Last night I dreamed I missed my train. Which is funny, because every market downturn I’ve ever lived through feels exactly like that: the doors slide shut, the car lurches forward, and suddenly you’re stuck on the platform holding a bag of cold pizza.
Freud would have a field day with markets. He argued that beneath our rational minds lies the unconscious — all desire, dread, and repression. And isn’t that precisely what markets are? A collective unconscious, bubbling with fear and greed, repressed until it bursts into Riskquakes?
The Id: Pure Impulse
Meme stocks. Shiba Inu coins. That moment when you FOMO into an IPO because Twitter said it was “once in a lifetime.” That’s the Id talking. Unfiltered. Emotional. The financial toddler throwing Legos across the room.
The Superego: Rules and Restraint
On the other end, you’ve got regulation, compliance, risk managers — the superego in its best pinstripe suit. It whispers “diversify” while the Id screams “YOLO.” It drafts thick PDFs with words like “prudential oversight” while Discord pumps Dogecoin.
The Ego: Market Reality
The Ego negotiates between them. That’s you, staring at your brokerage app. You want to chase Rocket Whispers — those subtle signals of big moves coming. But you also don’t want your Shadow Portfolio (those hidden exposures you didn’t even know you had) to blow up in your face.
So you compromise: a little crypto, a little ETF. A nod to your Id, a bow to your Superego.
Why This Matters
Most investors pretend they’re Spock, governed by pure logic. But in truth? They’re Freud’s patients, lying on the couch, confessing half-truths while the real motives lurk unseen.
- 2008? Subconscious faith in housing prices never falling.
- Dot-com bubble? Repressed skepticism drowned by Narrative Gravity.
- Crypto winters? Collective Ids chasing Moonstakes until the Superego (regulators, liquidity limits) steps in.
A Trick for Investors: Psychoanalysis Your Portfolio
When in doubt, don’t just look at your holdings. Ask:
- Which positions reflect my Id? (Impulse buys, hype trades, assets I can’t even explain at dinner.)
- Which reflect my Superego? (Index funds, treasuries, “safe” bets my parents would nod at.)
- And where’s my Ego balancing act?
Suddenly, the unconscious becomes conscious. You see your biases in black and white. And that’s when you regain control.
Closing Reflection
Maybe markets aren’t rational machines after all. Maybe they’re dreamscapes, full of Freud’s archetypes battling under the surface.
So next time the train doors slam, don’t panic. Ask yourself: was it really the train you missed? Or just your Id, running wild, while your Ego tried to keep up?
🔗 Related reads:
Leave a Reply