How to continue playing when losing?

I have a problem where when I lose material or when it seems like a losing position I get very demoralized and resign. Its led me to resign games where I was actually winning and I feel like if I keep playing I could have won. How do you guys not get like demoralized after making a mistake or blunder?

I've had people resign a pawn down, not even in the endgame. Some people have no fighting spirit i guess.
Below 1900 though I'm not resigning a piece down gotta play it out a bit.

Alcohol works i guess.

@master_of_DARKNESS no, alcohol won't help

in a objectively lost position but without a clear winning plan for my opponent, usually i try to be resilient by switching to an agressive approach (with a pawn storm if possible), trying to confuse my opponent and make him burn his time. i'm talking mainly about blitz, but depending on the opponent's time it could work in rapid. if that's not possible i think the best is to resign.

One player talks about his "Theory of Infinite Resistance" which means [to him] that any position can be saved if you make up your mind to "fight all the way" (apologies to Johnny Horton). For me, I pause & look inside myself for something that gives me motivation to keep fighting. Then I go back to the game. The idea is to make the position hard to win. Eliminate any easy winning plans, keep looking for implicit / hidden 2 move tactics where if they respond your position gets slightly better. If they are good in the middlegame maybe not the endgame-try for an endgame that is hard to win, and so on. If their play is clear strategically, sac more material for activity. Change the game and keep fighting!

Get used to material not being equal. If you never give up material, then you'll almost never succeed at checkmating your opponent in the middlegame (which usually requires a sacrifice of material).

One solution: incorporate a gambit into your repertoire. Give up a pawn early on, and learn how to play the resulting positions (this is best done by looking at games and trying the opening yourself, not by memorizing lines). Force yourself to play aggressively! You start off down a pawn, so every move has to count. If you don't checkmate them, you're sure to lose the endgame; so avoid endgames, make sure your pieces are active, and try to make theirs passive.

If I recall correctly, this is basically why Boris Spassky picked up the King's Gambit as a child, an opening which he continued to play long into his career.

I am with Winston Churchill.
We will fight at the sea, we will fight at the landing grounds, we will fight at the hills, but we will never surrender.

The problem with gambits is that you need to study them a lot. On 1500 level it hardly makes sense to prepare a gambit opening repertoire because the tactical vision is not developed. The good side is that you can have a devastating attack and games ending within 20-30 moves are very common. Of course it can backfire in your face too.

@pointlesswindows Yes, I should clarify my earlier point. I want to emphasise that I don't think it's worthwhile to "learn" something like the King's Gambit or the Evans' Gambit. What I mean is that one of their goals is to get used to playing chess, and in particular playing aggressive chess, while down material, and the only way to get used to that is to get such positions on the board and keep playing. So my suggestion is to experiment with playing a gambit; that's a surefire way of getting such a position. Learning the gambit is unnecessary, and should probably be avoided: their goal is to get used to looking for opportunities in such positions independent of any theory. They need to learn how to decide between moves on their own, from experience and based on general principles (central control, active vs passive pieces, open lines, king safety, etc.), basic tactics and checkmating patterns.

As biscuitfiend (&others)... suggests down material doesnt mean you are dead.

In blitz the fun really starts after you drop significant material. Then you stop trying to keep the game under control and can become and agent of chaos.

In a long time control otb game you just pretend it was a sacrifice not a blunder and play on, sort of slowly, move by move winding up the tension in the position until it explodes big enough that 1 pawn doesnt matter.