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‘They’re Not Alone’: UK Hospital Starts ‘Crypto Addiction’ Therapy

Wilma Woo | May 28, 2018 | 14:00

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A UK hospital has begun offering the country’s first cryptocurrency “addiction” therapy as officials say Bitcoin represents a “classic bubble.”

When Checking Price Gets Serious

As local news media outlet The Scotsman reports, Castle Craig Hospital in the Scottish county of Peeblesshire will use techniques from “gambling addiction programs” to treat those who feel they have lost control.

Castle Craig Hospital

“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,” Chris Burn, a gambling therapist at Castle Craig Hospital told the publication.

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.

The curious decision comes as Bitcoin continues to trail around the lower end of its trading corridor for the past six months, down over 70% from its $20,000 all-time highs in December 2017.

As Bitcoinist reported, interest in cryptocurrency peaked and dissipated in line with prices, also suggesting investors bought in en masse at higher price points which have yet to be repeated.

Crypto ‘Appeals To Problem Gamblers’

For Burn, regardless of price, the “high risk” of cryptocurrency is innately attractive to those with addictive personalities.

“The high risk, fluctuating cryptocurrency market appeals to the problem gambler,” he continued.

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.

There are no figures for the number of people currently enrolled on the therapy course, while rates of ‘success’ will also remain unknown for some time.

Taking in wider trends, Bitcoin meanwhile has ironically become less volatile in time, with prices fluctuating considerably more fiercely in previous years when its user base was much smaller.

What do you think about the cryptocurrency addiction therapy? Let us know in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, wikipedia.org