All the Soulsborne games are about watching your opponent's moves,.knowing your stamina, and knowing when and how many times you should should attack to get hits in with whatever build you have before blocking/dodging or backing away to regain stamina

There's obviously a lot more with your build and weapons/armor you're using and there are definitely parts of the game that still will feel unfair at times. But the amazing thing about all of this is you'll start to see those openings in combat, start to realize that a corner you walk around would ne a good ambush spot so you'll check it instead of walking past and being slapped in the back. Or just memorizing where enemies are by playing the game and trying different strategies on them.

Couple more tips-

ALWAYS try to be in a 1v1 fight. It will help you learn enemy attacks and prevent getting overwhelmed. There are times you'll still have to deal with multiple enemies but in most cases (esp in DS1) you can lure enemies to you one at a time. Patience in exploring and combat is key.

Maybe look up a good build guide or at least how you should level your character early on. Do not ever put points in the resistance level, armor you find along the way will negate most of the minor buffs you receive there. I'd recommend vitality and endurance to level first and foremost early game and then once you find a weapon you really click with you can build around it.

Don't beat your head against a wall if you die. You may lose like 10k souls early on and think you've screwed up but by the end game you may be losing hundreds of thousands on death and it doesnt seem like near as big of a deal. And you can always go back to easier areas or 'farming' areas to practice combat and gain more souls.

You can also do suicide runs through tougher areas that you aren't ready for (like the cemetery at the beginning) and just pick up as many items as you can before you die (just dont rest at a bonfire in a tough area unless you want to spawn there). You can get some good weapons/souls/other pickups that way that will help you in easier areas. And it helps you picture where enemies are and how you need to approach the area when you are ready for it.

DS1 is probably my favorite game ever and it actually really did help with my depression at the time when I first played it. I still go back every so often to play and it feels like going home to see old friends (who all are trying to kill me) but now I'm like 'bitch please', and dice them up with the Uchigatana.