Need desperate help (Lost life savings)

Discussion in 'Psychology' started by Needdesperatehelp, Feb 16, 2021.

  1. Yes you understood right. Not really making a ton of money, have been working for a long time and saving a lot so yea. Triggers hmm.. had some losses then I’d guess the final loss triggered me trying to make back everything
     
    #11     Feb 16, 2021
  2. Nope, have never heard of those, any recommendations? Gonna reread mark douglas stuff, think it was 6-7 years ago since I’ve read his books.
     
    #12     Feb 16, 2021
  3. smallfil

    smallfil

    Most traders think about the millions they are going to make in the stockmarket, totally, ignoring the risks of trading stocks. Never risk more than 2% on any given trade. This is my rule, never take more than 5 positions at any given time especially, if you are a newbie. That would place your maximum risk at 10% assuming the worst case scenario and you losing all your trades and all your monies on each trade. Use stop losses to further reduce your risk. Most times, you do not lose the whole 2% you risked on that trade but, a tiny part of it only. Next, make sure the trade you place is aligned with the major trend of the stockmarket. If the stock you want to get in is trending up, go long the stock. Stick to the trend and trail your stop losses higher as the trade moves into your favor. You do have a gambling problem and need to deal with that too. Trading is not the same as gambling though. Huge, big difference. Gambling, you are playing a negative expectation game, trading with an edge, you have a positive expectation game but, you need to focus on risk management first, profits will come later.
     
    #13     Feb 16, 2021
    vanzandt likes this.
  4. maxinger

    maxinger


    good. Now you know the problem.
    Do go read up all those things.
    You can google it for more info.

    There are courses on mind-related things.
    You should consider going for such courses.

    We have different experiences, competencies, abilities ...
    So what works for me might not work for you and vice versa.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2021
    #14     Feb 16, 2021
    Needdesperatehelp likes this.
  5. Trader Curt

    Trader Curt

    Yes first decide on an amount of money you would be comfortable losing, then put that money into a stock you feel good about, and instead of trying to day trade, just let it sit there. This will help you build your mind again for trading. I would even get a job or run a business outside of trading to help with your emotions. If you lose money trading you at least have something mentally to fall back on.
     
    #15     Feb 16, 2021
  6. themickey

    themickey

    Don't even consider trading until you see a shrink.
    Your problems are deep down, you won't be able to trade out of your condition imo.

    Refer:
    Andrea Wylan (Sponsor) Trader Success Coach
    Helping traders uncover mindset challenges, remove blocks, and create financial success.
     
    #16     Feb 16, 2021
    Arnie likes this.
  7. Bad_Badness

    Bad_Badness

    Man, sorry about the situation. Few things to know.

    Will you do it again? Revenge trade (take silly positions)? This is a SERIOUS question. Only you can answer this. There are a lot of ways to prevent getting into a downward spiral mindset. For instance, take your large losses with stops, no matter how painful, AND if you hit a bad trade, take 24 hours off. You don't need to be superman and you can use simple tools.

    A lot of people "blow up". Either they did it in a calculated manner or not. If you were not calculated and just pressing buttons, then assess your abilities and knowledge. A lot of times people over estimate their skill. TRADE WITHIN YOUR ABLITIES. You don't do other things beyond your abilities, so apply that.

    Post all the things you learned. Each person learns different things. If you can be honest with yourself, that helps a lot. E.g. Do you realize that the market knows nothing of your positions, so your "opinion" means nothing. Or, did you know you were being TEMPTED when you lost some, and at what point did you go on TILT? Find those things and put in circuit breakers.

    Go paper until you can show a large profit, then go live and make a small or medium profit. REPEAT. Eventually you can make large profits on both.

    TRAIN. This is an enterprise for the long haul. The longer you can survive, the better you can become.

    Find a trading style that fits your personality strengths and does not trigger your weakness.

    Hope this helps.

    PS: I day traded futures for over 6 years live and broke even. Read 50 books + in that time. spent "half" days (12 hours) working on it, all week. Quit for 5 years. (BTW tools sucked back then) Been on paper for 2 years, and now going live. Doing 10-15 points a day with same size loss every 10 days. When it works consistently, there is the golden goose. But you can't force it.
     
    #17     Feb 16, 2021
    Needdesperatehelp likes this.
  8. believezz

    believezz

    Around a decade ago, I lost my entire savings at age 24. The amount was equivalent to 2 years salary without spending a penny. I felt extremely miserable and frustrated, just like you are.

    A decade later today, looking back, I honestly think it was a lesson well worth the money. I learned proper risk management, understand that anything unimaginable can happen in the financial market, and more importantly developed discipline and humbleness. Yes you can read all these from books, but experiencing first-hand painfully is something else.

    I hope it would be the same for you. It takes time, practice and sometimes financial losses to develop discipline in trading. Face your mistake, learn from it, work hard and earn the money back. Hopefully you will look back at this in a decade and appreciate the lesson.
     
    #18     Feb 16, 2021
    SteveM and Sprout like this.
  9. roca

    roca

    You already got a lot of good advices but I would just like to add a few words. Don't beat yourself hard at it. You are still young and we all make mistakes, sometimes more than we can afford. At least you still have your health, family and friends.
    Just think of it as a big bump on the road that wracked your car, but you can always get a new car and a better one.

    Good luck :)
     
    #19     Feb 16, 2021
    Sprout and Needdesperatehelp like this.
  10. Overnight

    Overnight

    I don't believe you for one bloody minute. Your post stinks to high-heaven of NO.

     
    #20     Feb 16, 2021