Great Topic! I have some thoughts!
Personally, I have observed that speedcubes are often marketed as de-stressers, and while that isn't at all a selling point for me, I can look back and say that "yes, this thing is actually a de-stresser!" A cube is always on my desk, so whether, it's school or something that's on my nerves or mind, I can just cube to add some rhythm and physical yet subconscious organization to my feelings and thoughts. I definitely have anxiety spikes during school weeks as I am only a 15 year old who is taking General Education college courses, and cubing has been there for me, and while it might annoy my parents and friends, they don't say anything. They're sorta just glad that I'm not taking medicine which is something that at one point my family had considered for my brother and I.
Now in terms of giving me Anxiety... well sorta. You see, this past year, I had an episode... actually many episodes... of.... eMOYUtional Damage. I'm not kidding lol. I have serious analysis paralysis where I literally feel two or even three parts of my brain trying to choose what to get or what to do. I'm quite conscious of this, so I have developed a healthy lifestyle where I try to avoid online or physical shopping as much as possible. In short, I haven't bought a knew 3x3 in about 10 months because I would get anxious just looking at all of the new releases.
Side Note: if anyone struggles with this as much as I do (seriously, it's gotten me into some bad places), just try to become a very literal person and use crystal clear logic to guide your path.
