I've been where you are. I've felt that sick pit in your stomach, that desperate wish to rewind time. I've lost it all before, and I know exactly how dark this moment feels.
Here's what I need you to hear: You are not your account balance.
Right now, your mind keeps replaying what happened, but that's just our primal wiring trying to protect us. You don't have to keep torturing yourself with it. In Buddhism, they say the first arrow hurts—but we don't need to shoot ourselves with the second, third, and fourth arrows. You can choose to stop reliving the pain.
What truly matters can't be taken away. Your health, the people who love you, your ability to learn and rebuild—none of that is gone. You still hold the most valuable thing: agency over your future.
I know that sounds hollow now, but I promise—you will get through this. Every terrible thing you've survived in life also felt permanent at the time. You made it through those, and you'll make it through this too.
What to do right now:
Get off the screens. Stop looking at charts, scrolling social media, or reading about what happened. Go outside. Feel the sun. Move your body. Call someone you trust. The world keeps turning, and you're still here.
Forgive yourself. Everyone chasing those insane gains you saw others post thought they were making smart moves. The loudest braggers often lose quietly. You weren't stupid—you were human.
Learn this lesson once. If there's any gift in this pain, it's understanding: leverage kills, diversification matters, and you only need to get rich once. Never let yourself be here again.
If you weren't caught in this, consider yourself lucky and learn from observing. Check your exposure. Question your overconfidence. The market will eventually surprise everyone.
The truth about rebuilding:
If you've built something once, you can build it again. The skills, the experience, the resilience—that's still yours. Your net worth may have crashed, but your self-worth did not.
Take this weekend to breathe. To rest. To remember that life is bigger than any trade. You have so much time ahead.
You still have agency. You still have tomorrow. That's everything.
Be safe, take care of yourself, and know—you will be okay.