serious psychological issue

Discussion in 'Psychology' started by antincedo, Oct 28, 2008.

  1. ah very good... yes, i feel fortunate because i don't struggle with stops or identifying setups and feel overall i know how to trade

    patience is the key thing i need to work on.

    i've tried to sum it up into one phrase i keep telling myself

    'trade very carefully'
     
    #21     Oct 29, 2008
  2. achilles28

    achilles28

    Short-term time frames are great for studying the market.

    But what they don't tell you - scalpers have to be right 70%+ of the time to turn a profit.

    And that "rightness" means executing within a tiny entry/exit window guaged in seconds.

    That means your analysis, decision and action MUST occur within seconds, or the trade is lost.

    Thats how I define scalping, anyway.

    And that is extremely difficult to do with any consistency.

    Scalping is an advanced trading method, not to be toyed with by beginners. My 2 cents.
     
    #22     Oct 30, 2008
  3. That sounds right.
     
    #23     Oct 30, 2008
  4. Great link Kiwi, thanks
     
    #24     Oct 30, 2008
  5. If I may I would like to add the following. I want to share with you guys my experience just to see what you think, for those of you who know a little about psychology. Excuse me for spilling me beans here but hey.

    Even though it sounds right and looks right, it has no long term meaning if the person trading has deep unconscious issues to first discover and then resolve.

    I have been trading for 3 and half years, and even when I knew what I had to do, I didn't do it. And worse, I have talked myself out of the most amazing opportunities ever, even though I had done all the research, all the work and had no obvious reason to invalidate my conclusions. Obviously I have also jumped into positions at the worst possible time, when everything my conscious mind was telling me not to do it. In my experience, this 'little' issue, which I have now finally been able to discover has affected me since I was a child. The 'issue' is not so easy to detect and can be very difficult to perceive. The reason why is because to the world and my conscious life, I am a very happy person, very intelligent and outgoing, people love me...etc..

    I have concluded it is a mixed form of 'happy' borderline + obsessive compulsive personality disorder. To be lucky enough to have this, you need to have the correct parent mix. ho ho

    Anyway, after busting my balls and going to hell and back what seems to be a few million times I have concluded that theory (knowing what my problem is) will not help me.

    I plan to visit a psychiatrist this week, hoping a drug exists that can calm or turn off the part of my brain that keeps me in constant questioning. Wonder if you guys know anything about this. Again, if you guys met me, you would see a perfect well balanced, and behaved individual, probably just a tad too happy if anything. Unfortunately on a long term basis I unconsciously self-sabotage everything I have achieved and in many cases I don't even give myself a chance because of this (existential fear?) deep internal unsatisfied constant feeling or internal insecurity.

    Either way I am just very tired of working so hard, giving so much, of having the intelligence and the drive to achieve success (which I have had in other areas of my life) just to have my subconscious mind fuck it up at the end.If there is no drug to fix this chemical imbalance in my brain, which is what I think it is, I will just give up. I will end up moving to Jamaica and smoking weed for the rest of my days, because at the end, who gives a damn...

    Not wanting to hijack this thread (sure after 2 weeks) but enlighten others who could have similar or other unknown unconscious issues they are not aware of.
     
    #25     Nov 22, 2008
  6. Yes.

    Keep in mind that the market has the strongest attraction to those least suited for the market.


    These posts makes this well known fact abudantly clear.

    Run don't walk--- before you are another casualty!
     
    #26     Nov 22, 2008


  7. This post is for you and the OP.

    Irrational, addictive behavior (like gambling or day trading) is a major symptom of some types of depression.

    'Depression' is an unfortunate term, because it doesn't always manifest as 'sadness' or thoughts of self harm.

    For me it was inability to concentrate, irregular sleep, irritability, lack of motivation beyond obtaining my 'fix.'

    The great news is that the available medications work. I strongly advise a few people on this thread to get an impartial, third-party assessment.

    All the best.
     
    #27     Nov 22, 2008
  8. If I were you, I'd be very careful about visiting psychiatrist, most of them are total morons. Generally, psychologist are better suitable for your problems. Even though any therapist can potentially do you more harm then good, so be very careful. Also I'd stay away from medications, if you want some chemicals, then try doing regular aerobic exercise which will produce endorphins and you'll get lots of benefits from this, and if you gradually work up to more than 30mins per day and after few weeks/months you'll start experiencing so called 'runner's high'.

    If you have the money, try getting help from Van Tharp or Brett Steenbarger, they might prove good value for money.

    I'd recommend you focusing on positive psychology, Van Tharp has a Peak Performance Course in which there are entire chapters dedicated to dealing with compulsiveness, it describes how the mental focus gets very narrow yet the intensity is very great and such people have difficulty coming out of such mental states. Usually it is due to some emotional pain from the past. He also describes ways of how to deal with it. I've read lots of books on trading psychology, and nothing comes close to Peak Performance Course..

    Just remember that there is no success without commitment and that discipline is basically total commitment, use your frustration as a driving force, take total responsibility for your own mental states instead of passing it over to medication or your environment. You can choose to have whatever state of mind you select and condition yourself mentally just as athletes do physically.

    I don't know your situation so it would be disrespectful from me to say that I know how you feel. The only thing I can advice you is to be totally responsible for everything that happens to you during trading, and that includes your mental states, because if you don't then you'll always have your past or upbringing or environment to blame, and you'll be stuck for the rest of your life living in a misery. However the good news is that if you accept total responsibility for your mental states, and regularly condition your mind, you suddenly have a choices and you can change instead of being victim of circumstances. Once you accept that all the resources necessary for a change are within you and not within a psychiatrist or a medication, you can start modeling successful people and duplicate their internal mental strategies and become a winner and appreciate all the negative aspects of your life valuable lesson and as impetus to get your life to next level. I know this is a hard concept to understand and accept, but once you understand that our society is totally wrong when it teaches us to believe that we have limitations, and that we're the product of our environment. The truth is that we can choose what things mean to us and what we're going to do about it and therefore shape our destiny.

    Be grateful for your brain constantly asking you questions, it is don't try to turn it off with drugs, just don't ask yourself negative questions such as why did I screw up or why is it happening to me, instead create a list questions such as; "What would I have to believe in order to succeed", or; "Who is already succeeding in the this area and what do they do differently",. . . and so on. . . and questions as these will direct your brain to totally different mental states. If you want to calm your brain, do regular meditation.

    If you'll go to a psychiatrist, he/she usually studied people who have problems and might pigeon hole you into some category, will label you, and might tell you some BS that you'll be screwed for your rest of your life because of this or that happened in the past. If you have depression, don't feel ashamed or worthless, welcome depression is an opportunity for growth and transformation, lots of people who struggled in the past found within themselves the strength to achieve extraordinary things in life, much greater than those who had everything handed to them. But hey, do as you like, don't listen to me (I'm not qualified therapist), it is ultimately your choice, your decision, your life, you are the one who will create your own destiny. You might not control the wind but you can control the sails.

    All the best :)
     
    #28     Nov 23, 2008
  9. This problem relates to not being able to think in probabilities, and medication will not help with this. In order to execute flawlessly every time, Mark Douglas has very good books for this. For deeper psychological issues, use Van Tharp.

    All the best
     
    #29     Nov 23, 2008
  10. Thanks for your post BlueHorse. I was not aware there were other forms of depression aside from the ones you noted. In my case, I have always been one of the happiest persons I have known. (even though I have not been too happy lately but for a very good reasons).

    I will post my results as they become available. I really hope and expect them to be very good.
     
    #30     Nov 23, 2008