By QueenB.Divine | Don't Crypto on My Mental Health
Notice this. I don't know about you, but I don't like watching things lose value. When I invest in something, I want to see it grow. Whether it's Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, a business, or my own future, I'd like to think I'm putting my time and money into something worthwhile. But here's what I'm learning on this journey of understanding crypto, building wealth, and creating a better life for my husband and me: sometimes investments drop. Sometimes they crash. And sometimes they stay down a hell of a lot longer than we expected.
And that's where the bear market comes in.
But before we get into that, how are you doing? Seriously. Not your crypto portfolio. Not your bank account. Not your investments. You. How are you doing? Because it's funny how somebody can tell you everything about Bitcoin's latest price movement but can't explain how they're feeling beyond saying, "Oh, I'm fine." Good grief. If you're going to tell everybody else you're fine when you're not, at least don't lie to yourself. Check in with your mental health before you check your portfolio. Self-love and self-care will get you there.
Now, I'm still learning about investing, and one thing that fascinates me is how much fear can influence a market. A bear market generally means prices have fallen 20% or more from a recent high. Confidence disappears, uncertainty grows, and people start questioning whether their investments will ever recover. In crypto, those emotions can become especially intense because prices can move so dramatically. And as I started understanding this, I realized something. My life entered a bear market long before I ever knew what cryptocurrency was.
It started in Grade Five.
Grade Four had been relatively peaceful for me. Looking back, it was probably the last period of stability I remember from my childhood, even if that stability was somewhat shallow. By Grade Five, I thought things were looking pretty good. I had siblings, I could handle the bullies at school, and I was building a reputation through sports. My brothers and sisters were involved in track and field, so people already had expectations of me. I could run, sing, dance, paint, and draw. I was discovering my creativity, my abilities, and the person I might become. Looking back today, I would have invested in that little girl. She had potential.
But then fear entered the market.
One Sunday afternoon, my brothers and I were sitting in the living room watching The Smurfs. My sister was in the bedroom. My mother suddenly walked in wearing a blue dress and a little mesh hat. In her Jamaican accent, she announced that she was going to get married and that when she returned, the gentleman she was marrying would be living with us.
Well, you might think another adult entering the household would make the stock rise. More stability, more support, maybe a brighter future. But something inside me felt very different. I won't mention the gentleman's name, but his presence became a troubling part of my life. And that announcement made me realize how much my world was about to change.
Suddenly, everything felt volatile.
Sibling rivalry became more complicated. It started feeling like them against me and me against them. I struggled with fear, embarrassment, and changes in my behaviour. I'd experienced bedwetting during childhood, and at the time I interpreted those struggles as proof that something was wrong with me, even though I understand today that children can experience bedwetting for many reasons. My confidence was disappearing, and I didn't have the words to explain what was happening.
And then I failed Grade Five.
I had to repeat the year.
Can you imagine what that felt like to a little girl who already questioned her worth? Everybody else was moving forward, and I was staying behind. Their stocks seemed to be rising while mine was dropping. I didn't understand that struggling in school didn't make me a failure. All I knew was that I felt like one.
And that's something I recognize in the crypto community. Why does watching everybody else succeed make us feel like we're failing? Somebody buys Bitcoin at the right time. Somebody makes a fortune on an altcoin. Somebody posts their gains online, and suddenly we're questioning every decision we've ever made. We compare our lives to somebody else's winning trade without knowing their losses, their risks, or the whole story.
I spent years doing something similar with my own life.
Grade Five marked the beginning of what felt like a 20-year bear market. My confidence kept falling. My circumstances became increasingly difficult. Eventually, I ran away from home and spent a long time living on the streets of Toronto. And through those years, I struggled to see any value in myself.
Now, here's where the comparison gets interesting. In crypto, when an investment drops, you have choices. You can sell, hold, or reconsider your strategy. Sometimes holding works out. Sometimes it doesn't. Not every coin recovers, and blindly holding a bad investment isn't financial wisdom.
But your life isn't a cryptocurrency.
You can't sell your childhood and buy a better one. You can't trade your painful memories for a different past. And you certainly can't look at yourself and decide you're worthless because life hasn't gone the way you planned.
I had to learn that the hard way.
Thank goodness I eventually met people who recognized something in me that I couldn't recognize in myself. People who helped me understand that my circumstances weren't the same thing as my value. People who reminded me that I was still worth believing in, even when I couldn't see a reason to believe in myself.
And that brings me to a question I think every investor should ask: Are you making financial decisions from a place of confidence and understanding, or from fear and desperation?
Because fear can make us do some ridiculous things. We panic when prices fall. We chase opportunities because we're terrified of missing out. We watch other people's profits and convince ourselves we're falling behind. Sometimes we even expect money to repair feelings of insecurity that have been sitting inside us since childhood.
I've learned that understanding my money mindset means understanding myself. Why am I afraid to take certain risks? Why do I sometimes believe financial success is for other people? Why does losing something feel so personal? And why did it take me so long to recognize that I was worth investing in?
Those questions matter to me just as much as learning about Bitcoin, market cycles, and financial strategies.
And here's another thing. If you're sitting in front of a screen all day watching charts, waiting for green candles, and stressing over every red one, what kind of investment are you making in your health? Your back is aching, your eyes are tired, your coffee's gone cold, and you're one price notification away from losing your damn mind.
Good grief. Take a break.
A market doesn't need your permission to move. And staring at a chart won't magically make it recover.
That's why I keep coming back to self-love and self-care. Not because positive thinking guarantees profits. It doesn't. And not because every difficult period ends with some spectacular comeback. Life doesn't offer guaranteed returns either. But taking care of yourself can help you approach uncertainty with a clearer mind.
When I look back at that little girl in Grade Five, I no longer see a bad investment. I see a child who was frightened, struggling, and trying to survive circumstances she didn't fully understand. I see somebody who loved sports and art, who had imagination and ability, and whose worth never actually disappeared.
Her confidence fell. Her circumstances changed. Her life became difficult.
But her value as a human being remained.
And maybe that's the biggest difference between a financial bear market and the bear markets of our lives. An investment can genuinely lose its financial value. Your human worth doesn't disappear because you're struggling.
So whether you're holding Bitcoin, researching cryptocurrency, trying to build wealth, or simply attempting to get your life together, remember that your portfolio is only one part of your future. Don't become so consumed with building financial wealth that you forget about your emotional well-being.
And don't mistake holding on to yourself for holding on to something harmful. Sometimes the smartest investment in your future is walking away from an unsafe situation, changing direction, or asking for help.
I'm QueenB.Divine, and I'm still learning about money, investing, and the incredible connection between our financial decisions and the stories we carry from childhood. I don't have all the answers, and I'm certainly not here to tell you which cryptocurrency to buy. But I do know what it's like to experience a long personal bear market and eventually discover that the person I thought had lost everything still had something valuable to offer.
So let me ask you something. Have you ever experienced a bear market in your own life? Not just in crypto, but in your confidence, relationships, finances, or mental health? Did you ever feel like everybody else was moving ahead while you were falling behind?
Share your story in the comments. And if you're learning about crypto, money mindset, and mental wellness alongside me, subscribe and join the conversation. Because I believe we can learn about building wealth without sacrificing ourselves in the process.
Remember, Bitcoin can crash. Crypto markets can fall. Financial investments can lose value.
But don't let a falling market convince you that you're worth less.
Take care of yourself in the bear markets of your life.
Hold on to the stock called you.
Self-love and self-care will get you there.
— QueenB.Divine
Personal reflection only. Not financial or mental health treatment advice.
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