How day trading can become an addiction
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- It’s a problem that addiction specialists don’t anticipate slowing anytime soon -- day trading, the quick buying and selling of stocks or securities.
What was once reserved for brokers has been made accessible to everyday people with the help of trading apps and websites.
“With online trading, you think you are investing,” Doug Royer, who once was addicted to day trading, said. “You think you are doing smart things by trying to grow your money and all that.”
Royer said it took years to realize he had a problem. At one point, he was on top – helping to lead a successful company, taking multiple trips a year and living in a dream home - but he said his habit of making risky moves with stocks or day trading cost him everything more than once.
“I bought the dips -- as long as everything was going up, everything was great,” Roer said.
Abdullah Mahmood is an addiction coordinator with the gambling intervention program at Columbus-based Maryhaven. He said that while sports betting continues to grow, the number of people seeking gambling treatment due to day trading is also seeing a surge.
“The progression is usually what we see as an early big win,” Mahmood said.
He said technology made it easier for the everyday person to jump in headfirst and apps have, in his words, “gamified” the process, essentially working to remove the risk factor of it all.
“You are beginning to chase your loses, that’s the number one indicative sign of problem gambling,” Mahmood said.
Mahmmod said other signs include lying to loved ones about the extent of losses.
For Royer, it took multiple massive wins and bigger losses to seek treatment; he is now a regular at counseling through Maryhaven’s programs. His warning: trading isn’t a game and everyone should proceed with caution.