1. Two Cases Of Compulsive Stock Marketing
Ahmet Zihni Soyata,Lütfi İlhan Yargıç
Department Of Psychiatry, Istanbul University, Istanbul
INTRODUCTION
Nowadays there is a debate about behavioral addictions. Behaviors such as gambling, shopping, sexuality, internet and video game playing have hedonic properties and have the potential of compulsivity among individuals that have tendency for addiction. So far, these behaviors are considered “impulse control disorders not elsewhere classified” in the DSM-IV-TR (1). However, gambling disorder has been reconceptualized as a "behavioral addiction" in the DSM-5, based on emerging parallels with substance use disorders. Other behavioral addictions have been the focus of much research in recent years. We present here two cases of compulsive stock market investing. 
CASE DESCRIPTIONS
CASE1:33 year old married male. He is a portfolio manager in a bank and has been investing money randomly on the stock market for 8 years. The patient had a history of online betting and gambling between ages The patient had a great amount of credit debt and he even used the credit card of his wife. He spend very little time with his wife and children. He had no future plans in his life. The only activity that makes him excited is stock investing. We plan family counseling, cognitive therapy and drug therapy; however, he stopped continuing the therapy and follow-up after 3 sessions. CASE2:34 year old married male shopkeeper. The patient had compulsive stock market investing problem for 10 years. He defines the excitement of following changes on the stock market as “heroine” for himself. He was also diagnosed as having major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and schizoid personality disorder. He was preoccupied with stocks and had been investigating the companies throughout the day and the night. However, he had also been investing according to his magical thoughts. He had sold 2 flats to pay his debts. He was divorced because of this problem. He had been initiated pharmacological treatment and supportive therapy.
DISCUSSION
Compulsive stock market investing may be a new type of behavioral addictions. It has also been suggested as a subset of the gambling disorder. Diagnostic criteria of gambling disorder have been found to be applicable in excessive trading on the stock market(2). It is one of the most socially acceptable forms of risk taking(3) and may cause severe economical and psychosocial problems. Moreover, it is easier nowadays to invest on the stock market via Internet. Compulsive stock market investors have been found to be similar with pathological gamblers in psychometrical measures(3). There is a need for neurobiological and psychometrical research, development and validation of specific assessment tools, prevention and treatment strategies. .
References
1. Leeman RF, Potenza MN. A targeted review of the neurobiology and genetics of behavioural addictions: an emerging area of research. Can J Psychiatry May;58(5): Grall-Bronnec M, Sauvaget A, Boutin C et al. Excessive trading, a gambling disorder in its own right? A case study on a French disordered gamblers cohort. Addict Behav Dec 12. pii: S (15) Granero R, Tárrega S, Fernández-Aranda F et al. Gambling on the stock market: an unexplored issue. Compr Pschiatry Aug;53(6):