Toxic behavior is a type of behavior that makes people feel bad about themselves and perform worse in CS:GO than they would in the absence of the toxic influence.

Some people think that by pointing out the obvious mistakes and being negative about them will help people become better. Unfortunately, it does not work that way, because GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT.

Believe it or not, CS:GO is a team game (thank you captain obvious). That means you have to work with other people to achieve victory over the enemy team. Yes, you read that right - WITH people, NOT AGAINST people in your team.

Unfortunately there are many toxic people in the paid matchmaking services like FACEIT and ESEA, so this guide is also for them, not only for official matchmaking players.

Many games that could have potentially been won, were lost because of people being negative and/or toxic towards their teammate(s).

Examples of toxic behavior include:

• being rude to someone who made a mistake
  
• saying someone is bad (which is a stupid generalization mostly)
  
• calling people names and making fun of them to make them look and feel bad
  
• making negative untrue future judgements based on some mistakes already done
  
• putting too much blame on someone for what the whole team failed to do, just because they have a low K/D ratio
  
• trolling someone eventhough they did nothing wrong to you

I made this guide after encountering many toxic people recently and being somewhat toxic myself sometimes helps me understand the situation better and I hope I will be able to provide a workable solution to this common problem.

While this guide is aimed primarily at helping toxic people get rid of their toxicity, it may be useful to mention some strategies to deal with those who decide to be toxic ingame or those who decide not to change and stay toxic forever.

You will probably not succeed in turning around all the toxic situations that you face, but atleast trying to do so will give you more experience and confidence in comeback and toxicity management.

So let's break it down step by step:
0. Try to keep your cool and stay positive no matter what - more easily said than done, but it's worth it
1. Realize that the real problem is not the negative situation or a mistake, but the person's reaction to what has occured. By that you eliminate the feelings of guilt and you refuse to take part in the negativity altogether. It is the person's responsibility to manage their reactions, your responsibility for their reaction is secondary.
2. Realize that the toxic person may be trying to help you by explaining to you how bad you are, although it probably never ever works. So they are not that bad after all.
3. Realize that everyone makes mistakes and everyone has bad games or bad days, even the toxic people. You can also try to explain it to them.
4. Try to make their negativity flow stop by politely explaining that they will make the team lose the game, if they continue acting like this. Do not feed the negativity by being negative back towards them.
5. Try to restore the positivity and peace in the team by saying positive stuff in a relaxed way, maybe make a joke to lighten the situation.
6. If they show no sign of improvement, just mute them, block communication with them (or use a console command to mute everyone except your friends) and/or report them as toxic on Steam or the related PUG website. If everyone else agrees and it is possible, just kick them.

In this section we are going to look at some of the potential causes of toxic behavior. Toxic behavior usually occurs when your team is losing or someone makes a mistake, some people start to be negative and the negativity train goes on and on.

A wise man once said: It is not the problem that matters, it is your reaction to the problem that counts. And eventually your interpretation and reaction will influence the outcome of the situation most of all.

There are 3 ways to react to a problem or a mistake in general:
1. The negative way - the person points out the obvious negative stuff that happened and makes a negative judgement about the people involved. Depending on the wording and style, it has variable destructive power.
2. The neutral way - the person does not react at all, hoping the problem is not serious (because EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES), or says some neutral stuff hoping that it does not matter in the long run. Maybe a light joke could bounce the situation back to positive.
3. The positive way - the person tries to find something positive or funny in the situation that has occured and makes the problem seem smaller, than it really is and makes it easier to solve/overcome the problem.

The toxic reaction to a mistake or a bigger problem like losing 6 rounds in a row without any significant damage to the enemy economy may be a reflection of:
1. bad mood / bad day - maybe the person doesn't feel positive or it is just a bad day for them
2. bad life situation - people who are unsatisfied with their life tend to be negative and let's face it, many people play games to escape from their boring or unsatisfying life
3. nagging (criticising) parent(s), teacher(s) or superior(s) at work - people who get criticized a lot, tend to criticize other people a lot, unfortunately
4. unreasonably high expectations or standards of other people - when people look at other people's inventories or profiles, they tend to make judgements and unfortunately, sometimes they are wrong and then their expectations punish them by causing anger and so on
5. stupidity - some people just want to make themselves feel better by making you feel worse and more responsible for the situation, while the team gains nothing in the end
6. poor self reflection - some people do not realize how they influence other people, especially in an online environment with a degree of anonymity. But if you act like garbage towards someone else, no matter how awesome player you are, you are a toxic asset to your team!

Changing yourself is of course possible, but only to the degree that you believe it and work on it. It is easier to stay as you are, in your comfort zone, but remaining toxic that you are is not something to be comfortable about. And your teammates would agree, trust me.

Knowing the truth about your current state of toxic tendencies is important, but don't let it hold you back from improving yourself. What countless other people have done, you can do as well.

So what is your motivation to change? What is the positive future vision?
1. You win more games and rank up more easily - this is a nobrainer, everyone likes to win, because it feels good, although it doesn't help you improve as much as losing
2. You win games you thought you already lost - and it feels a lot better than just winning a game, it builds your character and fortitude
3. People will be positive back towards you - this is a basic human need, to be praised for something you do (well) by others
4. Your quality of life will increase significantly as a result - if it does not, then you do not have to favorite this guide.

What is the goal? What conditions people need to perform at their best?
1. Confidence - CS:GO is a "skill" based game and people need to be confident in their skills and abilities. So if you cannot help them, just (PLEASE!) dont hurt them!
2. Relax and focus - clear aim and good decision making requires people to be focused and relaxed as well, so if you cannot make them more relaxed, just shut the f*** up!
3. Fun - this is rather optional, but having fun without hurting anyone psychologically (in an online environment) is never a bad thing
4. Constructive criticism starting with a praise - some people think they will make people better by telling them how bad they are. This is unfortunately not the case. Start by mentioning something that the person did right (builds trust), as they most of the time DO and then mention how they could improve

In reality, there are many ways you can clean your mind and get rid of the garbage that you throw into the minds of other people.

Things you can try to protect your team from your negativity before you get rid of it completely:

• when you are angry, do not use team voice chat for venting anger or frustration, use an IMAGINARY PUSH-TO-TALK button, so that you are the only person that hears you
  
• ask for a timeout if you can and do some quick psychohygiene, physical exercise or relaxational exercises
  
• if you die first or second with a lot of time left in the round, try to calm yourself down until the next round, but don't forget to keep track of the start of the next round
  
• try to minimize your negative influence on other people as much as possible by not complaining and whining in the team voice/text chat, say only what you really need to and do it only ONCE

Here are some tips which will help you improve your attitude and reactions towards yourself, others and increase your chances of winning in general
1. Have/build a good relationship with someone - whether online or real (your brain can't tell the difference anyway), it is good to have someone to talk to about daily nuances, have fun, to keep your head clean and positive. That is why it is probably called Psychohygiene. Then extend this good relationship onto other people by being a nice person. If you cannot find someone to have a positive relationship with, start with yourself and treat yourself well.
2. Improve your lifestyle - doing more exercise (even if it is just walking on fresh air for 60 minutes a day), better (more consistent and healthy) sleep regime, better eating, less mess in your room and more consistency of the better stuff in your life will make you react more positively to problems and win more games. There are guides online about most of these things, just do not believe everything blindly, because there is a lot of unreliable information on the internet, but this guide is 100% true and reliable :-D
3. Take a break from the game from time to time - playing a lot is one of the keys to getting better at the game, but it can also make you a toxic duckhead, so make sure you let the steam out on a regular basis, because relaxation (even active relaxation) is as important as trying to master your craft, in the long term, as you also want to avoid burnout.
4. Watch funny videos, listen to relaxation music, ... - having fun and being relaxed will certainly help you NOT put trash into the minds and hearts of other people, but you need to find something that is funny and/or relaxing for you.
5. Do something positive for other people - So simple yet not so easy, do good and good will come back to you. Unfortunately it does not happen in 100% of cases, but being brave about doing good is never a bad thing.

So after you fill your head with positivity and sunshine, you can shine on other people and burn that trash inside you and your teammate's brains.

SHINE ON! YES YOU CAN!

All positive change takes time and you only succeed if you do not give up, ever! That means you need patience, practice, persistence and then you will be able to reach your awesome goal. Even if it feels awkward to not be negative towards your teammates (eventhough it just shows your garbage inside your mind) when they make a mistake, you will get used to it in the end, trust me, because the results will come and you will like them!

Disclaimer: This is my first guide and I will update it for sure sooner or later, so please, keep your toxic shet outside of the comment section of this guide. Thank you!

P.S.: If you do not want the enemy to take a psychological advantage over you in the chat, just use "cl_mute_enemy_team 1" or "cl_mute_all_but_friends_and_party 1" (against toxic people outside of your friendlist).

Last edit: 24 Sept 2018
Improved structure, wording and removed most of the explicit words