Day trading anxiety and anxious thoughts or beliefs are hard to control and the cause of anxiety is unknown. Anxiety is a nervous disorder by a position of extreme uneasiness and nervousness about an event or something with an uncertain result. Anxiety is something that is seen immensely in day trading. One main reason is that you don’t know for sure which way the stock market will go. Persistent anxiety causes real emotional distress and can lead to us becoming unwell and developing other disorders such as panic attacks, phobias, and obsessional behaviors.
Anxiety might cause you to sweat, get dizzy, feel tired, feel restless and tense, tremble or shake, have shortness of breath and have a rapid heartbeat. Anxiety at this level can have a truly distressing and debilitating impact on our lives and impact on our physical and mental health. It is important to identify and be well informed about anxiety, so you know what to look for and most importantly how to cope properly. Not only for you as a day trader, but for everyday healthy living.
Pulling the Trigger
Whether you are a new trader or an experienced trader, we have all come across that moment when the anxiety kicks in when you are about to enter into a trade. You get overwhelmed with thoughts and think to yourself am I making the right decision? Why do you think this is? It is because we humans do not like to lose and as a day traders will lose some trades. So, the thought can linger in the back of your mind, will this be a win or loss. Now the question that comes to mind is how do I overcome this?
How do soldiers get ready for war? They practice and engage in activities to prepare themselves to eliminate potential threats. The same applies to a day trader, you need to practice your strategy and use the thinkorswim platform to train on entering and exiting trades effectively. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Something that has been instilled in soldiers, and it’s something that can help you in your trades. While planning can be slow and prevent you from getting started with your trade. A good plan can allow you to do things smoothly. If you are not planning, then it’s easy for your trade to fall apart.
Lack of Confidence
The lack of confidence in being able to handle a loss has been seen to create anxiety; the fear of the unknown also falls in this department. Your level of confidence even affects how you present yourself to others. Stop comparing yourself to others, reflect on your wins and embrace your losses and see them as a learning experience. Confidence can play a role in the motivation to pursue your goals. Your ability to focus and deal with the anxiety will make you a better trader.
If you were to have confidence in your skills, the idea of losing a trade wouldn’t be as bad as going in blindly. The best way to work on reducing your anxiety would be to build up your confidence. You can do this by monitoring your progress. Follow through on your trades even if you had a loss. Look at the overall picture, the end of the trading day, and use those zones to help you on your next trading day. Point out what you did wrong and how to fix it for the next trade. Keep a journal so all of your trades are logged, and you can see how you are progressing.
Self-Awareness
The reality is, that many traders bring on anxiety themselves because their expectations are unrealistic. Many people stumble into day trading and think they will make money overnight. When they haven’t even explored a tested strategy or have a trading plan in place. Think of this scenario, if you wanted to start a business and walked into a bank for a loan with no business plan, do you think they would approve your loan? The risk would be far too high, and they would be afraid to invest in you; so the answer is no. So why would not preparing yourself to start trading be any different? The reality is that 90% of traders fail, so you need to be conscious of your emotions, motives, and desires to make it in the stock market.
Most high paying professions take years of schooling, training, and experience to make good money. Trading as a career may not require a long process as far as schooling and years of experience. But definitely still requires training and putting in work to be a successful trader. So, to reduce day trading anxiety, you’ll have to adjust your mindset. Determine the amount of time and flexibility you have to study your strategy. Ask yourself if you will be comfortable with a job where the income is uncertain. How much capital do you have to start trading with that won’t affect your life if you lost money? Create a stop loss that is comfortable for you so you know when to exit a trade. How many contacts are you comfortable starting your trading with? I would recommend starting with one contract to help control mistakes, so if there is a loss; you will have small losses.
Summary: Day Trading Anxiety
The stock market can be intimidating if you are not properly equipped. We went over how lack of trust in your trades, unrealistic expectations, and lack of self-awareness can cause anxiety. Anxiety can create desperation which causes poor decision making which leads you to take impulsive moves towards your trades. Impulsive trades will lead you into a cycle of losing money. You learned the importance of practicing and using a tested strategy to be successful as a day trader. Once you have your strategy down packed, it will make you gain confidence, and you will no longer feel anxious. It will also lower your risk and your uncertainty in yourself. My goal has always been to help as many day traders achieve their personal financial goals, whether they are novice traders or experienced traders. With my program, you can learn how to overcome the anxiety of day trading, and you will be profitable for at least 80% if not more of your trades.
To Learn More
Maurice Kenny has helped over 600 people become financially free through one-on-one coaching, mentorship, and options trading strategy. Many of these new traders are now full-time traders, and they all started by watching his 1-hr webinar.
Feel free to check out other FREE educational resources to help guide you as you begin your new journey to financial freedom.
Also, download a (FREE E-BOOK) by Maurice Kenny, “DAY TRADE LIKE A MILLIONAIRE.”
