The beautiful and serene highlands of Blyth Bridge are located just 25 miles from Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. They are home to Castle Craig, an 18th-century castle. This is the first rehab clinic in the world that treats cryptocurrency addiction.
According to the website of the clinic, “Castle Craig Hospital offers treatment for people addicted trading, spread betting and trading cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum.”
The hospital has experienced a significant increase in inquiries about its cryptocurrency rehab program due to the growing interest in cryptocurrency trading. Antony Marini, founder of the hospital, said that the number of inquiries “shooting up by a factor 10 since last year”. He is also a recovering drug addict.
Marini claims to have been the first to identify the connection between crypto trading, gambling. He feels that this addiction journey progresses to long episodes, losses, desperation, and finally, to illegal acts and suicide.
According to the clinic website, “Some symptoms that cryptocurrency users should be aware of (suggesting an addictive behavior) include muscle tension and anxiety, constant checking prices online (even at night), and thinking about trading cryptocurrency when doing other activities.”
Treatment Program
A second trend was discovered by his treatment program, which benefited 15 clients, especially for crypto addiction, in 2017. This is because this, and other behavioral obsessions stem from larger causes of severe drug or alcohol dependence.
Marini supports the use of the 12-step program to treat different types of addictions. This is similar to the treatment Marini uses for his cryptocurrency trading addiction.
Marini explains that “Crypto Trading differs from gambling (and stock-trading) by various characteristics, including its availability 24×7, its volatility and the large volume of social media that easily reinforces addicts’ out-of-control tendencies”.
Consume Moderate
They are allowed to consume moderate amounts of nicotine and caffeine when it comes drugs. Even their phone usage is limited to 2 hours per week.
Marini observed commonalities among the clients of his 6-month rehabilitation program. It is funded by the British National Health Services and includes countries such as the UK, US, Malta, Ireland and the Netherlands.