Is depression chemical?.... is perception mental? Is their an escape mechanism being suggested in the posts so far?
The smarter you are the worse the world looks? Maybe just having any level of intelligence but being over informed of the world's problems may be the key. ignorant=unaware,uniformed bliss=complete happiness ignorance is bliss Sounds like to achieve a blissful state, ignore the world around you. Ignore all the bad news and problems of the world. Unless you are actively involved at solving a world problem, what's the point of making yourself unhappy with excessive knowledge of how bad some things are. Everyone wants to be happy. Maybe those that have achieved happiness are the intelligent ones and it has nothing to do with IQ. Some say happiness is wanting what you have, not having what you want. Electric, you said this has everything to do with trading... What do you mean? 'Splain it.
What do you remember?..the good things or the bad things?...I am getting to it...it is going fast now....
I have read that humans have such great capacity to block out misery, tragic events. What remains of memories at a full lifes' end are happy memories. The elderly usually reminisce about the good times in their life no matter what tragedies they have experienced or witnessed.
Does a gambler have a different view? What experiences make one numb? Is a good trader experienced? is he smart? Does the world look worse to him?
Is the destiny of the world ...worse? does our perception matter? do we fool ourselves? are there cycles connected to age? does the sociology of the thing apply more or less according th the age of the population? would fear and greed be effected?...
Too many bad experiences or too much of the same bad experience can make a person numb or desensitized. I think a good trader has to be just smart enough to follow the rules of his system that he may or may not have developed himself. The world may look worse to him if he can't pay the bills, or if he is feeling guilty about making gobs of money while others suffer in poverty.
nothing is entirely dependent on one thing.. and everything is interrelated on the human state.. perception is definately a state of mind and our senses.. but it can also greately dictate our state of depression (if any). depression comes in many forms, but if one changes his or her perception of life, he may fully alter his state of depression too. our mind can influence everything. chemicals. it may be true that chemical inbalance may cause depression but not entirely. I personally beleive this is a cliche, and in circles of people who don't truly understand cause of depression. depressed people actually tend to eat more at times than others (esp. sugary food) - which stimulates the mind - which in turn aleviates their depression to some degree. but it may not fully cure. so it can be said that perception dictates our state of feelings too. eating alot to achieve chemical balance may aleviate depression - BUT it certainly won't change our perception. on the other hand, a pessimistic form of perception view of life can certainly motivate depression. perhaps we should discuss what shapes our perception? I beleive it is shaped by our personal expereinces and everything we learn in life - our environment, the people we interact with and meet in our society. religion is very important too. how the world looks has little to do with how smart u are. it really is based on ur personality and perception of what u make of life here. if u are thinking of a way out i recommend: 1. eating good food - have 1 banana a day - it helps ur state of mind which in turn improves everything else. 2. be very picky with the people u get close to and the environment u socialise in. 3. read Viktor E. Frankl's Mans Search for Meaning. accept suffering is a integral part of life. do not fear it. cherish it. 4. if u really really feel smart, then use it to ur advantage. work hard and achieve big goals. if the world looks that bad, maybe u can do ur part to change it.
I think as traders we need to free our minds... Movement and flow. The change, velocity and volatility of the environment is what is important. We are smart in trading. We change and adapt to movement, whether it be random or trending. we do not predict or form a bias...only for the moment that we are live with the trade. and then we only react. This is the "FaITH" of the "smart" trader. Michael B.