Over the last few years, I've been looking at various ways to eliminate certain unpleasant feelings that I have. I've tried meditation and mindfulness practice. I've looked at buddhism, rational and cognitive therapy, NDE, coping mechanisms of late stage cancer patients, various ways of getting rid of addictions and ways of dealing with stress and achieving happiness as prescribed by various psychologists and researchers. So it's been like: "Tell me what to do and what techniques to use and I will do it." A few years ago, I quit smoking permanently in a single day, without the use of any drugs, therapy etc apart from the thought of just wanting to. I started to look at ways of achieving spontaneous permanent change and found that there were such examples. Finally I found Sydney Banks three principles.
At work or in the gym things are more rigid, follow certain logic and are based on rules. You are in your comfort zone. Your brain has been wired in a certain way and into a certain state over many many years. For example, supressing emotions is a requirement in trading. Unfortunately, being really good at that can have adverse effects in your personal life. And that's just one of the rabbit holes Once you step out, things become random and stress you out as you lose control. The older you get the worse it will become. My guess is your work/outside life is unbalanced time or focus wise. When was the last time you took a 2 week vacation where you had 0 positions to check on over the phone or work related texts or emails to even read much less respond to?
"Regular adult life" So a professional trader, in a major city , needing to be and have all that you should have , should be and should do isnt stressful? That stuff accumulates. Envision renting a studio(tiny houses are chic) within walking/biking distance , with a partner, pet , with a book shelf and the time to use it. Reality test triggers, survey your environment, prepare, stay safe and comfortable.
There`s something that you wanna do, BUT CAN`T/UNABLE TO, and there`s something that you don`t wanna do but HAVE TO. That simple formulae is the cause for any inner issues.Excess of alcohol might be involved as well.
It seems the OP wants a magical solution, no supplements, no meds, no change in habits, etc. Like being long a straddle that earns theta. A unicorn that lays golden eggs. If I find one, I'll try to post a photo.
If you are willing to try low risk experiments, try with vitamin B12, 5000 mcg daily doses for 30 days, then 1 month off and see how you feel. It's low risk and excess is eliminated naturally. Many stressed out, anxious acquaintances swear by it. Good luck.
You're working a non-standard (Asian market hours) day, aren't you? Suffering similar symptoms in discrete periods over a few decades, eventually Lexapro did the trick for me. I was strongly anti-long term meds but sometimes you just have to accept.