When a risky bet pays off, your brain floods with dopamine and serotonin. To feel that high again, you need bigger wins, so you double down on riskier bets. Eventually you're gambling with money you can't afford to lose, chasing a feeling that keeps moving.
Now let's talk about risk addiction. So what happens neuroscientifically when we're taking on risks? Well, if we take a risk and it pays off, it releases dopamine and serotonin, and that feels really, really good. But the problem with risk is that to get the same level of feeling, the next time you have to take an even bigger risk. So if I invested $10,000 and I get a payout, now I have to invest $20,000 and get a payout just to feel the same thing. And that starts to compound, right? And so now I'm taking an outsized level risk relative to my net worth just because I'm addicted to the feeling of what it feels like to win. Right? That's a really, really high form of self-sabotage.
