Traders with mental problems

from a brief google search,compulsive habits stem from unresolved anxiety in belief in one's ability to cope,thus a coping mechanism,be it gambling,drugs,alchohol,sex,work..a child's doll or blanket..these are issues everyone either works thru or stalls at some point and trades in the progress and work for a stopover at ones favorite security blanket,for most these are brief stints,for some longer..sugar is the no.1 addiction in the US,then distilled sugar..this is from a book in 1990
 
Quote from emg:

Those that are suffering compulsive gambling, should seek help:
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I have a minor in psych, and long before I had a brain injury I did group and private therapy...
but I always liked wellness therapy. How to make your life max better, not how to wallow in the bike you didn't get at age 5, or whatever.

There is some benefit in looking at that stuff, but not lingering there.

But addiction...
The basic approach to that is black and white thinking. You have to avoid even starting down the path to whatever you addiction might be. Black and white... stay 100% out... or anyone who knows you can see you are headed back to your addiction hours or even days before you think so, with the first little step in that direction.

BUT if you aren't addictive in you psychology, black and white thinking can ruin your creativity and potential... and common sense. What saves the addict limits the non-addict, and is a classic error in thinking.

The tendency of the addict is to learn what works for them, and project it out to everyone else. They tend to believe everyone has some addiction. [nobody does, or everybody does, black and white]

Freedom for one person is a prison for another, from either side of this issue.
Know yourself, and to your own self be true.
Sure, get help if you need it. Don't worry if you don't need it. If you are not sure if you need help, go ask a professional.

But don't go to an addiction counselor, many of them were addicts and believe that by simply showing up it proves you are an addict. Weird mindset. A good counselor will refer you to them if it fits.

And a successful new trading year to us all!
 
Wow -- this was really insightful. Glad you got through that period. I have come across others who have no awareness that their OCD is preventing them from making any progress -- they keep going round and round in circles and unwilling to consider that they might be on the wrong track -- or not even on a track at all. Thanks for sharing!

Handle123 said:
My problems with OCD had to do with backtesting 3-4 times of same parameters as if some elf might change them in middle of the night. I didn't abuse indicators as I knew after awhile that anything that went on the chart had to be backtested before being traded. To a degree, the OCD helped me to be ultra careful, but when I added futures to what I was doing in stocks, the leverage bought out all the worst in OCD, all the work I had done to minimize the OCD flew out the window, back to the beginning I went, took some years to work out these problems to where I am today, and occassionally I will have slight feelings of doing something a few times, but I force myself not.

You can watch other people and learn what "normal" is, then become an actor and do what they do until the brain gets use to doing the same patterns, then the real you melts into who you become.
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I should have clarified -- OCPD may be the issue with some traders (which is different than OCD). From the Merck Manual on OCPD:

"In patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, preoccupation with order, perfectionism, and control of themselves and situations interferes with flexibility, effectiveness, and openness. Rigid and stubborn in their activities, these patients insist that everything be done in specific ways.

To maintain a sense of control, patients focus on rules, minute details, procedures, schedules, and lists. As a result, the main point of a project or activity is lost. These patients repeatedly check for mistakes and pay extraordinary attention to detail. They do not make good use of their time, often leaving the most important tasks until the end. Their preoccupation with the details and making sure everything is perfect can endlessly delay completion."

So if OCPD is impacting you as a trader, you have lost the main point of making money.



formikatrading said:
Wow -- this was really insightful. Glad you got through that period. I have come across others who have no awareness that their OCD is preventing them from making any progress -- they keep going round and round in circles and unwilling to consider that they might be on the wrong track -- or not even on a track at all. Thanks for sharing!
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