Stock market: Stock market addiction is worse than cocaine! These stories of losses will shake you to your core, investors must read them

Some people get addicted to stock market. Its addiction is more dangerous than alcohol and small drugs. A man trapped in its addiction even called it 'crack cocaine'. You must have heard of cocaine, but you must have never heard the name of crack cocaine. Crack cocaine is actually the most powerful addiction of cocaine. Whoever has tasted the addiction of crack cocaine once, does not go towards any mild addiction. It is said that if someone gets addicted to cocaine, then he should get medical treatment as soon as possible. Stock market addiction is also exactly like this. In the recent past, it has affected many people and left no stone unturned in ruining them. Now the situation is such that people are also taking medical advice to get rid of the addiction of stock market.

Recently Livemint published a report, in which the stories of such people were brought forward with reference to Wall Street. These stories are of those people who got ruined in the stock market. If you are also an investor or trader then you must read it. You should see that you are not getting caught in its clutches. If there is something like this, then you need to be careful from now on.

Gambling and casino are considered bad words in our society, and people want to stay away from them. People look down upon the person who is addicted to gambling or casino, but this is not the case with the stock market, because investing in the stock market is a fair game. However, options are quite risky and there is a possibility of manipulation in it many times.

Robbed by showing sweet dreams

During Corona, many trading apps like Robinhood and Webull further encouraged this addiction. People were shown dreams of earning big by investing a small amount and people also saw it. But in most cases they had to suffer huge losses.

At a meeting of Gamblers Anonymous (GA) in Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York, a man called options trading 'crack cocaine'. Someone said that he took a loan to earn money in stocks and lost millions of rupees. These are the people who were attracted to the stock market during the Corona epidemic. Meme stocks and viral trades showed them dreams of making fast profits. Cryptocurrency further increased this problem. Apps made trading so easy that people started considering it as simple as ordering food online. While investing in cryptocurrency, people even ignored their family and their mental health.

What was supposed to happen happened, and then…
Doctors and counselors say that addiction to stock market and crypto trading is now becoming common. They have expressed apprehension of this problem increasing further. For example, when the price of Bitcoin went above Rs 83 lakh ($100,000), many people took risks and invested money. Some people turned to helping groups like Gamblers Anonymous, where they share their experiences and take steps to improve themselves.

Let us tell you that Gamblers Anonymous has been running since 1957. It provides a program for people involved in addiction like gambling. It includes everything from financial review to personal support. Here people help their fellow members.

Some personal stories
The Wall Street Journal interviewed more than 30 people who regularly attend meetings of Gamblers Anonymous. All these people struggled with the habit of gambling in the financial market. They say that this habit led them to mood swings, sleepless nights and even depression. Their trading decisions and increasing losses forced them to hide this shameful secret even from their families.

The Wall Street writer asked for permission to attend some meetings. He was introduced to the participants at the beginning of the meetings. According to the tradition of GA, members introduce themselves by their first name, not full name.

Is crypto more important or children?

A man named Mitch said, "Hi, my name is Mitch and I am a compulsive gambler." Mitch is the father of three children and is worried about the rising prices of bitcoin. He said, "I have never been able to just buy and hold. I wanted more. That is why I come here to the meetings. I don't trust myself." Then a person sitting there told him that you should not think too much about crypto. Is crypto more important to you or your children?

This story will shock you

The businessman living in Long Island, New York told that cryptocurrency attracted him when he was in his late 40s and he had been away from gambling for 20 years. He had stopped gambling because he was fond of gambling in his early 20s. To get rid of it, he went to Gamblers Anonymous meeting. Then he invested $100 in bitcoin and watched it soar. He put thousands of dollars into ether and smaller, riskier coins. At the same time, something was preventing him from sharing with his GA group that he was trading.

When his portfolio topped $1 million, he thought, “This is the equivalent of four Lambos.” He moved to Florida to look at potential vacation homes for his family near Walt Disney World. Within a few months, he found himself in a quandary. Greed forced him to trade hundreds of times.

This forced him to run and take big risky decisions. He started losing money. He would wake up at 4 a.m. to check his portfolio. He parked his car in the lot of a Long Island shopping plaza near his home so he could trade in privacy. His neck started getting stiff from being hunched over the screen.

When crypto prices started falling, the losses made him depressed. He said, “Sometimes when I go to bed, I have a thought: I hope I don’t wake up in the morning.” His portfolio had fallen by about $1 million (Rs 8.5 crore) from its peak. Desperate to get out of this, he typed crypto gambling treatment center in Google. He confessed to his Gamblers Anonymous mentors that he was gambling.

Wife threatened to leave

During the meme-stock mania in 2021, 38-year-old Chris Cachia of Canada made a huge amount of money from his stocks, but he lost everything due to greed. This addiction grew so much that his wife threatened to leave him. He said, "She told me, either give it up or I'm leaving."

This disease is becoming household

Pennsylvania's gambling hotline has received many calls related to stock and crypto gambling since 2021. According to the New York-based Safe Foundation, 10 percent of patients seek help due to trading addiction. Many patients coming to gambling treatment centers face anxiety and depression for the first few days due to quitting trading addiction. Many times patients repeatedly tap their fingers on the table or keep looking around in restlessness.

Difference between gambling and investment

Advisors in this case say that gambling often remains unnoticed in the financial markets, because people consider it an investment. The National Council on Problem Gambling began taking questions on investing in 2021, as calls increased during the meme-stock mania. According to Stanford University professor Brian Newton, financial gambling floods your brain with pleasurable chemicals. This habit leads to repeated gambling.