The stock market has experienced significant losses in recent days, and it’s incredibly volatile. As the numbers bounce up and down and people see their retirement funds disappear, it’s not surprising that you may be tempted to turn to alcohol. Understanding the relationship between the stock market and your drinking is an important part of avoiding alcoholism.
Drinking to Ease Inhibitions
If you’re a day trader or someone who invests in higher-risk investments, you may have a hard time making trades without your inhibitions being lowered. You may turn to alcohol to provide that functionality. However, this can impact your judgment significantly. You may make trades that end up costing you money, or you could use money that should have gone to essentials.
It’s difficult to do sufficient research into companies that you want to invest in if you’re under the influence of alcohol. You may have a hard time remembering which trades you make, or the platform that you used to make these trades.
Over time, you could end up in financial distress due to these activities. Bankruptcy could happen if you end up going into debt with stock trading or otherwise becoming insolvent. Consider how the drop in the market can increase drinking and lead to the need for alcohol detox.
Drinking as a Way to Cope with the Stress Associated with the Stock Market
High-risk trades also bring a lot of stress to them, and even long-term investments may cause distress if the market crashes when you approach retirement. Alcohol may take the edge off of the stress at first, but then you could find yourself depending on getting tipsy or drunk to manage your mood. This can easily grow into a substantial drinking problem.
Financial instability is a huge stressor for many people, especially if you don’t have a safety net to fall back on. Everything can seem like it’s spiraling down around you, with drinking offering the only method to keep things level. Of course, spending a lot of money on alcohol when you’re already in an unstable position makes things worse on the financial front. It’s a situation that can easily get out of hand, and it’s important to think about how the drop in the market can increase drinking and lead to the need for alcohol addiction treatment.
Excessive Drinking
If you end up with problems relating to the stock market and your drinking, you could find yourself becoming addicted to alcohol. The dangers of alcoholism are well-documented and have widespread impacts on your life, health, family, and career.
Your body may become physically dependent on drinking, which can lead to possibly fatal withdrawal symptoms when you try to scale back on your drinking. Your behavior could change and lead you to have fights and be violent when you don’t have any intention of doing so. You could become irritable at everyday things and have your relationships impacted.
Clouded judgment from your excessive alcohol consumption affects more than just your stock market trading. It can also result in you making poor decisions when it comes to your family, social life, or work.
How to Manage the Stock Market and Your Drinking
One of the most important things you can do to handle the stock market and your drinking is to recognize that you’re having a problem with alcohol. The earlier you can recognize the issue, the easier it will be to start the alcohol recovery process.
Alcohol addiction treatment programs are available, such as:
- Inpatient alcohol detox
- Medically assisted detox
- Extended care residential treatment
- Outpatient care
They can aid you with breaking the addiction to alcohol and recovering from the potential damage it has done. You get more than help when going through the withdrawal process. You also get a dedicated team that leads you to understand why the stock market has led to a drinking problem, how you can stop using alcohol as a coping mechanism, and other important realizations. Contact Summit Detox at (888) 995-5265 to discuss your options.