Submission + - 'Crypto Ruined My Life': The Mental Health Crisis Hitting Bitcoin Investors (vice.com)
leathered writes: Vice examines the toll on mental health experienced by people who invest a large portion of their net worth into volatile cryptocurrencies.
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. He first began investing in November 2017 – the year Bitcoin experienced a huge surge – and saw some profits, but has now lost his entire life’s savings, totalling £110,000. “Mentally, it’s sickening, because I have not been able to even share this with my wife,” he says. “I’m in a poor state financially and it isn’t the state I want to be in. It’s ruined my world and my mental health I’ve reached a point of attempting to commit suicide.”
Despite the intense stress shared by some crypto investors, finding a space to discuss these experiences isn’t easy. Across Reddit and Twitter conversations around crypto, there’s usually one reaction to downturns: “Don’t be an anxiety bitch, HODL [Hold on for Dear Life]” – in other words, don’t you dare pull out. Memes regularly circulate that joke about the intense stress and torment that come with investing.
HODL has become a joke in the crypto space, but that’s exactly what so many investors are trying and failing to do with their psychological wellbeing. Experts say crypto will eventually bounce back – as it often seems to do – but you have to wonder just how much damage will be done to the lives of its investors before it does.
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. He first began investing in November 2017 – the year Bitcoin experienced a huge surge – and saw some profits, but has now lost his entire life’s savings, totalling £110,000. “Mentally, it’s sickening, because I have not been able to even share this with my wife,” he says. “I’m in a poor state financially and it isn’t the state I want to be in. It’s ruined my world and my mental health I’ve reached a point of attempting to commit suicide.”
Despite the intense stress shared by some crypto investors, finding a space to discuss these experiences isn’t easy. Across Reddit and Twitter conversations around crypto, there’s usually one reaction to downturns: “Don’t be an anxiety bitch, HODL [Hold on for Dear Life]” – in other words, don’t you dare pull out. Memes regularly circulate that joke about the intense stress and torment that come with investing.
HODL has become a joke in the crypto space, but that’s exactly what so many investors are trying and failing to do with their psychological wellbeing. Experts say crypto will eventually bounce back – as it often seems to do – but you have to wonder just how much damage will be done to the lives of its investors before it does.
