What My Therapist Thinks About My Crypto Obsession

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27 May 2025

It started with a casual curiosity a few late-night YouTube videos, a Twitter thread on Bitcoin, maybe a speculative Dogecoin tweet. Before long, the numbers on my screen began to dictate my mood. Gains equaled elation; dips triggered spirals. I wasn’t trading anymore I was emotionally investing. As the lines on the charts grew more erratic, so did my sleep, my focus, my relationships. It wasn’t long before I found myself sitting across from a therapist, trying to explain why I couldn’t stop checking the price of Ethereum during dinner.

This is not just about crypto. This is about the intersection of human psychology and the digital gold rush where obsession disguises itself as opportunity, and anxiety is dressed as ambition. This is what my therapist helped me uncover.

The Allure of Infinite Potential

The Psychology of High-Risk, High-Reward

Crypto markets are uniquely seductive. Unlike traditional financial markets, which operate within fixed hours, crypto never sleeps. This 24/7 volatility creates an addictive environment akin to gambling. The potential for life-changing wealth combined with decentralized accessibility seduces both the rational mind and the impulsive core.

Therapists often point to variable rewards as a key feature of behavioral addiction. Like slot machines, crypto delivers unpredictable outcomes, triggering dopamine spikes with each upward swing or sudden drop. Even losses feed the cycle convincing the brain it must “win it back.”

Identity and the Digital Self

Crypto as an Extension of Ego

My therapist helped me notice how my portfolio had become a proxy for my self-worth. When I doubled my money, I felt validated. When I lost 40% in a week, I questioned my intelligence. It was no longer about assets it was about identity.

Crypto culture thrives on status early adopters, diamond hands, and public wins. Twitter bios boast wallet holdings, Discord channels award titles, and losses are often hidden in shame. This social performance pressure feeds an illusion: that success in crypto is a direct reflection of one’s intellect, foresight, or dominance.

The irony is that these environments often encourage emotional decisions disguised as data-driven ones. And when your digital identity is tethered to an unpredictable asset class, every market fluctuation feels deeply personal.

Obsession Masquerading as Ambition

When Passion Turns Compulsive

There’s a fine line between dedication and obsession. For me, that line blurred when I started checking charts at red lights and skipping meals to read whitepapers. Crypto had become the first thing I thought of in the morning and the last thing I worried about at night.

My therapist called it hyperfocus a state often found in anxiety disorders and ADHD where the mind latches onto something that offers stimulation or perceived control. In chaotic markets, this focus can feel purposeful, even empowering. But in reality, it often masks underlying distress, uncertainty, or dissatisfaction in other areas of life.

When I finally admitted that I was using crypto as a way to avoid dealing with my stagnant career and strained relationships, the obsession began to lose its grip.

The Emotional Cost of Constant Volatility

Living in the Loop of Fear and Greed

One of the most insidious aspects of my crypto journey was the emotional turbulence. Euphoria, followed by anxiety. Confidence, replaced by self-doubt. I’d ride a high for days after a win only to collapse into a fog after a single bad trade.

These cycles aren’t random. They mirror the market’s own rhythm of FOMO (fear of missing out) and FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt). My therapist explained how emotional investing creates a feedback loop: our feelings influence our trades, and our trades influence our feelings. Left unchecked, this loop can lead to burnout, sleep issues, and even depressive episodes.

From Obsession to Integration

Developing a Healthier Relationship with Risk

The goal wasn’t to quit crypto. It was to reclaim my mind from it. Through therapy, I began setting boundaries both emotional and practical. No more screens after 10 p.m. No checking prices during social outings. No defining my value by my portfolio.

I also learned to separate curiosity from compulsion. It’s okay to follow new protocols or dive into decentralized finance. But the moment I noticed a shift from engaged learning to anxious refreshing, I knew it was time to step back.

Therapy also emphasized the importance of diversifying my sources of identity and meaning. I began to invest not just financially but emotionally, into hobbies, relationships, and creativity. Crypto went from being my everything to becoming just one part of a much larger picture.

What My Therapist Really Thinks

Not Anti-Crypto, But Pro-Balance

Surprisingly, my therapist never dismissed crypto. She never called it “just a fad” or scolded me for investing. Instead, she treated it the way a good therapist treats any complex relationship with nuance.

Crypto, she said, taps into very real human needs: for agency, for community, for meaning, and for wealth. It’s not inherently harmful but it can become harmful when it begins to override emotional regulation, impair social functioning, or hijack personal values.

Her suggestion wasn’t to disconnect, but to become more conscious. To invest with intention, not impulse. To acknowledge the emotional stakes. And above all, to remember that in a space obsessed with numbers, it's your emotional equity that matters most.

Conclusion: The True Ledger

If therapy taught me anything, it’s that mental health and market health aren’t as separate as we think. The assets we trade on-chain pale in comparison to the invisible assets we carry every day: peace, clarity, purpose.
Crypto isn’t going away and neither is our deep, human drive to seek reward, avoid risk, and feel significant. But we must ask ourselves: are we in control of the ledger, or are we just reacting to the chart?
The future of finance may be decentralized, but the journey toward inner stability remains deeply personal.