Handling Financial Stress- Covid 19 losses and Suicides
I write todays article as I was genuinely shocked to read the news of a 35 year old software engineer committing suicide allegedly due to huge losses in stock market. Its easy to call this a stupid decision.
Most readers will not even be sympathetic to this decision and refer to such an individual as weak or to great extremes a loser. But what is essential to treat depression as a disease, same as you would treat Covid 19 or Cancer. No sane man would take such an extreme step unless he looses all his logical faculties. Whats the difference between a farmer committing suicide and a techie doing the same? In my opinion, absolutely nothing.
Are these deaths not preventable? Can we not have mental health professionals working for top stock broking firms where clients are consulted suo moto if there are huge losses in their portfolios? Can there be no mechanism to soothe a troubled mind when his life savings are wiped out for no fault of his?
In my experience I believe there is lack of empathy when it comes to people handling financial losses. There is something about money that turns us into unapolegetic monsters. Where someone loosing lakhs in share market is looked at with the googles of a gambler and society denounces him to solitary confinement to resolve dealing with his losses on his own.
I believe there is a need to teach stock brokers and finance professionals to not only advice clients how to invest but also how to deal with them when their minds are disrupted by losses.
I do not preach that the losses be made good by the richer counterpart, I only demand a mechanism which trains people to handle losses. In my limited experience , I would like to propose the below steps to my readers if they are going through similar stress or know someone who is going through such tough times:
1) Seek Professional Help: I know this sounds like an obvious advice but most of us face stigma and are closed in our shells when it comes to seeking professional help. The first professional I would recommend is to seek a mental health professional. Yes, they may not rectify your portfolio but they will teach you how to handle this stress in a healthy way. I recommend the Chartered accountants, stock brokers and investment bankers to make a point to let their client know that such help is a part of their service.
2) Ask a Finance Expert to re-evaluate:- A finance professional can re-evaluate your portfolio and recalibrate your goals and expectations. Todays loss will not persists and tomorrows profits are not lost unless you resign to your situation. Re-evaluation of your portfolio will lead to you better understanding where do you stand and where would you reach in best case scenario and worst case scenario
3) Learn about tools to profit from losses:- Did you know that irrespective of your present portfolio value, bankers will evaluate the shares and provide you share-backed loans based on their analysis of your portfolio. If you are in need of liquidity , there are umpteen ways to not book losses and yet get the money you desire.
4) Speak about this with your family and friends:- Know that you do not have to suffer in silence. Discuss your losses with your family and friends. Let them share this burden with you. When discussing with friends you may realise that everyone is on the same boat and how each one is using a different coping mechnism towards such losses.
These are tough times. No living financial professional has lived through these times ever before in human history. It's now that we need to tap the greatest source of strengh of all humans- the instinct of survival. We need to understand that a brighter future awaits you and you need to bare through these times to enjoy the profits that await you in future. I hope this article helps the one who need to hear this the most. I would love to help personally if anyone reading this needs help in managing his/her portfolio losses and I can be reached at saransh.s.dey@gmail.com
Wishing you all the strenght you deserve.
article by-
Saransh Dey
Hi Saransh
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that people are never taught how to handle stress of any kind in life. We keep hearing adults from our childhood that 'You are a child now, you will know once you grow up'. Why can't we start learning at a very young age where we can how to deal with these situations.
Also I feel, our academic system is only creating machines to earn money. They are not teaching how to have a life and how to handle different scenarios of life.
And I feel its not only stock market. Anytime a person lose money, there will be a group of people who will call him/her a dumb person.
This needs to change.
Absolutely agreed. I think we as a society need to understand that financial loss is as big as emotional loss for people and it should be treated with empathy. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
Delete