I believe I have caught myself in a loss-chasing cycle. It's gotten to a point where I am now using my overdrafts and my final cryptocurrency investments to try and recoup any losses I have previously made.
The lower my funds get, the riskier my trades get, and the higher the leverage used. In total, I have lost just under £10,000. This is becoming more and more depressing as time goes on.
How do I safely recover my losses, preferably over a short period of time?
Stop what you're doing right now. Seriously. This kind of mindset will only result in you continually blowing up accounts and flushing all your money down the drain. It's the same way gambling addicts double down until they lose their shirt.
The first thing you need to acknowledge is that
trading is a grind. It is very difficult and most people are not cut out for it. It takes very hard work and extreme amounts of patience. That's essentially what markets are: impatient and emotional traders giving their money away to patient and well-capitalized traders. And this is why retail traders are always getting fleeced by institutions. It's just the way of the world.
What exactly is your trading system? Have you done any sort of back testing, anything that would suggest you are capable of beating the market? How do you manage risk and preserve trading capital?
I don't mean to be a dick but it sounds like you have a long road of learning, hard work, and most of all steadfast risk management ahead of you before you have a chance at recouping those losses.
The most important thing right now is to stop the bleeding. Stop trading. Start learning.