When traders feel emotion which results in physical symptoms such as change in heart rate it's because they haven't defined the finite set of possible outcomes for the setups they're trading. They are not only uncertain what's happening ...they don't have formal rules for how they're going to react to whatever price chooses to do next. Psychology? ...so much wasted time.
dratsum, have you ever analyzed within yourself why you might feel emotion abut a thing related to money? For example, if you suffer a 10% loss of your entire net worth in a single day, does your heart go all aflutter? If it does, have you ever asked yourself why it did that?
I agree with you 100% dratsum. Unless the person admits that they are trading with a discretionary game plan. Anyone who claims to be trading a 'System' or 'High Probability Set-Up' should not have their world torn upside down because of a lack of the proper 'Psychology'. From my experience people who gravitate towards studying 'Trading Psychology' never really had a game-plan to begin with. Psychology is mainly for discretionary folks or people who are constantly going from one methodology to the next. If Entry and Exit Criteria is defined before a trade then Psychology is irrelevant. However, Psychology is very important for people who trade on instinct/feel.
There is a difference between not following a plan and following a bad plan. If you lost 10% of your net worth in a single day, was that factored into your original plan as a possibility? If the answer is 'YES' then you followed your plan but maybe it was a bad plan. If you lost 10% in a single day by not following a plan then you are discretionary and that type of stuff happens. Psychology is my opinion is a way for traders who don't really have a plan to cope with losses.
Psychology is the single most important aspect to trading outside of technical ability. Maybe it is easy to say in this forum trading psychology doesn't matter because everyone here is successful. But the road to being a successful trader is paved by millions of crushed souls who could never take the time to control themselves.
I personally know the guy who can take losses for the whole month and then break it even or make some profit.He fells great about it,very positive dude!
Psychology is kind of overrated -- I mean you should obviously think about the trade and overall process...but don't Overthink it, because it will essentially make no difference beyond that initial point. This thread reminded me of a movie line from Most Wanted 1997: 'Yeah, well, I'm a Marine. We don't plan. We improvise." ...there's kind of alot of truth to this movie quote in regards to trading -- if you think about how in trading, we are only so much in control and correct.
Coming to ET to obtain suggestions on Trading Psychology is akin to visiting a psychiatric ward to find the woman of your dreams; just notice how most people behave around here.
Understatement !The phsychology sections in most other forums are highly manipulated , in some forums they non existent , at least E T lets you start threads and keep them , most other forums put them in recycle bin .