What does speculation actually cost you mentally?

[Bitcoin_effect]

So, we talk a lot about strategy, timing (the market), our entries and exits but not much about all the speculation actually does to a person over time. The obsessive checking even when one has bought an asset for the long term (I’m guilty of this, big time), the euphoria when prices go up and our inability to tamp it down in spite of having experienced it before and knowing what’s coming next, and the gut-drop on a loss that just doesn't quite compare to other financial setbacks.

I'm a crypto investor and an independent researcher(/writer), not affiliated with any company or institution and am looking into just how this plays out for people: risk tolerance, financial behavior, and the psychological side of it.

For this, I have put together a short anonymous form if anyone wants to contribute (only takes 4-7 min, no personal data collected, nothing commercial): https://tally.so/r/eqg4QQ?source=bitcointalk (Not a ref link)

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

[Oshosondy]

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

I am a holder and a trader. The way I treat the two are different. I am like you while trading as I may be checking the market more often than I supposed to be checking it. But if I am holding coins, I may not check the price of the coins that I am holding in few days or I just check it once in a day. No pressure when I am holding , but I hold just good coins like bitcoin.

[Y3shot]

Firstly, you need to understand that the market is unpredictable, and while speculating, you are not expecting anything from the market or having a guarantee that what has been speculated is certain. With this kind of mindset or understanding, if the market doesn't turn out as speculated, I'm not sure if it will affect your mental health.

Speculating and thinking the market is going to behave as you want is a serious problem for both investors and traders because there is an expectation based on what has been speculated. The best way to speculate is to understand the market and never to have hope that it is certain.

[YOSHIE]

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

When I feel hopeless when the price of crypto on the market rises, but I don't believe in speculation, then I blame myself, get depressed, get really stressed, that's when I feel like I'm experiencing mental loss due to crypto speculation.

There are other things that in my opinion are worse when you experience mental loss, such as emotional turmoil that is no longer stable when you see the market going down but don't buy and when the market goes up but you don't have coins, Sometimes this situation can result in me losing focus in carrying out work activities and also no longer concentrating, being easily sensitive and so on.

What's worse is that every time I check the screen to see or monitor crypto prices, I do that every time and every minute, so that overall it will disturb my metal.

[Female King]

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

I am a holder and a trader. The way I treat the two are different. I am like you while trading as I may be checking the market more often than I supposed to be checking it. But if I am holding coins, I may not check the price of the coins that I am holding in few days or I just check it once in a day. No pressure when I am holding , but I hold just good coins like bitcoin.

Could this be possible be a holder and also a trader? Normally bitcoin should be the only coin people should hold onto because it doesn't pump and dump like other coin and if bitcoin price went dip it will also increase again.

There is almost of pressure when trading bitcoin and it also has a high risk, if you are ready to be a trader you must also be ready to be regularly checking and monitoring the market while a holdler don't need to be doing all of that.

[Sammysmart001]

I would say form my own end, one of biggest problems with speculation is that it have a way of slowly changing the way somone makes decisions, most people start with a long term plan but after checking of price too often the little drop of price can suddenly make them to question their whole plan.

Personally I would say that the mental part is not only about feeling happy when the price goes up or feeling bad when it falls. It also about the attention the market start to take from you, if checking of price keeps to affect your activities, work or even your sleep then the investment is costing you more mentally than expected.

[joniboini]

I checked your form and some of the choice feels a bit confusing for me. For example, the difference between "not much" and "depends on the situation" on the describe yourself feels quite similar. Maybe you can specify this further? Like, let's say I can go to a party with my close friends, but I don't think I'd do the same with someone I don't know at all, even if I know a guy or two there. Some people will say that means I'm not extroverted, while others think "eh, I can be extroverted depending on circumstances".

[Fortify]

So, we talk a lot about strategy, timing (the market), our entries and exits but not much about all the speculation actually does to a person over time. The obsessive checking even when one has bought an asset for the long term (I’m guilty of this, big time), the euphoria when prices go up and our inability to tamp it down in spite of having experienced it before and knowing what’s coming next, and the gut-drop on a loss that just doesn't quite compare to other financial setbacks.

I'm a crypto investor and an independent researcher(/writer), not affiliated with any company or institution and am looking into just how this plays out for people: risk tolerance, financial behavior, and the psychological side of it.

For this, I have put together a short anonymous form if anyone wants to contribute (only takes 4-7 min, no personal data collected, nothing commercial): https://tally.so/r/eqg4QQ?source=bitcointalk (Not a ref link)

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

If you are a speculator then it's actually possible to become addicted to this life style and it becomes partly what drives you. If you consider it a form of gambling then it shares a lot of the same attributions as having an addiction in that. You keep chasing the wins and if you're not careful it can even stop being about quality, but turns into quantity instead - you just keep trying to fuel the day. A real speculator, or rather investor, should have few ideas and far between to keep the quality up. If you're chasing many trades over a short time period then you are more likely to fail and lose money, but some people are able to turn a profit with enough practice. I don't think there is any single profile of person who will do this, other than somebody open to trying all ideas to create a profit, but most will burn out before finding a successful strategy.

[Bitcoin_effect]

I checked your form and some of the choice feels a bit confusing for me. For example, the difference between "not much" and "depends on the situation" on the describe yourself feels quite similar. Maybe you can specify this further? Like, let's say I can go to a party with my close friends, but I don't think I'd do the same with someone I don't know at all, even if I know a guy or two there. Some people will say that means I'm not extroverted, while others think "eh, I can be extroverted depending on circumstances".

Yeah, I see why those two can feel similar. The distinction I’m trying to make is that it’s about how you see yourself and not what others say or think you are, so not much is more like I generally don’t see myself as very extroverted while depending on the situation is more like I’m usually not particularly extroverted but I can be quite extroverted in certain situations depending on mood, the people I’m with, the setting, etc.

So in the example you have given if you feel that you’re generally not extroverted but can become quite social and outgoing around close friends then that would fit more with depends on the situation.

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

I am a holder and a trader. The way I treat the two are different. I am like you while trading as I may be checking the market more often than I supposed to be checking it. But if I am holding coins, I may not check the price of the coins that I am holding in few days or I just check it once in a day. No pressure when I am holding , but I hold just good coins like bitcoin.

I used to do more severe checking but now I have toned it down a lot because my brain can't take that constant-ness. I just let it be but that can only work with bitcoin mostly

Firstly, you need to understand that the market is unpredictable, and while speculating, you are not expecting anything from the market or having a guarantee that what has been speculated is certain. With this kind of mindset or understanding, if the market doesn't turn out as speculated, I'm not sure if it will affect your mental health.

Speculating and thinking the market is going to behave as you want is a serious problem for both investors and traders because there is an expectation based on what has been speculated. The best way to speculate is to understand the market and never to have hope that it is certain.

that's true, one needs to manage one's expectations and be disciplined in one's behavior and actions for success

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

When I feel hopeless when the price of crypto on the market rises, but I don't believe in speculation, then I blame myself, get depressed, get really stressed, that's when I feel like I'm experiencing mental loss due to crypto speculation.

There are other things that in my opinion are worse when you experience mental loss, such as emotional turmoil that is no longer stable when you see the market going down but don't buy and when the market goes up but you don't have coins, Sometimes this situation can result in me losing focus in carrying out work activities and also no longer concentrating, being easily sensitive and so on.

What's worse is that every time I check the screen to see or monitor crypto prices, I do that every time and every minute, so that overall it will disturb my metal.

yes, exactly, that has happened to me, you just can't always be on and connected to the market and not be affected. I had to work to make myself disconnect from the market mentally, emotionally and physically.

[Wiwo]

Ops first you need to stop making multiple comments and in rolls, you can as well quote each replies and answer to them differently in one comment.

Now back to the topic, what you should know is that trading is different from holding, and if you are holding with long term intension you will have less worry about market speculations since you are looking at the long term.

Traders I mean day trader's are you going to get stressed up, since you are going to be analysing the market each second it moves.

[Shadiq]

The more you love money, the more pressure you will have on yourself, the market will never go as per your expectations because the market volatility will affect your mentality. Controlling stress while trading is a bit difficult, but if you learn it then you can expect big things from trading.

When it comes to investing, the market volatility will try to affect you, if you have a long term plan then you should forget about the money you have invested. In both cases of investment or trading, the market will try to put you under mental stress which will keep damaging you physically. So it is better to use that amount of money in crypto which you can forget for a long time, stay away from the market and the volatility will not affect you.

[Faisal2202]

32. Posting multiple posts in a row (excluding bumps and reserved posts by the thread starter) is not allowed.

Rule Book

Wiwo is right, OP. You should avoid replying to people one by one in a consecutive manner. Moderators will probably merge your posts once they know about it, but in the future you have to make sure you don't do this. As per the rules, you can see it is not allowed.

Coming back to your post, it cost me more in leverage trading, but now I call myself a holder. I haven't sold for years, and I think that's best for me. But short term trading/speculation makes my mind go crazy because I think I have one specific trait of those ADHD, OCD types of people. I did not know which one I have, so I named both. I can't resist anything until I do my pending task, especially if it is short term trading. But with time I overcame this feeling, but still I find peace in holding.

[uchegod-21]

I will not sugarcoating my words, I will simply advice you and every other person's battling with this kind of obsession that is taking a toll on their metal health and  daily living, to think twice and go for the options that give them a little peace.

I was once like that when I first tried out trading, I noticed that I lost my peace of mind because I was constantly checking the market; trying to see how well or how bad the market was. It was not just about speculating, but the restlessness that comes with it.

I made a decision to focus on hodling. I held my bitcoins for a very long time and never bothered about constantly checking to see how the market is doing. That decision worked for me. Some people just need to be hodlers, not traders. They know this, but not willing to accept it yet

[Die_empty]

Even if you don't fill it out, curious as to how others here think about both the mental and financial side of speculating.

Those who are new to the crypto market are more affected by the mental or psychological stress. Some of them don't understand how the market works, making them worried about price drops and anxious when the price rises. I remember that, as a newbie, I was always checking the price of Bitcoin almost every hour to see how the price was moving. My situation has changed since I now have knowledge about the Bitcoin cycle and some other economic conditions that affect the crypto space.

Those who have financial stress are those who invest more than they can afford. Those who go to the extent of taking loans and other credit facilities to invest in crypto would be prone to both mental and financial pressures.

[Donk1]

Perhaps the best way to handle the stress of speculation in an asset, both mentally and psychologically, is to be honest with yourself about the fact that you can't 100% certainly tell what the price of the market is going to do next. While it wouldn't be easy still accepting that fact will free you of any sense of sentiment, making your mind more aware of the major thing which is you can't predict the future...

That said I believe everyone has to understand themselves, or at least assess themselves before entering a speculative asset, because some certain things would definitely make you panic or feel guilty when the market swings especially when your money is on the line. For that fact you must have risk management like how much money you are willing to lose, create a budget, take your time with the market, don't rush in, and with time, you will gradually be relaxed because you will only be risking what you can afford to lose. That's all......

[aoluain]

Anyone who is into Bitcoin for a while will know how the market moves and understands the
reactions of FUD, FOMO and Panic.

I would like to think that all seasoned campaigners have mastered the art of patience too.

When it comes to Strategy the preferred methods are DCA and Buy the Dips

When it comes to Timing the Bottom, the general advice is - dont do it

Its also very worthwhile realising that even when the market drops, your perceived loss is only
realised if you panic and sell, which would really amount to 'buy high, sell low'. The opposite
to a very basic investment strategy.

[snowpega]

I am a holder and a trader. The way I treat the two are different. I am like you while trading as I may be checking the market more often than I supposed to be checking it. But if I am holding coins, I may not check the price of the coins that I am holding in few days or I just check it once in a day. No pressure when I am holding , but I hold just good coins like bitcoin.

Haha, this is a bad habit of many holders to keep checking their portfolios from time to time or after a few days, right?
I don't know if it helps in any way, but I am sure that if one stays attached to this habit, it can lead one to depression if the market is in a very bad condition, haha. Once you decide to enter the market with the plan of long-term holding, then don't stress much or keep checking your portfolio again and again.

But never stay too far away from the market, and keep upto date yourself about the market moves. So that you can catch the best exit moment without missing it. And in your case, as a trader and holder at the same time, you are already well aware of every move of the market, right? But my case is different from yours, in that I try my best to stay away from the trading space as much as I can.

[Odogwu-Blockchain]

Crypto Investment is an emotional and mental attachment schemes no matter how much you try to hide the feelings, it won't and can't be hidden, even if you try to forget about it, any sudden changes in price either positive or negative will trigger the emotions and mental to keep records of how much gains and losses it currently is.

Yes, it cost mental but it's worth it because that's the price to pay to be financially responsible and free as well as stable, it doesn't comes easy.

[Hamza2424]

I made a decision to focus on hodling. I held my bitcoins for a very long time and never bothered about constantly checking to see how the market is doing. That decision worked for me. Some people just need to be hodlers, not traders. They know this, but not willing to accept it yet

Yep, that's so true bro. Some people are not meant to be holders or traders. I was a trader and a good one. When I had time, I traded and I did not stop or know when to stop, so it affected my health because for straight 20 days I was sleep deprived, trading more, and as I had to manage other matters of my life as well, so I was focused until my brain and body said fuck off.

So I was forced by the family to not trade anymore and take some time, and I did what they said. It was a good decision, and then I only traded when I felt like it. Making profit is not that hard, but if you have made a loss, just leave the trade and take some time off.

[Ziskinberg]

In a crypto market where there is full uncertainty, the only thing you can do is to create speculations based on how you understand bitcoin and how it market works. Otherwise you can't form any plan or decision without making some speculations.

However, since speculations are just your own opinion or guesses, without having complete facts, then you have to prepare yourself for the real future outcome. I think that's the beauty of speculating itself, sometimes you hit it, sometimes you lose from it. But with bitcoin, as long as you never end up panicking, you're safe and future profits are still guaranteed. You just have to be flexible and patience in all your speculations made.