Scottish clinic promises to treat cryptocurrency addiction

A hospital in Scotland is offering a clinic for individuals who are addicted to cryptocurrency, according to the UK’s Evening Standard. The hospital is reportedly also offering a course of residential treatment that addresses the underlying causes of the addiction and helps attendees overcome it.

The clinic is being offered by Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire. A gambling therapist with the hospital, Chris Burn, explained, “The high risk, fluctuating cryptocurrency market appeals to the problem gambler.  It provides excitement and an escape from reality. Bitcoin, for example, has been heavily traded and huge gains and losses were made. It’s a classic bubble situation.”

Tony Marini, described as a former problem gambler and cocaine addict, will lead some of the clinic’s treatments, according to the report. Marini said the key to beginning any recovery process is to introduce a new life structure, telling the news outlet, “I see cryptocurrency trading as a way for people to escape from themselves, into another world, because they don’t like the world they’re in. The first stage of treatment is to join other addicts in group therapy and share their life stories. This helps them identify with each other and realise that they’re not alone.”

While there are no statistics on the number of potential cryptocurrency addicts in the world, there have been a number of cases where investors have put it all on the line to try to achieve massive returns.  One investor, for example, took out a $325,000 equity line of credit on his home and put it all into cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency social media site Steemit even offers 12 tips  for readers to determine if they’re addicted.

Cryptocurrency trading, according to some experts, could become a type of behavioral addiction. Traders could become obsessed with the markets and fixate on the volatility to the point that it interferes with everyday life. With that in mind, Castle Craig created a solution to the addiction that is similar to that of problem gambling, as opposed to substance addiction.

There was no word on whether cryptocurrency can be used to pay for the program.