged chess activity.

Rare image of a real man suffereing from PTChessD

PTChessD will most likely never result in death, however, one hundred percent of people who had this experience have died or will die within 120 years of first experiencing it. Other than this, there is no evidence that PTChessD is bad for anyone's physical or mental health. On the contrary, there is also no evidence that proves PTChessD is harmless. It's only a matter of public opinion that suggests PTChessD is non-threatening.

When a person experiences Posttraumatic Chess Disorder (PTChessD), it can often have a positive impact on their chess skills. This is similar to how a person's skills can improve through regular practice. In some cases, the symptoms of PTChessD, such as intense thoughts and vivid dreams related to chess, can actually drive a person to become more interested in and dedicated to the game. This increased focus and dedication can result in a deeper understanding of the game and a heightened ability to think critically about each move. Furthermore, the traumatic experience may also lead to a greater appreciation for the game and a desire to improve as a player. While the development of PTChessD may not be intentional, it can ultimately lead to positive changes in a person's chess skills and overall enjoyment of the game.

In the United States, about 8.7% of adults have PTChessD in a given year, and 9% of people develop it at some point in their life. In much of the rest of the world, rates during a given year are between 0.5% and 1%. And honestly, that's kind of low. Wasn't there a chess boom recently? It might be more common in women than men, but we'll never know.

Symptoms

Man being affected by PTChessD in his sleep. I mean, look at him! He is in paaaiiin!

PTChessD is diagnosed based on a combination of symptoms, including intrusive thoughts and memories related to chess, avoidance of chess-related activities, and changes in mood and behaviour after exposure to chess. This especially occurred during or before going to sleep when the mind is starting to experience hypnagogia. A mental health professional can provide a diagnosis and help develop a treatment plan to help remove those intrusive thoughts about chess.

One expert suggests that practicing chess can help reduce the symptoms.

If you want to heal your curse and level up your chess game at the same time, it's time to checkmate your review process. By breaking down your past games like a boss, you can get a handle on your knight moves and pawn progress. You'll see where you're rockin' and where you're rollin' off the board. You can learn from your opponents' killer moves and use them to sharpen your strategy. Plus, reviewing games is a total game-changer for learning new tricks and tactics from the grandmasters. In short, make reviewing games a regular part of your chess routine and watch your PTChessD disappear like your girlfriend when you started playing Chess!

— John Chess, inventor of chess

Extent

While this condition is mostly centralized towards experiences of playing chess, many patients have reported having dreams and hallucinations about various Browser games. Bloxorz has been known to cause visions similar to PTChessD. Though the reported visions have nothing to do with chess, patients have been shown to play better at Bloxorz than when they did before having them. Other games with similar disorders include Tetris, Minesweeper, and the Rubix Cube.

PTChessD may also bleed into chess entertainment, making you hear people talking, potentially saying "Hello everyone" or "He sacrificed the rooooook." It is also known to cause aural hallucinations of the sounds that you hear when playing on a chess website that is intended to imitate the sounds of a real chess board but they don't sound quite right and it's so annoying especially if the sound is set to play automatically each time a move is made and can't be turned off or if the sound effects are jarring and repetitive causing a distraction from the game and give me headaches and I wish it would just stop!

Sources

Dude, just trust me.