Cryptocurrency and volatile trading: a mental health edge?
As seen on Counselling Directory
By now, you might have heard about the brilliant world of cryptocurrency and how it might be changing lives both monetarily and emotionally.
Without going into too much detail about all the different kinds of coins out there to trade, there are well-known ones like Bitcoin and Ethereum to the even riskier ones like Doge and Shiba Inu, or "meme" coins that become trends in part due to a social media push.
These coins traded on exchanges like Coinbase and Binance can either profit you tens if not hundreds of percentage gains in a matter of days or weeks, and the prices of these coins can drop in price quicker than a trip to the grocery store.
Trading cryptocurrency can make your feel a quick sense of joy, pride, relief and panic in a short time. It can give off a sense of confidence you did not know you had, while also making you feel full of regrets. It is not unlike gamblers who have an addiction. However, the crypto marketplace, in general, is becoming much more widely accepted, institutionalised and regulated.
It can make you feel as if you have a mental health edge, perhaps thinking you are ahead of the game, making wise financial decisions, but what else can it make you feel? It has been written about before (Delfabbro, 2021) but we will go into a bit more of a deep dive into this and how these behaviours can affect our mental health.
Three behavioural consequences of cryptocurrency
Continual Obsession
If you always knew you wanted to be a day trader, then you might see cryptocurrency trading as a great opportunity. It is a market that is open 24 hours per day, even on holidays. There are usually new coins entering the market and you do not have to only use main cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase or Binance to trade.
What this can bring though is a continuous "on" switch that does not turn off. You might continuously look for the next play, the next coin that will jump up in percentage. You might check message boards to see what people are saying about the coin, read white papers that are often accompanied by the projects represented by the coin, who the developers of the coin are and think to yourself, let me invest.
But then, when the coin starts fluctuating, you read what is happening around the world with wars, rising inflation numbers and a struggling economy, you buy, sell, second guess all in a matter of hours.
The point here is that your thinking about cryptocurrencies can become an obsession. If your goal is to make many trades over the course of a day or days, then trading might not affect you mentally, but if you worry over volatility, these obsessions could lead to feelings of anxiety and even depression.
Becoming influenced
The cryptocurrency market and the act of trading does not have to feel as if you are solitary. For many, it can seem like a community, a community where you become influenced. Some people trading crypto may enjoy the solitary environment. You can trade from home, on your computer or your mobile phone, but unlike other team working atmospheres, you are on your own when trading. It is up to you to hit the button. It is up to you to do the research on which coin you will trade.
But that is a good question: How do you get your research?
As previously mentioned, new coins come up all the time. If you go to coinmarketcap, you will see a full list of coins, their trading price and even new coins that you can trade. But what you will find is that when you click on a coin on that website, you can scroll through the coin's profile, and then read comments on people who have bought into or are looking to buy into the coin.
Whether it is on that website, or through other social media like Facebook, Twitter, Stocktwits or by watching a YouTube video, you can start to feel influenced by what you read on social media. Some traders may relish this idea. Being a part of a community that has invested in a coin and wanting to connect with others about it, to share their successes or their failures.
You may have heard Elon Musk tweeting about Dogecoin in 2021 which may have caused many to buy and sell. The point here is that you can be influenced very much by what you read on social media. It is true that you can be influenced by social media to buy many things, but this is particularly true in the cryptocurrency trading world.
Giving into fear
When it comes to trading different cryptocurrencies, you can be influenced by what you read and see. In particular though, what you read about when it comes to trading might lead to fear. Specifically, a fear of missing out, or FOMO as it is often called in trading circles.
When the value of one of the cryptocurrencies goes up in a matter of days, perhaps by 30 percent, or you read comments on social media, or watch a video on YouTube of the promise of a coin, you might think, "I need to invest in this coin now or else I will miss out on large gains." The same goes for when a coin drops in price. Instead of selling after making a profit, when the value of the coin drops, you might think to hold on to the coin because it will go back about and you could make 40 times the price a year from now, or two years from now.
While this article is not meant to give any financial advice, what is very real is the fear you can feel of missing out on the next biggest crypto, or when to sell after making a profit. You can ask many day traders of stocks about this, but particularly in the cryptocurrency world, with so much volatility, the fear for some can be motivating, and the fear for some can be debilitating.
Between the elements of obsession, being influenced and fearful, does trading in cryptocurrency give a mental health edge? What we see from these examples is that thinking about it a lot can affect our mental health. It is all the more reason to think about other activities to distract yourself and take you away from trading, or to seek focus on activities you might have more control over to combat feelings of anxiety, depression and pressure you may feel.
However, it may seem like trading cryptocurrency can tip you in the wrong end of the mental health edge, but there are people who might gain satisfaction and even develop a lifestyle in learning to trade cryptocurrency that can help them gain a mental health edge by making them more aware of their own behaviours and thought processes.
Whichever edge you find yourself leaning towards when it comes to trading, much like the cryptocurrency field itself, you do have options in different ways of feeling, thinking and adapting to make it work for you.
Holiday and Christmas Tips to Relieve Anxiety
Let’s face it, holidays are tough! No matter what you celebrate, from Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year, there can be a lot of pressure to buy gifts, run back home or toother destinations to see friends or family, there is a lot of pressure to do so much around this time.
This pressure can lead to feelings of anxiety. So it can be extremely important to find ways to relieve anxious feelings around this time. But how? Here are some tips that can help:
1. Do not stop maintaining healthy habits
As these holidays consume so much of our time, time spent exercising at gyms or going for a walk can be forgotten about. Don’t! Yes, going to the gym and for a walk are important, but you can do these things as well:
● Deep breathing exercises, meditation and yoga
● Remembering to get plenty of sleep
● Not being on your phones or social media all the time. Checking in is important, but try not to take in too much information
2. Remembering to find time for yourself
The pressure to spend a lot of time with others can be important and is often necessary, but can also feel overwhelming. It is okay to be by yourself for some time.
Doing the following can help provide relief:
● Look up! Including at the night sky, notice how beautiful the sky can be at night while stargazing
● Listen to music. Try listening to music that makes you feel relaxed
● Reading a book. Is there a book you wanted to read but haven’t gotten to it yet? Now can be a good time
3. Try not to overspend
This is much easier said than done. However, we can feel a lot of pressure to spend as much as possible and buy many gifts for many people. While getting gifts can people can make us feel good, don’t forget about doing this:
● Make gifts yourself. While you can buy gifts, making them can give a sense of accomplishment and an added appreciation for the gift being given
● Donate. The holidays is a time that many can feel they are forgotten, donating to charity can make them feel good and you as well. Donating will also remind about limited spending and how important it is to cherish what we have
● Not having to give gifts all yourself. Starting a gift drive, or gift pool with friends or family can be a great idea. Exchanging gifts can make it feel as if a reward is given while also received.
There are many more things you can do to relieve anxiety these holidays, as we are worried about how much we give, how much we spend, and having to make time for other people. Setting aside time for yourself, remembering to do what is healthy and limiting what you spend are just some ways to reduce anxiety specifically for the holidays. But not just the holidays. For everyday life.
Top tips for dealing with anxiety and stress during COVID-19
COVID-19 presents all sorts of challenges for us all. Governments are telling us when we can go out, what stores or restaurants or open, or even what to wear. Your control has maybe never been more tested. What can we do about it? We can feel anxious or stressed, yes, but what can we do about that? Here are some tips:
Start by acknowledging feelings
Find someone you can talk to, someone you trust to hear how you really feel, whether that’s a family member at home, friend nearby, in someone’s home or on a videoconferencing platform like Skype or Zoom.
Create a schedule of time to be “worried”
Most of my patients find this helpful. If you find yourself worried about COVID-19, schedule a time later for just 15 minutes in the day to express your worry about it. You can use scheduled time to acknowledge your feelings as well.
Think about “productive” versus “unproductive” stress
What’s meant by “productive” stress is thinking “Yes, I’m stressed about COVID-19 because I don’t feel as clean as I should, let me remember to wash my hands throughout the day.” This can also help when scheduling time to be worried. “Unproductive” stress involves asking yourself questions such as “What if.” You might say, “What if I leave during rush hour when it’s busier, I can catch it!” What if questions can make us more stressed by creating more unknowns, when there are unknowns, we fear more, when me fear more, stress occurs.
Taking time away from media
Yes, taking time away from social media, your phone, and even television can be important and help you from experiencing “unproductive” stress. COVID-19 news is everywhere, news articles, text messages, and forums of people showing panic. Limiting media time can help refocus your time to tasks that matter to you.
Remembering to do activities you like
When you take time away from media, it can free up more time to do things you like. Some things include going for a walk, spending more time in your garden, playing with your kids, calling that family member or friend, watching your favourite film or reading that book you always wanted to.
The psychology of an expat & solution to expat difficulties
As published on Counselling Directory
Have you ever lived abroad? Even gone for a few months? It can be difficult to do so for a short time, let alone a permanent move, even to another English-speaking country, or especially a country where you don’t speak the language. Especially in today’s world, imagine for a second that you are in another country alone. Or perhaps you moved with your partner. You wouldn’t just be leaving your other immediate family and friends behind, you’d be leaving familiarity behind. What does that even mean?
Sometimes that can mean everyday things like getting in the car to that job you had for ten years or going to your parents. It can mean being able to hang out with that close friend on a Friday or Saturday. It can be catching up on your favourite television shows on a Sunday night in your spot on the sofa. Moving to another country and the major change it involves can invoke feelings of loneliness, depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. If you’ve done it yourself, maybe you felt lonely being away from family. Maybe you’ve been depressed as you were unsure you had made the right move. Your self-esteem could be affected, especially living in another country that speaks another language where you’ve been made fun of or not understood when trying to communicate.
All of this can increase your anxiety day to day.
These are the challenges that can be faced by an expat. It can be very exciting though of course. You can experience the high of being in another country, particularly as you explore new neighbourhoods or even new people. But there may be times when you experience that feeling of loneliness, depression, lack of self-esteem and increased anxiety. So what can you do about it? Managing difficult emotions It’s not enough to say fight it. It first starts by acknowledging that these feelings are real. Some may try to power through it. But how? We currently live in a world where travelling in airports is taking a risk, which can keep you from loved ones in your home country ever longer.
You can keep in touch via phone, Skype, Zoom or other online platforms, but does it feel the same to you? When you switch that computer or phone off, your connection to them ends, and the difficult feelings might begin. You’re not in the same time zone, going to sleep at the same time as them, you’re all of a sudden back where you are, far away from them. You’re abroad.
Especially when you first move to another country, it may help to:
1. Set a schedule of activities
Staying busy really can help, especially when you feel down. Did you mean to check out the new museum? Mean to call that new friend you made you hadn’t spoken to in a while? Check out that new park? Set exact times and also say how long you want to be there for and on which day. Having something to look forward to can keep you from looking backwards.
2. Open up to those around you
Part of the reason you may feel anxious or depressed is because you are suppressing your feelings. And why not? When you first move abroad, you may not know many people, or maybe you don’t want to be seen as a burden to others. Fear not! If you’re with a partner, who has gone through the same move as you, irrespective of his or her motivations for moving, your partner is there. There is also plenty of help now, more than ever before. Therapists are working online more thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you had a therapist in your home country, see if that therapist would see you again. It would give a connection to home that you seek. Or, if you want to find someone in your new country, there should be plenty of therapists around. Connecting with a therapist in your new country may help acclimate you to your new surroundings. Even knowing your therapist is from, or at least living in your new country may help give you confidence that you’re connecting with someone from your new home.
3. Push your own interests in your new country
You’ve probably heard others say it’s important to get out in your community, join a church or house of worship, join a sports team or social club. That’s great if it is of your own interest. But joining in on activities just to join them, only to stay busy, and then not like the activity, or perhaps not like the people in the activities on top of the activity itself can be detrimental. If you were an avid jogger at home, a movie-goer or reader at home, it may help to stick to those same activities, at least when you first move.
Why?
It provides a bridge of familiarity that you need to help get you through when you first move to a new and scary place. And best of all, if you stick to an activity you like, chances are people you meet doing the activity you like will share your interest and friends will be made in no time. As an expat, you are brave. You’ve moved to another place. You may be sacrificing something, whether it be time with friends or family in your previous country or your temporary happiness for the sake of your partner or family you move with. But this does not mean you should not look after yourself or forget about yourself, your own interests and doing what makes you happy, and familiar.
Link to Counselling Directory article: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/the-psychology-of-an-expat-and-solution-to-expat-difficulties
Working with adults with learning disabilities
Hang on - just what is a learning disability?
A good question! There is no universal definition, and your own research might lead to common answers. Let us look at a succinct definition from Mencap (2019) - "a reduced intellectual disability and difficulty with everyday activities - from household tasks to socialising to managing money - which affects someone throughout a lifetime".
Please remember this definition, as it will be referred to below!
The numbers
According to data collated by the Office for National Statistics (2017) and Public Health England (2016), there are 1.4 million people in the UK living with a learning disability, with over 1.1 million of those individuals being adults 18 years and older.
Do these numbers seem higher than you might have thought? If so, this can draw on the importance of emotional difficulties that the learning disability population can experience during their lives.
Key aspects of working with adults with learning disabilities
When it comes to working with individuals with learning disabilities, there are two aspects that matter significantly and can affect a therapeutic assessment and subsequent intervention.
1. The balance between working with the adult and carer(s)
More often than not, working with adults with learning disabilities will mean that they may not be living on their own without any type of support. Remember the definition above? If one's intellectual ability is reduced and he or she has difficulties with daily activities (think cleaning, personal hygiene, and maintaining finances, among others) and accessing them independently, more help and guidance will be needed, whether it be from a parent or support worker.
Thus, when meeting with the adult, the client may just be best helped when discussing issues on his or her own, however also informing the carer as to the progress of sessions, as well as addressing any difficulties in relationships these adults may have with their carers, can be key in continuing progress.
This is because it may be a goal for adults with learning disabilities to maintain as much independence as possible from a carer. It may be important in order to feel more confident by maintaining as much independence in the first place! In sessions with adults with learning disabilities, often feeling like he or she cannot be independent (or that the carer needs to be around the adult most of the time) because a learning disability stops them from being so can be a central aspect to therapy, and affect the client's ability to function as confidently and independently as possible.
Therefore, it may be necessary for therapists to think about being inclusive of the carer at times during sessions, while maintaining the client's respect to autonomy and right to choose whether the carer can be involved during therapy sessions.
2. The availability of external support
Whether you are a therapist working on your own, or a multidisciplinary team as part of a group privately or in the public sector, it can be extremely important to know that adults with learning disabilities may not only rely on support from yourself! Working with others may include other professions as wide-ranging from psychiatrists, to nurses, to speech and language therapists, positive behaviour practitioners, a physiotherapist, and/or a dietician.
Not all adults with learning disabilities are working with the same set of professionals. But, to have access to different disciplines as adults with learning disabilities is incredibly vital as their needs may not just be emotional in nature. Sometimes, it may involve working with an adult who needs a medication review, with a dietician as he or she is unaware of unhealthy eating, or is having difficulty with housing and accessing the community, with a social worker needing to be brought into care.
Knowing which other professionals can help and simply knowing they can ask for help from other professionals with different expertise, in order to provide the best possible care, is extremely beneficial to the client.
Is the environment affecting the client? Does a client feel the medication being received is not providing any relief? Is a client feeling down because he or she is not being provided with enough time in the community?
These questions may have emotional impacts on clients, but knowing that a presenting issue with these adults is multi-faceted can be important in providing the help they need.
In conclusion
If you think the questions above are unique to adults with learning disabilities, it may be time to think again! The point here is that adults with learning disabilities - despite having a diagnosis that others do not and facing circumstances that others do not - have just as much as a reason to need help from a psychologist or from the community as someone else does.
Therapy at a distance - is it really that distant?
As we move further into the digital age, the difficult reality for many therapists can come from connecting with you, the client. What does 'connecting with you as the client' mean anyway? I am not referring to connecting with you using a type of therapy (perhaps cognitive behavioural therapy or psychodynamic psychotherapy). No, I am not here to discuss these therapies. Instead, I am talking about the medium used to connect with you - the client!
There are many different types of media used in therapy. For example, it could be face-to-face. It could be over the phone, text message or email. Think about it; you more than likely have used these different ways of communicating with family members, friends or others you know. Specifically, though, the medium I would like to bring to your attention is video conferencing and its application in therapy, particularly when comparing it to the traditional face-to-face medium. By video conferencing technology, I am of course referring to the software you may know already that you can download onto your computer, such as Skype.
I am not just an advocate for video conferencing because I have used it personally for a long time. Especially in these times, where illness, jobs, or family may separate us, being able to connect using technology is even more prevalent. And that's not all, using technology as a way of connecting with people is part of a growing trend among therapists you may see, as more and more therapists are beginning to open up to the idea of using different mediums when seeing clients.
Advantages of using video conferencing in therapy
While there is research (Day and Schneider, 2002; Germain, Marchand, Bouchard, Guay, and Drouin, 2010) that compares video conferencing and face-to-face media in therapy, my own work experience has shown some great advantages to using this technology, which includes but is not limited to:
1. Not just telling, but showing: Think about this. When you are with a therapist in his or her office, you think about your home environment. It's one thing to tell the therapist about your life at home, but being able to show an object from your home (say, a picture of a loved one) in real-time, provides not only a clear picture (quite literally) as to what your life is like, but in doing so, you show the therapist in real-time without being inaccurate.
2. Convenience and flexibility: This goes without saying, does it not? It can be tough to get to your therapist, because of traffic, illness, both or other reasons. You can instead meet at your home, perhaps not at the same time every time, but at a moment when you feel you have the energy to put in the work of discussing your life with the therapist.
3. Relationship building: You might think that to grow your relationship and trust with your therapist, you need to be there in person? Not true. This can be done via video conferencing. Trust comes from feeling you are listened to and given full attention, but at the same time, knowing your therapist is a human too. With seeing through a computer, you can maintain everything you have in-person; that being eye contact, hearing the therapist's voice and words, while also knowing that your therapist struggles just like you. For example, this could be with technology or internet connectivity issues. Humanising your therapist can come with enormous therapeutic benefits.
Concerns with video conferencing therapy
Using video conferencing technology in therapy is not without concerns. Here are a couple I have seen with experience:
1. Technology: Yes. Struggling with that internet connection, getting cut off in the middle of a session or not being sure how to use video conferencing can make clients doubt whether using it is for them. However, as mentioned earlier, I have found that when clients know the therapist may struggle too, it presents a level of honesty and openness that helps clients trust a therapist more. Also, the struggle of using the technology is a great way to use problem-solving skills, gain confidence and show to others in your life that you are incredibly competent!
2. Confidentiality: This is another concern I have seen with clients. Some think that confidentiality can only be maintained in the physical room itself. Therapists will often use the words "safe space" to describe a room you are in with him or her. The video conferencing space is just the same, but that does not mean you, as the client, trust that yet! To work around this, I often talk to my clients about what might happen if there is fear about someone else walking into the room in your home, for example, which might breach confidentiality. Having a plan beforehand can help you feel more secure and can, of course, continue to help you build trust with your therapist!
In summary: think about what matters to you
The question to ask yourselves as clients is whether there is a difference in your experience between using video conferencing technology and talking to a therapist in person. It might be that the relationship you form with your therapist transcends the medium used in therapy, whether with the same therapist is in-person and video conferencing, or whether you were seen by different therapists. Think about it. Don’t just imagine an experience seeing your therapist via video conferencing, but instead imagine a friend or family member. Did you feel heard? Did you see that the person across the screen was looking directly at you? Did you feel like you were able to connect with that person?
What we can begin to see is that therapy from a distance may not seem like such a distance after all. If you can bring objects from your home to you and your therapist’s computer screen, you are bringing an added element you may not have considered.
If your relationship with your therapist matters more than whether you see him or her in person or on a screen, you may not feel too distant from your therapist, no matter where in the world you may be connecting from.