A method of operating a gaming machine includes receiving a deposit of wagering credits from a player, determining a threshold stress level for the player, initiating a gaming session, wherein the gaming session includes a plurality of plays of a primary game on the gaming machine, and wherein in at least one of the plurality of plays of the primary game, the gaming machine receives a wager by the player from the deposited wagering credits, monitoring a performance of the player in the gaming session, generating a player stress metric in response to the performance of the player in the gaming session, wherein the player stress metric is indicative of a stress level of the player, comparing the player stress metric to the threshold stress level, and in response to the player stress metric exceeding the threshold stress level, activating a stress relieving feature of the gaming machine.