"A Friend Saying 'I Actually Made 200 Million Won with SK hynix' Feels Like Four Weeks' Worth of Pain?"

Increase in Patients Reporting Stock Losses and Depression
"Anxiety Grows the More You Compare Yourself to Others"

With the domestic stock market recently undergoing a sharp correction, Park Jongseok, a psychiatrist specializing in stock market addiction, said, "The number of new patients coming in due to stock-related issues has increased recently."

On July 14, appearing on YTN Radio, Dr. Park said, "Among new patients, there are so many who talk about stock addiction, stock losses, or depression stemming from the stock market."

Dr. Park revealed that during 2017-2018, he engaged in what is referred to as 'all-in investments,' putting his entire fortune into the market and ended up with a loss of approximately 320 million won. He explained that this loss resulted from being driven by FOMO (fear of missing out) and greed, and investing in KOSDAQ-listed stocks, pharmaceutical and biotech shares, and political theme stocks, rather than blue-chip stocks, all without any particular preparation or investment principles.

He said, "Because of that, I experienced severe depression and went from hospital to hospital for counseling, but there was no one in psychiatry who knew about stock addiction or stock market depression." He continued, "And even now, these are not recognized as official diagnoses. Eventually, I created my own criteria for self-diagnosing stock addiction, treatment guidelines, and a self-treatment program, and as a result, was able to develop relevant expertise."

On the 14th, after extreme volatility with KOSPI fluctuating up and down, it ended with a slight rise. An employee is working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

"FOMO: Pain in the Brain Equivalent to Four Weeks of Injury"

Dr. Park mentioned the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as the area of the brain that experiences FOMO (fear of missing out) syndrome, saying, "When you hear that someone 'made 200 million won by selling SK hynix shares,' your brain processes pain in a way similar to being stabbed with a weapon or burned." He added, "The intensity of that pain is equivalent to an injury that requires four weeks of recovery."

Dr. Park emphasized that, to break free from investment addiction, it is important not to focus solely on material rewards such as profits, but to also embrace an attitude of seeking small joys in daily life. He advised, "The first step to escaping excessive investment addiction is to distance yourself from your smartphone by not looking at stock charts and deleting investment apps."

He also stated, "In the end, the best blue-chip stock is yourself," and advised, "You should invest more time and energy in developing your own growth and capabilities rather than in stock market profits."

On July 14, employees are monitoring the stock market and exchange rates at the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. As of 9:05 a.m. that day, the KOSPI was trading at 6,669.64, down 137.29 points (2.02%) from the previous trading day. Following a sharp decline of 8.95% the previous day, closing at 6,806.93, the downward trend continued on this day as well. July 14, 2026 Photo by Yongjun Cho

"You Must First Understand Your Own Investment Tendencies"

He also stressed the need to avoid comparing yourself to others' investment returns. Dr. Park said, "If a friend tells me, 'I made 200 million won from SK hynix this time and moved to a better apartment in a premium neighborhood,' I would feel like losing my mind." He continued, "However, you must not tie this to your self-esteem. If you become obsessed with a sense of inferiority and anxiety that you need to catch up quickly, your amygdala gets stimulated and the stress hormone cortisol is released, which can lead to insomnia or indigestion."

Dr. Park addressed investors who are increasingly anxious due to the recent high volatility in the domestic stock market, saying, "Rather than getting swayed by which stocks to buy or the abundance of investment information out there, you must first look at what type of investor you are." He added, "It is important to carefully examine whether you can entrust your investment funds without looking at them for a year, and only then decide whether or not to invest."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.