Coping with Depression following a major drawdown.

L

LordMelbury

Hi All

I am 51 and been trading for 7 years full time, i have gone from around $1 million to over $2 million net assets but in just the last 12 weeks i have unbelievably and stupidly lost 600k, 300k thru trading and 300k thru a bad property deal.

I was diagnosed with Kidney cancer 6 months ago, which thankfully i caught fairly early, but its been stressful, i have a 16 month baby and one on the way.

I mention the above because i think maybe i was pushing it to hard and trying to go for the home run in case i didn't make it.( which i`m confident i will now)

I had my blackest day yesterday when i realised that i was 200k worse off then i thought thru a stupid mis calculation of my assets (what a jerk i am).

The feeling of guilt towards my family is immense, and i have been quite distraught and emotional, has anyone had a similar major drawback and come back again ?

( Suffice it to say, i stopped trading yesterday and intend to give it a rest for at least a few days )
 
yes, of course ! not as large of #'s ,but yes. dont worry about it . relax and put most of your money in 3-month t-bills . start off trading smaller and dont go for home runs. i have that problem.

good luck,
bgp

p.s. eat plenty of raw veg. and fruit . no pop , drink green tea. {all organic}
 
Quote from LordMelbury:

Hi All
..( Suffice it to say, i stopped trading yesterday and intend to give it a rest for at least a few days )
More...

how about a year after all you still have 1 mil left, right?
 
I would definitely take a little break. The last thing you want to do is to trade with the mindset you're currently in. You would probably trade more aggressively to try to make back your losses and just dig yourself into a bigger hole.

You need to also realize that even the great traders eventually go through large drawdowns at some point in their career. What I find therapeutic is to read some inspirational trading books like "Market Wizards" and "Pit Bull" among others...it's a great comfort to know that some of the greatest traders in the world go through really bad trading periods...but through discipline and perserverence...they always come back stronger than before.

And If you're married...I would also be completely open with your wife....you would be amazed how understanding someone that loves you can be....and getting this off your chest should relieve some of that stress. Going through what you've been through lately with cancer...I would think that your family values your health much more than any monetary losses you may have incurred.

And 1 million plus is plenty of trading money to work with. When you come back...just trade smaller until you get your mojo back.

Good luck.
 
Quote from LordMelbury:

Hi All

I am 51 and been trading for 7 years full time, i have gone from around $1 million to over $2 million net assets but in just the last 12 weeks i have unbelievably and stupidly lost 600k, 300k thru trading and 300k thru a bad property deal.

I was diagnosed with Kidney cancer 6 months ago, which thankfully i caught fairly early, but its been stressful, i have a 16 month baby and one on the way.

I mention the above because i think maybe i was pushing it to hard and trying to go for the home run in case i didn't make it.( which i`m confident i will now)

I had my blackest day yesterday when i realised that i was 200k worse off then i thought thru a stupid mis calculation of my assets (what a jerk i am).

The feeling of guilt towards my family is immense, and i have been quite distraught and emotional, has anyone had a similar major drawback and come back again ?

( Suffice it to say, i stopped trading yesterday and intend to give it a rest for at least a few days )
More...

Sorry to hear all this, but there are many positives-you are more optimistic about your health now, have young children, and still have a significant amount $$ left.

Maybe it's a good chance to step back for a month, focus on eating well-as poster above mentioned, exercising, thinking well and limiting stress, and giving with your time/effort to others-your family, your community.

As far as the trading? You can recover-but not straight away. Best to forget about this as much as possible, and focus on starting afresh with small goals, trade the market not trade to recover your loss.

Hope it all works out! (Make sure it does)
 
stay positive first. you still have a million left,thats damn good.
the fact that you did go from a mil to 2 mil shows that you can do it again.
you might want to stop trading for a while.the stress from trading cant be helping your health
can you exercise? thats the best stree relief possible.uncloggs the brain and see everything differnt.no booze and junk food
good luck
 
Quote from LordMelbury:

Hi All

I am 51 and been trading for 7 years full time, i have gone from around $1 million to over $2 million net assets but in just the last 12 weeks i have unbelievably and stupidly lost 600k, 300k thru trading and 300k thru a bad property deal.

I was diagnosed with Kidney cancer 6 months ago, which thankfully i caught fairly early, but its been stressful, i have a 16 month baby and one on the way.

I mention the above because i think maybe i was pushing it to hard and trying to go for the home run in case i didn't make it.( which i`m confident i will now)

I had my blackest day yesterday when i realised that i was 200k worse off then i thought thru a stupid mis calculation of my assets (what a jerk i am).

The feeling of guilt towards my family is immense, and i have been quite distraught and emotional, has anyone had a similar major drawback and come back again ?

( Suffice it to say, i stopped trading yesterday and intend to give it a rest for at least a few days )
More...

Ignoring the property deal for now, 300K is just 15%, cut your trading size in half or a quarter until you make the 300K back.
 
Quote from nkhoi:
how about a year after all you still have 1 mil left, right?
More...
By my calculations, it's $1.4mm. The difference is more than my entire capitalization. If I had $1.4mm, I would retire (especially if I had cancer).
 
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