I did that. I did not have a choice. The pain was unbearable.
I think you might want to try doing it for longer, based on what you said.
Six hours in a session is a LOT. Particularly if you're doing what you refer to as a "death grip" (and yeah, I'm familiar with that term, surprise surprise I've done it myself at times, heh).
I know there's this odd tendency for it to seem like gamers as a whole spend like 5 zillion hours a day doing that, but honestly, those who do that are outliers. You might see it from someone who takes part in e-sports for instance (where actual money is on the line, so they MUST train/practice a whole lot), or from someone who has gotten a bit too addicted (that's a whole other topic though).
But really, that's not supposed to be how it is. If someone is going that far for too long, it doesnt matter how fit they think they are, they WILL hit this point that you've hit. It might take them longer to hit it, based on physical condition or whatever, or heck, they may hit it faster than you or I did. But they WILL hit it, eventually.
Try to keep in mind: Examples that you see, particularly on the internet, can often be outliers like that. This can go for all sorts of things... not just gaming. Outliers tend to shine online, which can make it seem like those outliers are the norm, when they actually are not.
I have a couple of suggestions for you after thinkning about this a bunch:
First of all: Take a break. A longer break. I'd say... give it three weeks to start with. It's gonna give you a chance to heal up a bit from having pushed yourself too much. Remember, the gizmo aint going anywhere, it'll still be there for you to use.
Secondly: once you play it again... maybe try something a bit more calm? If you're getting so into it that you're doing the death grip thing, you've gone too far too fast. It's not exactly unheard of... I've seen others do it, who are in your position, getting into gaming for the first time. Same agitation, same tendency to strangle the controller and mess up their hands. This can happen not just with gaming, but with all sorts of things. After all, you're not used to it yet, and everything is overwhelming. This is one of the reasons why I was talking about trying different types of games in the previous thread. Calmer, slower things that might get you used to the controller in a controlled manner that doesnt make you feel like you're going to explode or something.
Third: EXERCISE, sir. I dont mean like, just walking or running. There are a lot of exercises and stretches that are meant to help with hand/wrist/arm problems and such. When you're doing any hobby a lot... and I mean ANY hobby... this kind of nonsense can happen, and exercises and stretches are the best way to combat it.
Four: If you can, see a doctor. The reason I'm saying this is because a doctor can help pinpoint exactly where the pain is coming from. Like, for me, I get a lot of pain in my forearm and hand, but the actual problem is in my neck & shoulder. Similarly, sometimes it can be the other way around; like when I'm doing my art stuff, that's all hand/wrist motion and such, but if I go overboard, the entire right side of my head/face/neck will start to hurt like heck, as will my shoulder. That kind of travelling pain can be very confusing, and if you arent aware of where the actual problem is, you cant apply solutions to it effectively. A doctor might also have suggestions for you on things you can do to alleviate issues in the future.
Five: PLEASE slow the heck down. You've got a bit of a bad habit of rushing into things, even more than I do. You can be calmer, less stressed, learn more, and appreciate more, when you slow down. Doesnt that sound a lot better?
Six: if you can, anti-inflammatory medication can help. Advil, I mean. The kind of pain you're having is exactly what that is best at helping with. BUT. See a doctor first, and discuss it with them. I take a lot of Advil myself, for all of this stuff, as advised by my own doctors and my physical therapist. But perhaps your doctor may want you to do something else, or may have a different med they'd suggest. Ya wont know till ya go.
And lastly... take breaks. No super long sessions in a day, and split those sessions up when you do them, whatever the length. Like, even I will do things like, okay, gonna play this for 45 minutes... okay, time to save and exit, because it's time for a break, I'll go do X for awhile and then come back in an hour or so and I can continue. Remember, the ones doing the marathon sessions all the time are outliers, and there's a decent chance they're experiencing... or are soon going to experience... problems of their own because of it.
I was in agony for two days. I am using the word correctly.
Oh yeah, I know. I've been there. It got bad. I actually had a period of about two straight years where I couldnt really use a computer mouse for much, because of the nature of my arm issues at the time. I actually rigged up a controller to serve as the mouse (yep, that's a thing that can be done) and used that for that time.
And that sucked! There was more to it too, and I dont want you to have to go through any of that nonsense.
I think they call it "claw".
This part here, I do question. When I hear of the "claw grip", the image that comes to mind is someone holding the controller, but using both their thumb AND index fingers on the front buttons (your index fingers should only be used on the buttons on the top/back of the controller), while the rest of their fingers are still on the rear of the controller. This type of grip is often associated with games that werent designed very well, in terms of controls. Only your thumbs should be hitting the front buttons and sticks.
Gripping/using the controller incorrectly will just absolutely wreck your hands/arms/everything, seriously. I wouldnt even last 10 minutes doing that and I'd need days to recover.
If you arent totally sure you're holding it right, maybe take a picture of how you ARE holding it, and show us here.
I believe you understand better than anyone could. Thank you for helping.
Heyyyyy, no problem at all! I'm glad to help.