war ,burying your child and divorce are top 3 for stress,takes time to readjust, if you haven't already, end the pity party,..good mantra ..i'm so sick of depression i'll never tatse it again
Trading is one of the most mentally challenging jobs out there. You need to be in a good frame of mind to be successful. Personally, I find my trading suffers whenever I get upset or i'm not in a good mood. You should seriously consider scaling back your trading until you get your personal issues resolved.
Yes, it does age your body considerably. Really there is no way to prevent the insane stress. To be a successful full time trader, you probably need to sit in front of the computer for at least 8 or 9 hours a day. I probably do more like 11 hours a day during the trading week in front of the computer. That alone is really bad on your body. And the effect of doing nothing but watching stock quotes for 15 years now has had adverse effects on my mind. My attention span is close to zero and have trouble following a conversation lasting more than 10 seconds. But i guess its all worth it if you can be one of the winners that made it like me. Unless you are one of the few that end up making big bucks, its a disasterous career for those that fail and undoubtedly full of regret. I am so lucky to have made it.
Driving is more stressful than trading, always having to anticipate the worst behaviour of cretins who cut blind corners. Trying to avoid animals too - I ran over a rabbit yesterday, the poor thing moved as I tried to steer around it. But when trading doesn't work - why worry unless you're dumb enough to risk too much. A glass of wine is relaxing, and a read of these amusing forums reveals just how stupid 99% of others are.
Docs don't treat causes, they perscribe someting to combat symptoms. At best, he'll get some anti-anxiety meds of whichever brand took the doc out to golf last.
My goal is to be hugely successful with trading (and/or another endeavor) in order to achieve the freedom associated with financial independence. Then, I will be able to pursue other interests. Some people are in it just for the money, just so they can have more money. I cannot relate to this mentality. Sacrificing health to achieve financial independence makes almost zero sense to me, as our health is, in my view, a top priority. Yet, as I now trade again in earnest (still at retail piker level, not emg's $500,000.00 minimum to trade futures level) I do question whether the stress is worth it, particularly since I have other skills that are quite lucrative. To me, if I cannot achieve huge outsized returns in the next 18 months, much more so than I would make doing freelance/consulting, then trading might not be worth it. But, I realize that it's far more realistic and safe to expect low returns, and without millions in capital, this won't produce much -- certainly less than at the 'J' word. Yes, I know some traders claim to (or can) achieve huge 2000%+ annual returns on a tiny futures account, but that seems like a difficult goal, for me. Does this make me a shitty trader? In comparison to that level of return, perhaps. The truth is that, for me, protecting what capital I do have, that I worked my ass off to obtain, is the most important thing.. even if that means being a bit patient on achieving my goals. And, this is in conflict with the need to 'get it over with' (i.e. get rich quick.. or bust) before the health is significantly impacted... but it shouldn't be if I were more comfortable with trading, overall. I think this is psychologically what enables people to hold big overleveraged losing trades. Better to bust out and relieve yourself of that stress.. sleep deprivation etc. all probably call upon some subconscious decision-making process that does *anything* needed to escape the pain of obsessive trading. Due to this, one aim is to explore how to enable low-stress trading. My discretionary method doesn't require staring at charts 60 hours a week, but I find myself doing so. Why? I'm like the guy in One Crazy Summer (don't know why I keep referencing that movie) that sat by the phone 24/7 all summer long to win the radio station's $1,000,000.00 prize... Maybe that's the problem, I'm so hell-bent on finding that trade that gives a 1:100+ risk/reward that I become obsessed.
There has to be more to life then trading and trying to find the perfect setup in a chart.... Over time this trading stuff has taken over my life and it might just kill me it I don't watch it.. I don't have any friends and now I don't even have a wife So, ask your self is it worth it to put it all on the line even your life? Trading is a trap I'm starting to see... at first it looks great trading at home then go play Golf.. But now after a few years I've got fat and lazy and don't do much of anything... and been out of a day to day Job So, even if I quit trading what will I do who will hire a guy who's been out of work for 5 years? Trading and fast money is all I know...I can't quit it's to late..
if you're stressed out and anxious then you aren't trading right at many levels.. good trading has to be effortless and detachment from money is critical. Can you imagine a heart surgeon saying that surgery is so stressful given its a life or death for the patient?