Controlling mood swings (P&L induced)

Quote from 1st_samurai:

Trade smaller. Mood swings correlate with % of equity fluctuation.
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Well that's the way it should be but that's not what I'm finding. I'm trading with a VERY small account already and only trading 1 emini.

Conciously I can deal with everything but I believe there must be some faulty programming in my subconscious that keeps creeping out once I'm in the market.
 
Quote from Prince Philip:

As for the hypnosis - definatley an excellent way to go, but you have to be open to that sort of thing -
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I would definitely be open to hypnosis. But how do you find someone who really knows what they are doing?

I'm 95% certain that all my "problems" are caused by faulty programming in my subconcious mind.
 
Quote from futures_shark:

I'm sure all traders are happier with profits than losses, but I belive my mood swings are excessive to the point of causing irrational decisions at times. I'm would like to remove emotions from the equation completely.

Anyone have any success with meds such as zoloft, paxil, etc? I was thinking of givng them a try for a month to see if my trading results improve.
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If individual wins or losses bother you, you're trading to big!

Reduce size until you don't care about any individual outcome. Repeat for months. Then increase size.

It took me years before I learned not to get upset/delighted with every trade.
 
...one of the fundamental principles of NLP is "What can you do with a problem like that?". Meaning learn to make the negative elements in your character work for you. May as well, since the likelihood of changing them is slight.

IMO intraday trading is as therapeutic an activity as there is. I recommend that you keep track of what you are feeling and saying to yourself as you experience mood swings in trading ("You dumb f**k!" "What a genius!"). In as little as a few days you will have an accurate self-assessment of your character better than any shrink could give you in a year. Then you can begin to see why you are out of phase with the market, which is why we lose. Otherwise, we'd win, yes?

As a personal example, I am a sadist, and I just love the feeling of repeatedly whacking NQ in a decline, getting my jollies thinking about all the mutual fund holders in stark terror because they can't get out until 4:00.

Also, IMO your trading account is too small. If you can make it $25K, but keep trading small, then no one trade makes a shit.
 
Quote from futures_shark:

I don't have the p&L on screen in real time but I have developed a bad habit of checking after every trade. This I can stop, and I will try that this week.

I have read "trading in the zone". I know WHAT I need to do and HOW I need to think but I am having trouble with the implementation.

I first started trading in '94 and I blew out in '97. I think this left a permanent scar on my psyche. I continued to study the market and even worked at the AMEX for 2 years. I just got back in the game last month. April started out good, within 10 days I was up $1k and I'm only trading with a small $5k test account. BUT the rest of the month I kept making mistakes that caused a slow bleed of capital until I ended up -$350 for the month.

I don;t relish the idea of taking ANY meds but I was thinking it might help me get started faster than working on the issues otherwise.
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5K "test" account is THE problem.. imho

testing for what... ? if you can avoid losing? Or can win enough to justify the risk and angst in trading small?!!

IcE
:cool:
 
I combine profit protection with emotional control.
After having a profitable trade on a large share size, I will reduce the share size of any future trades so if I take a loss, the emotional and financial impact won't be as great.
I also stop trading after 2 consecutive losses, if I already have a profit on the day or if it is getting late in the morning session.
Hope this helps.
 
I had a mentor who drilled into me that following the system was the greatest reward. It takes years of conditioning(real trading) to become detached from the results...well at least for me.

Michael B.
 
Quote from hypostomus:


IMO intraday trading is as therapeutic an activity as there is.

Also, IMO your trading account is too small. If you can make it $25K, but keep trading small, then no one trade makes a shit.
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a $25k account was my original plan, and I have been thinking about increasing the size of the account but still trading one-lots until I see some consistency.

Intraday margin @ IB is only $2k for a one lot so that played into my reasoning for the "mini" account size.

I agree wholeheartedly in your assessment of intraday trading as being therapeutic. The human mind works in strange ways.

Thanks for the input
 
...exactly. It's hard to bleed a $25K account to death with $40-50 losses. The low risk helps you to be dispassionate about the position and observe what in market action causes you to be out of synch, reacting rather than anticipating, exiting when you should be entering or reinforcing a position. Plus, you can scale in comfortably when you're in a winning position.

You trading stocks or futures?
 
I'm trading futures. I believe another part of my problem in april was trying to watch too many markets. I was trying to keep an eye on ES, NQ, ZB, EUR, ESTX, & the bund.

I just analyzed my monthly statement last night. The majority of my trades were in ES and I was profitable in these trades (+$550 after commisions for the month) However on two separate days I took large losses (greater than $500), one in EuroFX and one in ZB.

Also there were at least 5 trades that I can say with all honesty should have been a minimum of +$100 but instead were +/- one tick because I allowed my emotions to take me out of the trades.

This month I'm going to focus on only the ES intraday. One step at a time.
 
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