Woman treated for mental illness because of passion for stocks

(Dan Tri) - A 36-year-old woman in Hanoi was "forced" by her family to go to the Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital) for examination, because she was addicted to playing the stock market, lost money and tried to borrow money everywhere to invest to recover.

Hospitalized for crazy stock investment

On the afternoon of May 12, at a press conference on gambling disorder, Dr. Le Thi Thu Ha, Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital) shared the case of a 36-year-old woman ( Hanoi ) with 4 young children, staying at home to take care of her children and passionate about investing in stocks with the desire to earn money and help her husband raise their children.

Dr. Le Thi Thu Ha and other doctors discuss gambling disorder (Photo: The Anh).

After graduating from university, she also went to work. After getting married, she gave birth to her children very close together, 4 children were born in a row so she stayed home to take care of the children. Wanting to help her husband earn money, she started investing in stocks.

During the first 1-2 years, she also slowly earned some interest, so she became more and more passionate and invested more. After many times of "restructuring the portfolio", she was left empty-handed, lost all her capital and interest, and had to take on a lot of debt from relatives, even pawning her ID card to borrow money at high interest rates.

When her family discovered this situation, they "confiscated" her phone so she couldn't access the internet, so she had to find another one. Her personal documents also had to be changed constantly because she always used them to get loans.

Woman must be treated for gambling disorder due to passion for stocks (Illustration: PV).

The whole family even had to find a way to sell their house in Hanoi to pay off the debt and return to their hometown in Thai Binh to live. When the husband took his wife to the hospital for a check-up, he only hoped that his wife would not incur any more loans so that he could work to raise the children and gradually pay off the debt.

Psychologist Trinh Thi Thanh Huong, Institute of Mental Health, said that when her family forced her to go to the hospital, the patient thought she had no problem, and thought her husband was intentionally forcing her to go to the mental hospital.

However, when investigating the information, the doctor found that she had anxiety and depression, even thinking about death many times, but thinking about her four children, she overcame it.

"The patient's situation at that time was also very urgent, because the husband put pressure on her, only wanting her to stay home to take care of the children, not allowing her to go to work. In addition to treating the patient, the doctor also had to consult privately with the husband, so that he would accept letting his wife go to work like a normal person, sharing the debt he caused. After the treatment, the patient was stable," said Dr. Huong.

The "near-win" mentality urges disordered gamblers to keep playing.

Dr. Cao Thi Anh Tuyet, Institute of Mental Health, shares about the male patient with gambling disorder that she is treating.

The male patient previously worked for a foreign company with a good income. During this time, he gambled, won and lost, borrowed money from friends, but still covered the expenses with his salary.

Before that, since his student days, the young man had been betting on football. The amount of money and time spent increased, leading to gambling addiction.

When the company stopped operating, the patient could not find a job elsewhere, so he started his own business. Financial difficulties caused more conflicts between the couple and they divorced.

Dissatisfied and under pressure, he left home to play Sic Bo and bet at internet cafes, sometimes not coming home for a whole month, ignoring his young children and elderly parents.

There were months when he spent 60-80 million on gambling, borrowed money from everywhere, and lied to have money to continue gambling.

The patient tried many times to quit gambling but failed, fell into a state of low self-esteem, mental breakdown, and did not dare to meet relatives and friends.

According to Dr. Ha, people with gambling disorders mostly lose, but they always think that they are not losing continuously, but are in a state of "near winning". Because of this thought, they are stimulated, repeating the next time they play with the desire to win.

According to Dr. Ha, there are quite a few people with gambling disorders in the community, but very few go to the doctor for advice and treatment.

Gambling disorder is also very diverse, some people only bet online, some only bet on the English Premier League...

"However, no one thinks that passion is abnormal, so they often come to the hospital late. Meanwhile, with gambling disorder, if detected early and treated promptly, it will be effective," said Dr. Ha.

Specialist II Doctor Bui Nguyen Hong Bao Ngoc, Institute of Mental Health said: Gambling addiction or gambling addiction is a mental disorder comparable to alcohol and drug addiction. Like other addictions, the brain's reward system is disrupted.

They have an uncontrollable urge to continue gambling, despite the amount of money spent on the game and the effects on their lives.

Before performing a behavior, individuals often experience increased tension and excitement, sometimes mixed with anticipated pleasure. Completing the action provides immediate satisfaction and release.

Symptoms that can identify someone with a gambling disorder include:

- The need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement.

- Restlessness or irritability when trying to cut down or stop gambling.

- Have made repeated unsuccessful attempts to control, cut down, or stop gambling.

- Often preoccupied with gambling.

- Often gamble when feeling distressed (e.g., helpless, guilty, anxious, depressed).

- After losing money in gambling, often return another day to break even ("chase" the loss).

- Lying to conceal the extent of involvement in gambling.

- Have jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, oreducational or career opportunity because of gambling.

- Relying on others to provide money to alleviate desperate financial situations caused by gambling.

Doctors say that treating people with gambling disorders requires, in addition to medication, psychological therapy and chemical therapies...

Gambling disorder is a disease that requires treatment, but not everyone knows that they or their loved ones know that their child has the disease.

If you have 4/5 of the above symptoms, you are qualified for a diagnosis of gambling disorder. Therefore, any behavior related to betting, gambling, betting games..., where the player has one of the above symptoms, they should go to the doctor early for diagnosis and treatment.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/nguoi-phu-nu-dieu-tri-tam-than-vi-dam-me-chung-khoan-20250512173329517.htm