So rich, but he fears losing everything via AsiaOne

[g8crasher]

So rich, but he fears losing everything

He lives in a posh Katong Bungalow and drives an expensive BMW, but can't fully enjoy his wealth.

Instead, the 45-year-old unnamed trader spends his days in fear, worried that he will lose everything.

It has gotten so bad that he lost 5kg of his body weight, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

The trader's fears surfaced when his business fell by 10 per cent during the economic crisis last year.

Then, he was also asked by his landlord to vacate the office space that he rented.

He started worrying about the success of his business. If it collapsed, he would not be able to pay for his three childrens' education nor support his wife and elderly parents.

He was also afraid that a business failure would cost the 60 employees under him to lose their jobs.

The worries compounded over time. Besides insomnia, he suffered from a gradual loss of appetite and became a gaunt shadow of his former self.

He developed a fear of crowded places and started locking himself up at home. He refused to go out, even to the office.

Concerned about her husband, the trader's wife brought him to a psychiatrist, where she found out that he had peniaphobia - a fear of poverty.

His psychiatrist, Dr Hong Yong Yuan said that the trader was lucky because his wife had the personality of an optimist. She would constantly encourage her husband and help him handle business matters.

Peniaphobia does not happen to only rich people, said Dr Hong.

Dr Hong said: "In the trader's case, although he didn't suffer from any major losses, he developed peniaphobia because he is constantly pessimistic and worried about everything."

He pointed out to the Chinese daily that the number of peniaphobia cases in Singapore had doubled since September last year.

The new patients are usually white-collared workers who generally have pessimistic tendencies, he said.

[g8crasher]

The irony.