At one time Don invested up to $200,000 a week in cryptocurrency.
He slept fitfully and got up at dawn to control prices and the balance of his portfolio.
“I would sweat before taking a long-haul flight, because I couldn’t access the internet,” he explains.
Don works at a company that processes central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions. He did not want to use his real name and wishes to remain anonymous because he fears his comments could spark backlash from investors.
He says he went into a “downward spiral” in mid-2022 and that’s when he decided to seek help.
“Detox from cryptocurrencies”
The solution was a four-week stay at The Balance, a rehabilitation center with dozens of employees on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
Don he lived in a private chalet and was served by his own butler and cook. His treatment included therapy, massages, yoga and bike rides.a, all for a hefty price: more than $75,000.
Founded in Zurich with properties in London and Mallorca, The Balance describes itself as a “safe space that enables health and wholeness”.
Their website features images of a beachfront villa, a spa, and glowing testimonials from former clients.
The center offers treatment programs for anxiety, burnout, depression, post-traumatic stress, and eating disorders.
Don says it helped him “detox from cryptocurrency.”
Luxury rehab centers
The pandemic and the volatility of the cryptocurrency market triggered a trading frenzy.
Now luxury rehab centers are springing up around the world that promise to treat “crypto addiction.”
Most of the rehab centers the BBC has found appear to be upmarket and also offer treatment for other addictions: narcotics, alcohol and eating disorders.
Three rehab centers and two addiction clinics contacted by the BBC said they have received hundreds of cryptocurrency-related inquiries in the past two years.
But addiction experts are skeptical about whether cryptocurrency trading warrants such an intervention.
A brief stay at luxury rehab centers like The Balance can cost tens of thousands of dollars. THE BALANCE
“Treatment for crypto addiction is similar to treatment for other addictions,” says Anna Lembke, a Stanford University professor of psychiatry and head of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic.
“It is a biopsychosocial disease, so it requires a biopsychosocial intervention: medication in some cases, individual and group psychotherapy, change of habits and environment, (or) implementation of healthier substitute activities.”
But, he adds, the cost isn’t always justified. Experts like her argue that it is similar to the game and should be treated as such.
“They are making money off desperate people,” says Lia Nower, director of the Center for the Study of Gambling at the Rutgers School of Social Work in the United States.
“Whether you’re ‘addicted’ to trading cryptocurrencies, betting on sports or playing the lottery, your symptoms and treatment will be largely the same.”
Like other addictions, Crypto addiction treatment should begin with withdrawal and management of withdrawal symptomswhich could include anxiety, irritability and insomnia, explains Lembke.
“Cryptocurrency should not be traded or viewed for at least four weeks, giving the brain a chance to reset reward pathways. The (withdrawal) symptoms are usually temporary and can be managed with emotional support and reassurance that they will go away.” disappearing,” he says.
In the long term, treatment would also include healthier financial investment options, he adds.
Treating crypto addiction is a fledgling business, so it doesn’t require specific certifications yet.
more addictive than the game
Most of the therapists and rehab executives the BBC spoke to describe themselves as certified counselors in mental health and a range of addictions, from alcohol to substance abuse to gambling.
The centers argue that while cryptocurrency addiction has strong parallels to gambling, it is also more addictive: it is more exciting because it is very unstable and trading can be done 24 hours a day.
“Cryptocurrency trading has an air of legitimacy, while gambling is more talked about as potentially problematic,” says Jan Geber, CEO of Zurich-based rehabilitation center Paracelsus Recovery.
Seeking help is also less common, he adds, because cryptocurrency trading is unregulated.
Instead, some countries require gaming platforms and casinos to proactively identify and exclude problem gamblers, or provide information and tools on how to manage signs of addiction.
Crypto addiction symptoms
The signs of a crypto addiction are also not very different.
Those who are addicted to crypto trading are increasingly turning to it as a source of “excitement and pleasure in their lives,” says Aaron Sternlicht, who runs New York-based Family Addiction Specialist with his wife, Lin.
He says the telltale signs include lying, stealing, going into debt, having a hard time relaxing or sleeping, watching cryptocurrency prices at all hours, and trading at the expense of relationships, career, and education opportunities.
The volatility of the cryptocurrency market also makes it more addictive, according to experts. GETTY IMAGES
Don, for example, he sought treatment options when his girlfriend broke up with him after realizing the massive losses she had racked up during the 2022 crypto crash.
Jane, a 32-year-old Londoner whose name has been changed at her request, said she went on “trading sprees” that lasted three to four days, leading her partner to think she was having an affair.
“The fact that I couldn’t tell him what I was doing made things worse. Although he now knows the truth, our relationship never fully healed,” he admits.
Jane started buying cryptocurrency in 2014. “At first, I would only invest a couple thousand, but by the end, I could put hundreds of thousands in a single transaction,” she says.
Finally he sought help from Paracelsus Recovery.
Cryptocurrency addiction programs at Paracelsus Recovery range from four to six weeks, with a weekly cost of $104,000. PARACELSUS RECOVERY
Online therapy sessions cost $650 an hour. Treatment includes blood tests, personalized diet plans, yoga, acupuncture and medication if necessary, she added, describing it as a “360-degree approach” to mental health.
Crypto addicts often need help setting boundaries, such as time to trade and stop losses, orders with instructions to close a position when it reaches a certain price, to protect investors from excessive losses.
The center’s therapists help them set those limits, explains Abdullah Boulad, CEO and founder of The Balance. But he adds that they don’t force customers to quit cold turkey or require them to completely disconnect from their devices.
According to experts, Crypto addiction is also often diagnosed by other conditions.
Keith, who also did not want to use his real name, explains that he came to Paracelsus Recovery for his reliance on sleeping medication, but later found out that crypto addiction was the cause.
The 51-year-old says he got hooked on cryptocurrency trading during the covid lockdown.
“We were all isolated. This facilitated secret trade,” he says.
“It was only when my children came to spend Christmas with me that I realized how erratic I had become. I was hostile towards them and they worried that I would sleep for days at a time. Meanwhile, however, none of us thought that my trading was part of the problem.”
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