It is generally understood that bitcoin and other cryptos can be addicting. Consequently, as with any chemicals that get many people hooked, excessive usage can be detrimental to mental health.

For instance, losing large sums of money seemingly suddenly and feeling helpless can unavoidably cause stress levels to rise and affect your self-esteem. Worse, it can ruin your outlook on life.

People may turn to alternative addictive substances to deal with these difficulties. So begins a pattern that can result in addiction, anxiety, depression, among other harmful things.

Rehab centers that treat bitcoin addiction are on the rise around the world, providing services for those with crypto exhaustion and other related “sickness.”

Luxury Spanish Rehab Center For Bitcoin Addiction

On the Spanish island of Majorca, a vast rehabilitation clinic rises among the growing number of facilities that offer treatment for crypto addiction.

According to a report by BBC, this rehab facility called The Balance offers a four-week therapy to treat this type of “disease.”

Addiction to bitcoin and other crypto is the impulsive drive to keep trading in these types of digital assets despite the detrimental effects on one’s health and finances.

The nature of this sort of addiction is behavioral. This means that a person develops dependence on a set of actions that release dopamine in a manner similar to substance misuse or gambling addiction.

The Balance, founded in Zurich, presents itself as a “safe zone promoting health and fulfillment.”

The Swiss-established wellness clinic provides treatments for burnout, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders, the BBC disclosed.

Not For The Shallow-Pocketed 

However, the intervention costs a proverbial arm and leg: north of $75,000. The price tag includes pampering such as full body massages, bike rides and yoga in a private villa with a designated chef and butler.

“Don,” who works for a company that processes central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions, used to invest up to $200,000 each week in cryptocurrency trading.

In the middle of 2022, he experienced a “downward spiral” and chose to seek “refuge” in the luxurious Spanish treatment center where he said he was “weaned” off crypto, BBC reported.

Due to the addictive nature of the markets, people get hooked on bitcoin trading. And with  the absence of tight regulation, cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, so when you win, you hit the so-called jackpot.

According to the Zurich-based recovery center Paracelsus Recovery, these ‘huge wins’ unleash large quantities of feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain, which makes cryptocurrencies addicting.

“Crypto trading has an air of being legitimate, whilst gambling is more talked about as being potentially problematic,” Jan Geber, chief executive at Paracelsus, said.

In other parts of the globe, Diamond Rehabilitation, a wellness clinic established in Thailand and operating since 2019, has included bitcoin addiction rehab and treatment services to its list of therapies.

Castle Craig Hospital, an addiction rehabilitation clinic in Scotland that has treated “high-adrenaline” crypto traders since 2018, has offered therapies to more than 100 people with “hazardous” cryptocurrency issues.

Featured image from Bankless Times