When Your Portfolio, Your Face and Your Mental Health Have a Little Too Much in Common — By QueenB.Divine
NOTICE THIS… Do you have resting crypto face? You know, that expression you get when you're staring at your investment portfolio, watching Bitcoin do whatever the hell Bitcoin feels like doing today, and somebody walks into the room and asks, "What's wrong with you?" Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm just sitting here enjoying my morning coffee, trying to understand why my portfolio looks like it fell down a flight of stairs. Apparently, my face has decided to announce to the entire household that the financial world has personally offended me. And the funny thing is, I might not even be upset. I might just be thinking. But my eyebrows? Oh, they've already called an emergency meeting.
Anyway, before we get into this little facial adventure, how are you, crypto family? How's investing going? Are we smiling today, or are we wearing that expression that says we bought something yesterday and immediately regretted it this morning? And more importantly, how's your mental health doing while you're learning all this digital money nonsense? Because I'm beginning to realize that cryptocurrency doesn't just teach us about investing. It teaches us an awful lot about ourselves. Our patience, our reactions, our expectations, our ability to handle uncertainty and, apparently, what our faces look like when we think nobody's watching.
I've always had a problem with my face telling stories before my mouth has had a chance to open. Somebody tells me something surprising, and before I can respond with compassion, my face has already said, "What in the hell were you thinking?" Meanwhile, inside my head, I'm genuinely interested. I'm listening. I'm trying to understand. But my eyebrows have decided to climb halfway up my forehead, my eyes are looking like I've just witnessed a crime, and my lips have formed an expression that could probably end a friendship. It's not intentional. It's just that my face sometimes operates independently from the rest of me. And I've discovered that looking at crypto charts brings out a whole new collection of expressions I didn't even know I had.
There's the Bitcoin face. That's the one where you're staring at the screen with your mouth slightly open, trying to figure out whether the price is about to go up, go down or spend the next six hours doing absolutely nothing. Then there's the altcoin face. Oh, that's a special one. That's when something you bought because you thought it had potential suddenly drops, and you find yourself looking at the screen like a disappointed parent who just discovered their child has been skipping school. And let's not forget the green candle face. That's when your eyes light up, your shoulders straighten and suddenly you're walking around the house like you've personally invented blockchain technology. You've made seventeen dollars, and you're already wondering whether you should start looking at beachfront property.
Then the candle turns red.
Well, there goes the beach house.
And possibly your facial expression for the rest of the morning.
But here's where it gets interesting. I've started noticing that the way I react to my investments can tell me something about how I'm handling uncertainty in my everyday life. Not because every facial expression reveals some great psychological secret. It doesn't. Sometimes we're tired, distracted or simply concentrating. But when I notice myself clenching my jaw, holding my breath or staring at the screen like it's going to explain itself if I look hard enough, I realize that maybe I need to check in with the person doing the investing, not just the investment itself.
Because let's face it, crypto can be an emotional roller coaster. One minute you're feeling confident. The next minute you're questioning everything you've ever learned about money. You can read the charts, study the market, research a project and still have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next. That's the nature of investing in something volatile. And if you allow every price movement to control your mood, you're going to spend a whole lot of time walking around looking like somebody just stole your last piece of chocolate.
I remember being in school and the teacher telling us to show our work. You couldn't just write down an answer and expect full marks. You had to demonstrate how you got there. Well, I'm starting to think investing works a little like that, especially when it comes to our emotions. If I suddenly feel anxious because the market dropped, maybe I should ask myself why. Am I worried because I invested more than I can comfortably afford to lose? Am I reacting because somebody on social media is screaming that the entire market is about to collapse? Or am I simply uncomfortable with the fact that I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow? Those are very different situations, and learning to recognize the difference might be just as important as learning how to read a candlestick chart.
And speaking of candlesticks, who came up with that name anyway? When I first started learning about crypto charts, I thought candles were supposed to be relaxing. You know, lavender, vanilla, something that makes your house smell like you've got your life together. Now I've got red and green candles that can make a perfectly peaceful morning feel like a financial emergency. There's no lavender involved. There's no soothing music. Just me, my coffee and a little rectangle on the screen deciding whether I'm going to have a lovely day or need to go outside and talk to a tree.
And this is where I've been working on something I call resting positive face. Now, before you start thinking I'm sitting in front of my computer grinning like a lunatic while my portfolio goes down, let me explain. Resting positive face doesn't mean forcing yourself to smile through disappointment. It doesn't mean pretending you're happy when you're not. And it certainly doesn't mean ignoring financial risks while telling yourself everything is wonderful. To me, it means learning to relax my expression, recognize when I'm carrying unnecessary tension and stop allowing every little thing on a screen to dictate how I feel about myself.
Because I don't want to become the kind of person whose family has to check the Bitcoin price before deciding whether it's safe to talk to me.
Can you imagine?
"Good morning, honey."
"Wait a minute. Let me check the market."
"Oh, never mind. I'll come back after lunch."
That's not the kind of financial freedom I'm looking for.
I've started paying more attention to my face when I'm sitting at the computer. Sometimes I look in the mirror in the morning and notice whether my forehead is tense or my jaw is tight. Sometimes I realize I've been staring at a chart so intensely that I haven't moved in twenty minutes. And sometimes I just laugh because the expression looking back at me resembles somebody trying to understand instructions written in another language. Which, if we're talking about blockchain terminology, isn't always far from the truth.
And here's another funny thing. The crypto community has its own version of facial expressions, except we don't always see the faces. We see them in the comments. Somebody posts that Bitcoin is going to the moon, and suddenly everybody's celebrating like they've just won the lottery. Somebody else predicts a crash, and now the entire conversation sounds like we're preparing for the end of civilization. You've got rocket emojis, crying emojis, diamond hands, angry faces and enough dramatic reactions to fill an entire theatre. And half the time, nobody actually knows what's going to happen. We're just watching everybody react to everybody else's reactions.
It's fascinating.
And a little exhausting.
This is why I think learning to read our own emotions matters so much when we're investing. Because sometimes we think we're making a financial decision when we're actually reacting to fear, excitement, frustration or the uncomfortable feeling that everybody else knows something we don't. That's where FOMO comes in, that wonderful little experience of watching something rise in price and suddenly believing you've missed the opportunity of a lifetime. Your brain says, "Research first." Your emotions say, "BUY IT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS!" And your face? Your face looks like you're trying to defuse a bomb while somebody counts backward from ten.
And then there's the other side of it. The market drops, and suddenly you're wondering whether you should sell everything, close the computer and move somewhere with no internet. But a price movement doesn't automatically tell you what decision to make. You still need information, context, an understanding of your own financial circumstances and a plan that doesn't change every time somebody posts a dramatic thumbnail.
I'm learning that one of the most useful things I can do is give myself a moment before reacting. Just a moment. Enough time to recognize what I'm feeling and ask whether I'm responding to information or simply responding to emotion. And that's something I can practice outside of investing too. When somebody says something I don't agree with, I don't have to immediately let my face announce my opinion. When something unexpected happens, I don't have to treat it like a disaster. When I feel irritated, I can notice it without making everybody else participate in it.
Because here's something I've discovered about myself. The more I learn to manage my reactions in everyday life, the more useful those habits become when I'm learning about investing. Patience is patience. Consistency is consistency. And learning to recognize when you're overwhelmed is helpful whether you're dealing with a difficult conversation or a chart full of red candles.
Now, I also enjoy people-watching. I've mentioned this before, and I still think it's one of the most interesting things you can do. Sit somewhere public, have a coffee, read a book and casually notice how people interact. Not in a creepy way, of course. Please don't sit there staring at somebody like you're trying to determine whether they're secretly holding Bitcoin. But it's interesting to see how people express surprise, frustration, happiness and confusion. You begin to appreciate how much communication happens without words. And yet, you also realize that you can't know exactly what somebody is thinking just by looking at their face.
The same thing applies to investing. You can look at somebody's social media account and see the smiling photographs, the fancy cars and the screenshots of enormous profits. But you don't know the whole story. You don't know their losses, their debts, their financial obligations or whether that Lamborghini belongs to them or the rental company. A confident expression isn't proof of financial success, just as a worried expression isn't proof of failure. And a person shouting about how much money they've made isn't necessarily somebody you should trust with yours.
I think that's one of the biggest lessons I'm learning about this whole crypto journey. Appearances can be misleading. People can look successful and be struggling. People can look worried and be perfectly fine. And a cryptocurrency project can have a beautiful website, a fancy logo and a whole lot of excitement surrounding it without necessarily having the fundamentals to support its value. That's why I want to keep learning, keep asking questions and keep reminding myself that what something looks like isn't always what it is.
And while I'm learning all this, I don't want to forget about my mental health. Because what's the point of trying to create wealth if the process leaves you feeling miserable every single day? I'm not suggesting we should ignore our investments or pretend that losing money doesn't matter. Of course it matters. Money represents time, effort, work and choices. But I don't believe we need to hand over our entire emotional well-being to something that moves up and down on a screen.
Sometimes the healthiest thing I can do is simply step away. Put the phone down. Close the chart. Finish my coffee while it's still warm. Go outside. Make something with my hands. Have a conversation that doesn't involve Bitcoin, Ethereum or somebody predicting the next financial revolution. That's part of why I created CellPhellow™, my handmade phone resting places made with materials that can include reclaimed fabrics. The idea is simple. Give your phone somewhere to rest so you can remember to take a little break yourself. Your phone doesn't need to accompany you into every thought, every conversation and every quiet moment of the day.
And believe me, after staring at crypto charts for a while, sometimes my phone needs a pillow and I need a nap.
But back to our faces. I want you to try something the next time you're looking at your investments. Before you start studying the chart, notice how you're feeling. Are you relaxed? Excited? Worried? Are you clenching your jaw? Are you holding your breath? Are you checking prices because you have a reason to, or because you've developed the habit of checking them every time you pick up your phone? Then take a moment and relax. Not because relaxing will change the market. It won't. But because your body doesn't need to behave as though every red candle is an emergency.
And please remember that facial expressions aren't reliable lie detectors. Just because somebody looks nervous doesn't mean they're dishonest, and just because somebody looks confident doesn't mean they're telling the truth. If you're trying to determine whether a crypto project is legitimate, research matters far more than somebody's facial expression. Look at the information, understand the risks and be cautious about promises that sound too good to be true. A beautiful smile and a confident sales pitch are not investment strategies.
And that's something I wish more people understood.
Because the crypto world is full of people who look like they know exactly what they're doing. Some genuinely do have knowledge and experience. Others are just exceptionally comfortable talking into a camera. And there's a difference. A very expensive difference if you're not careful.
So I'm going to keep learning. I'm going to keep studying. I'm going to keep asking questions, making observations and occasionally looking at my portfolio like it's a child who has just brought home a very disappointing report card. But I'm also going to keep reminding myself that I'm a human being before I'm an investor. My worth isn't determined by the price of Bitcoin. My intelligence isn't determined by whether every investment works out. And my entire day doesn't need to be ruined because something on a screen decided to turn red.
Self-love and self-care will get you there, but you've got to show the work. And sometimes that work is simply learning how to recognize your own reactions before they take over. Sometimes it's being patient with yourself while you learn something complicated. Sometimes it's admitting that you're scared, confused or frustrated instead of pretending you've got everything figured out. And sometimes it's learning to laugh at yourself because your face has once again told the entire household that the crypto market is misbehaving.
So here's my question for you, crypto family. Do you have resting crypto face? Does your family know whether Bitcoin is up or down just by looking at you? Have you ever caught yourself staring at a chart with an expression that could frighten small children? Or are you one of those calm investors who can watch the market fall without even raising an eyebrow? Because if you are, I'd genuinely love to know how you do it. I'm still working on that particular skill.
And remember, your face might tell people you're having a terrible day, but that doesn't mean your life is terrible. Your portfolio might have a bad day, but that doesn't mean you're a failure. And just because the market is emotional doesn't mean you have to join the performance.
Take care of you. Protect your peace. Keep learning. And for goodness' sake, give those eyebrows a break once in a while.
Don't crypto on your mental health.
— QueenB.Divine
If this conversation made you laugh, think or recognize yourself, come join me on The Self Love Daily Channel with QueenB.Divine, where we talk about life, investing, self-love, mental wellness and all the ridiculous little things we notice along the way. You can also explore CellPhellow.com for handmade phone resting places and digital self-care creations that encourage a little more balance between screen time and real life.
This article shares personal experiences and opinions, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency is volatile and carries a risk of financial loss.
