Mental health and playing the stock market: losses are linked to higher antidepressant use

In 10 seconds? Researchers have found an association between the increase in antidepressant use and psychotherapy procedures and declines in stock returns  – but no evidence of a direct link.

What’s the point of studying the market from a psychological point of view? Ups and downs in stock prices are a constant in the stock market. In the last three years, we have seen remarkable fluctuations in stock prices: a temporal, pandemic-related collapse of the markets in March 2020; a steady increase in popular indexes such as the MSCI World or the S&P 500 until early 2022, and a following downward spiral. Covid-19 was also accompanied by an increase in the number of people who invested and traded in stocks and cryptocurrencies from home. The greater availability of investing calls, therefore, for greater scrutiny on how market prices affect the mental health of investors.