‘Crypto Ruined My Life’: The Mental Health Crisis Hitting Bitcoin Investors
vice.com
vice.com
I'm curious what he, and others like him, perceive this "new skill" to be, and exactly what led him to believe he had any degree of control over the outcome.
Usually it’s technical analysis they “learn” from bullshit youtube videos.
> One man – a 33-year-old from Russia, who asked us not to share his name – told me he feels addicted to crypto, and is stuck in a cycle of trying to recover his losses but only losing more in the process.
We are at a point in time where everyone needs to be honest with themselves and acknowledge that crypto in general is, at best, just gambling, and should be treated accordingly, including acknowledging the problem of gambling addiction.
Gambling has the distinction of being purposefully designed to make you lose money.
I don’t think “crypto in general is, at best, just gambling” is fair, there are significant other uses.
But most people are just gambling.
Hardly a surprise to see that happen these days.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29355360
They should work to get better, and get help in recognizing and avoiding the path that brought them there in the first place.
If it is acceptable for +, then - is also on the table.
Saying "feeling bad is poor mental health and shouldn't be accepted" is pretty much a _practically_ useless sentiment.
If your dog dies, is it acceptable to grieve? Is that being in poor mental health? Is that acceptable? Shouldn't you take a Xanax and go back to work?
The costs of individual liberty are becoming more apparent. This applies to self-directed investing as much as it does gun ownership, or bodily autonomy.
If we can simply say it isn't acceptable...what good does that do?
Yes, I agree with the article's multiple comparison's to addition.
Eg, quoting it: "Like any addiction, crypto can offer people an escape from the world and a short-term dopamine hit at the expense of everything else in their life."
> is pretty much a _practically_ useless sentiment
Which is why I said "and get help in recognizing and avoiding the path that brought them there in the first place".
Eg, again quoting the article: "Experts like Peter Klein, a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist who offers CBT for cryptocurrency-related mental health issues,"
> If your dog dies, is it acceptable to grieve?
Yes. But if you're still grieving a year later, at 'the expense of everything else in [your] life' then it's a problem.
> Shouldn't you take a Xanax and go back to work?
Xanax is a prescription drug. Acquiring it legally means that you've gotten some help.
I don't think CBT is as useful for the case you described, but that's a wild-ass guess on my part.
> If we can simply say it isn't acceptable...what good does that do?
I don't know. I didn't say that.
Clearly we see approaches towards gambling addition more than "you get what you deserve", so I really don't see your underlying point.