Trading Psychology Article – Stressed? Overwhelmed? Nervous? 3 Helpful Things In These Turbulent Times

Are you feeling stressed out with all the horrible and forboding news lately?

Are you feeling overwhelmed with all your responsibilities on top of your trading?

Are you nervous about your ability to survive and profit in your trading?

Well then you are NOT alone.

I’ve been getting a lot of emails over the last few days from subscribers that are really on the verge of panic with all that’s going on, both in the financial markets and in the world in general.

It’s quite understandable too.

Some of the events are pretty scary since there’s not really anything an individual person can do anything about, and they’re certainly hard to ignore.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do,

A few matters which ARE within your control which you can address to make a difference in your world.

1.  First, keep things in perspective and use your ability to think strategically and NOT just tactically.

Remember, the markets are people responding to events.

To help restore your confidence if it’s been shaken, watch this video

In turbulent times like these, you’ve got a lot of people that are very fearful and emotional.  On top of that, the events that trigger the response patterns are occuring more frequently, plus people (the markets) are a bit over-sensitive compared to ‘normal’ conditions.

This makes for circumstances where things are even more unpredictable than usual.

So how might you approach this predicament?

Apply some strategic thinking.

Take a closer look at your system, particularly at the reasoning that it’s based on, the current climate (high volatility, overly sensitive masses, etc.) and consider if it is really suited to these circumstances.

It may be a solid system during less volatile times, but if you’re going to trade, maybe this system should be put on the shelf for now.

For example, if your system is dependent on a high winning percentage and / or nice ‘trending’ price action, then this might be asking for trouble.

It might make more sense to stay on the sidelines until things settle down if you’re not confident in your system to perform reliably when things are like this.

I know there are a TON of traders that would have been better to be OUT of the markets during 2008 and 2009.

Remember also to NOT antagonize yourself with the wild market moves, focusing on the money being made and “missing out” on it.  That causes many traders to trade recklessly and get seriously hurt.

2.  To help address feeling overwhelmed, here’s an article I just received this morning that very nicely details a method I’ve used myself for years.

Download the pdf here (no optin required)

On that page you’ll see several different resources, but the pdf is right there for you.

3.  If you’re nervous about trading in these turbulent times and not sure what to do with things all crazy again, and you want to be able to trade with some confidence, knowing that you can deal with the changing marketplace and economic climate, then here’s what to do to alleviate your anxiety the right way.

Change is inevitable, whether driven by specific events or just the natural evolution of things, so you absolutely MUST have a solid process to ADAPT.

Randomly making changes is one thing, where you simply ‘try’ one thing or another, hoping that something will work, but that’s not a very wise way to conduct your trading business.

The much smarter way to be is to make changes in a very calculated and business-like manner.

This is the ONLY way to make sure that you keep moving in the right direction without just throwing money at it.

Trading scared or nervous is NOT the way to trade.

This is serious business and challenging enough when things are ‘normal’.

If you’re feeling anxious about trying to trade in times like these, then put yourself in the position to have a very well-founded confidence, the kind of confidence you need to keep your cool and trade smart.

Remember, by having a specific PROCESS which includes adapting in a wise manner counters that anxiety by replacing it with confidence.

Gain the skill-set that gives you that rock-solid confidence

Cheers & Happy Friday!

Brian

P.S.  Don’t just sit there thinking that ‘focusing on discipline’ and following your rules will save you in times like these.

Apply your reasoning and take appropriate action to effectively deal with the situation and make it a positive one rather than a repeat of 2008 and ’09 when so many traders took a viscious beating.

Here’s another video that has been tremendously helpful for hundreds of traders.