I lost thousands on crypto gambling

When I first started buying into the crypto market in 2016 there was this sense of urgency or pressure to invest passed down from my friends. This form of FoMO was my first push down a very dark path of high risk gambling addiction.

I would not eat, sleep regularly, or socialize like a normal person because my addiction had gotten so out of control. I ended up very ill and losing thousands taking really uneducated risks and essentially chasing my tail. I was drowning in an ocean of my own shame and regret. The bigger the gains, the bigger the inevitable losses.

It all stemmed, NOT from my friends getting me sucked into the habit so much, but from my own complete lack of understanding of the technology and it's potential for real world use.

Eventually I got help for my personality disorder/addiction issues. However, my disdain for banks etc. got me thinking I shouldn't completely give up on a future I believe in because of my own personal problems (namely addiction issues). So I started to research more and more, to learn where and why I might want to support a project I believed in.

Now I only have a small handful of investments which I try not to check too often. I try to keep up to date with the market and my chosen projects and occasionally I need to move an egg out of one basket but overall my expectations are no longer short sighted or driven by gambler's logic. My portfolio is a nice little nest egg but my life doesn't revolve around it anymore, and if I lose it all, that's OK.

My advice to anyone starting up, or seeing themselves MAYBE having an issue, is to stop taking careless risks. NEVER invest more than you're willing to lose because it's very possible you WILL lose it. Maybe seek help (if you're ready) but at the very least, RESEARCH. Try to understand the technology, the impacts, the pros and cons, and discover what aligns to your own values or hope for the global economy. Change is difficult. Adoption to new technology takes time. Don't look at short term growth and fool yourself into 'chasing the gains dragon'.

For those who know it deep down... It's never too late to seek help. NEVER.