Gambling Addiction With Cryptocurrencies: Possible Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
Addictions are one of the great problems that our society suffers from. There are all kinds of them, the most widespread being addictions to alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex and games.
But, in the same way that the Internet has made society change in the most routine and normal, it has also altered the world of addictions, causing a new one to appear: cryptocurrency investment addiction
Compulsive gambling with cryptocurrencies is a problem that, although very recent, is already having terrible consequences on the health of many young people. Next we are going to explore this new problem that is already mobilizing resources to treat it.
There are many addictions that exist in our society. The most common addictions have practically always been alcoholism, smoking, addiction to drugs, sex and gambling in its various forms. However, as has happened with practically everything everyday in our society, New technologies have contributed to the emergence of new types of addictions being the newest and about which little is still known, gambling addiction with cryptocurrencies.
But how can you have this type of gambling disorder? Although the expression is somewhat ambiguous because what it consists of is still being investigated further, we can say that gambling addiction with cryptocurrencies is the problem suffered by brokers addicted to the purchase and sale of virtual currencies, whether novices or professionals. The cryptocurrency market is very unstable, high risk and fluctuating something that can pose a tremendous danger for those who cannot stop investing in them.
Cryptocurrency trading can be seen among other things as a means for people, especially those who are having it the worst, to escape from themselves, especially if they are in a situation of poverty and fantasize about the idea of making a lot of money in Little time. Investing in them produces all kinds of emotions that, at first, are pleasant and increase the desire to continue investing. The problem is that you rarely have luck, and if you do not know in depth how this world works or you are not a broker, that luck does not work in your favor.
Being such a recent phenomenon, to date cryptocurrency gambling has not been declared a mental disorder or disease by the WHO or the APA with defined diagnostic criteria. However, we can mention some symptoms and consequences in the lives of people who suffer from this type of addiction:
The dangerous attraction of crypto assets
Market volatility is, without a doubt, something mysterious and attractive, like anything that promises great rewards but without the guarantee of it. The possibility of earning a lot of money as if by magic is something that inevitably draws the attention of the average citizen and, without needing to be addicted to anything, you may be tempted to fall into the dark and long tentacles of something that rises and falls as unpredictably as the stock market world.
The cryptocurrency fever has behaved in the same way as its market value has, very unstable. If a few years ago there were few who knew what that was, with the passage of time interest has progressively grown, as has its value. In 2018 it seemed that the crypto fever was coming to an end but, now that we are in 2021 and we live in the midst of a pandemic, interest has resurfaced stronger than ever, becoming a monotheme for many.
The popularity of investing in cryptocurrencies is due to the fact that it seems like it is something that many of us can have easy access to This is a capitalist phenomenon that offers small shareholders the possibility of earning large sums of money that, until relatively recently, were reserved only for those with large capitals. With just one click and without knowing much about financial transactions, it seems that anyone can make money using cryptocurrencies.
Investing in cryptocurrencies is seen as a bet on the future. In a world where the value of things inevitably changes due to inflation, keeping money still in a savings account can mean losing a little money in the long run, because its relative value will decrease as it increases. make goods and services more expensive. On the other hand, investing in something that is believed to increase in value is a way to have savings whose value keeps pace with how the market becomes more expensive.
Although this idea is even promising, it must be understood that The market is not easy and investing in anything should not be interpreted as synonymous with success The line that divides an investment from a bet on cryptocurrencies is very fine and crossing it is dangerous. Yes, it is true that investing in yourself is a bet, but the consequences of losing such a bet vary greatly depending on whether what has been invested is the same amount of money that we would spend one night partying than investing all our saved money.
As we have commented, To date, there are no well-defined diagnostic criteria to diagnose someone with cryptocurrency gambling addiction, but there is one aspect that undoubtedly allows us to distinguish between a responsible investor and a person with a problem: the perception of risk. In other words, a person who invests from time to time knows that this is very unpredictable and there are no guarantees at all, and could lose the entire investment, while a gambler believes that as he plays more and more he will recover everything ( gambler’s fallacy).
Thus, a person who has a minimum of knowledge about investments is not going to spend all their savings on cryptocurrencies, because they know that, and putting themselves in the worst possible scenario, that money can be completely lost. On the other hand, the person with cryptocurrency gambling addiction will consider that he will undoubtedly be successful and that, the more money he invests, the more benefits he will have and that, if he has lost what he has spent, in the future he will gain it in the form of a lot. more money.
Risk factor’s
It appears that cryptocurrency gambling is potentially more dangerous than other varieties of gambling addiction. Cryptoactives are not like the rest of gambling addictions, which usually occur in casinos or arcades, but gambling addiction with cryptocurrencies is an addiction that is more likely to occur at home, such as video game addiction Taking into account that we live in a time when more people live at home than ever before, it is not surprising that cases of this addiction associated with life at home have increased.
There are several factors that can cause this type of gambling disorder. In addition to personality characteristics and addiction history, The feeling of risk is one of those aspects that contribute to anyone becoming hooked on gambling, a sensation that causes adrenaline to be secreted. As a consequence, addiction is generated, causing the person affected by gambling to continue and continue, gambling their savings and debts on anything they believe will generate profits. In the end, having taken disproportionate and uncontrolled risks, he finds himself ruined.
The person with gambling addiction deceives himself with ideas that he himself seeks to reinforce his hormone boost. He uses these beliefs as an excuse to convince himself that in reality he is not risking all of his savings, but that it is going to greatly enhance what he has saved and it is going to become a fortune. He believes that he is shaping an incredible future thanks to the fact that cryptocurrencies are going to make him a true billionaire.
Added to this is the effect that cryptocurrencies have on the collective ideology. As we have mentioned, they are something relatively new, almost so much so that today we see them as something futuristic. There is a great halo of mystery around these virtual currencies, with some believing that they will completely replace current money. Even There are those who have the mistaken idea that whoever does not invest in these currencies tomorrow will not have any money to be able to move in an increasingly digitalized world another reason that pushes gamblers to put all their savings into it.
The fact that cryptocurrency gambling is not yet well defined or there are specific diagnostic criteria makes its treatment very difficult, although therapeutic interventions have already been proposed based on those already applied in more general gambling. Some centers already treat people addicted to investing in cryptocurrencies, one of the pioneers being Castle Craig Hospital, in Scotland
Gambling with cryptocurrencies rarely appears alone, but it is a type of special study since it is more addictive and aggressive. Among the reasons for this is the fact that, unlike other gambling disorders, those affected can hardly disconnect from it, a risk factor for aggravating any addiction. This is because transactions are made virtually, with a mobile phone or any other device that one may have in their own home to enter trading and betting pages.
For this reason, taking into account how difficult it is to free yourself from this addiction, the best therapy is one that does not need to be applied. The best thing to do is not to invest in cryptocurrencies unless you have expert knowledge of them or have consulted someone who does, and never make investment after investment, but rather have a maximum budget to spend.
No matter how promising this world may seem and even playful, it is never risk-free and taking into account that what is at stake is money, you always have to be cautious. Health comes before any imaginary fortune that one may believe one will achieve by investing in what one cannot understand. The cryptocurrency market is very unstable, too unstable to believe that everyone will be successful by investing in it Let’s not do as in the story of the milkmaid, risking the little we have.
