Mental Health and Discipline

Day Trading and Mental Health

When learning how to day trade, it can be tempting to spend most of one’s energy focusing on learning strategies, technical analysis, and account management formulations. While these are all important aspects of trading, the glue that brings all the pieces of the puzzle together into a cohesive whole is discipline.

As I’ll often reiterate, even with the most profitable of strategies, if you can’t commit to following its rules then you will still lose money. You can minimize losses with the best of discipline and the worst of strategies, but you can cause great financial ruin with the best of strategies and terrible discipline. So which do you think you should prioritize in your trading?

One way to think of discipline is that it represents the actions you take in the face of psychological awareness. Disciplined traders still feel anguish, fear, and desire for more profit – but these feelings don’t cast the final vote on what to do next. Instead, experience and logic remind the trader of potential outcomes and the best approach to take in order to manage risk. Discipline is the art of reflecting on one’s own emotions and deciding to take the right action anyways.

But sometimes emotions can feel more powerful than usual. It’s often a foolish idea to assume that you can just ignore an emotion in the heat of the moment and follow your rules. Many traders over assume their grip on their own emotions. Or at least fail to anticipate the ebb and flow of emotional states. This can lead to account-draining actions, such as revenge trading, or risking more than anticipated on a single trade. This doesn’t just happen to new traders, but even seasoned ones too. The wisest of traders know to always reflect on one’s emotional state and discipline, and take action to take care of each.

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Focus on Your Mental Health

We’re currently living through a pretty tough time in history. To say that the global population is stressed out is an understatement. Between public health crisis and war, inflation and political tension, it’s hard to go outside or search the internet without being reminded of how emotionally overstretched everyone feels.mental health day trading

I think now, more than ever, is a good time to start paying close attention to your own mental health. You deserve to feel solid in your own sense of self – no one else is ever going to be closer to you or look out for you better than your own self. You are capable of being the best parent to yourself than you ever had, the best nurturer and guide. When you take care of yourself, life gets just a bit easier. Maybe not enough to solve all of your problems, but enough to help develop resilience and invite some peace in your headspace.

One of the greatest ways to take care of yourself and your mental health is to start exploring what’s going on during your “air time” –

What kind of tone do you use when you are thinking?

What topics do you focus on?

Do you call yourself names – if so, what are they?

What emotional states do you experience the most often (anxiety, stress, joy, calm, fear, boredom, anger, etc.)?

What activities drastically change your mood? (Drinking coffee, being around certain people, consuming alcohol or drugs, being in certain environments, etc.)

Ways to Actively Work on Your Mental Health

When you take account of your inner thoughts and recognize the importance of mental health, you can begin to determine the kind of actions you can take to improve your headspace so you’re experiencing less negativity and more calm. While I’m not a psychologist or licensed professional, here are a few mental health suggestions that have been passed on to me by those who are:

  • Regularly working with a licensed professional, like a therapist, counselor, or coach to personalize your approach and receive expert advice
  • Journaling your daily emotions and reflecting on these entries each week
  • Working with a doctor to determine whether medication is appropriate for you (There is nothing wrong with you if you need this kind of support – medication can be a life-saver and there are far safer options today than ever before)
  • Taking care of your physical body (your neurotransmitters need supplies from your diet, too!) – this means eating a nutritious, non-inflammatory diet and regularly exercising
  • Ensuring that you’re taking regular breaks from work and trading by making time to do the things you enjoy
  • Introducing more calming routines in your life – going on nature walks, doing yoga, having spa days, getting a massage, taking baths, etc.
  • Meditating
  • Using a mental health workbook written by a professional to learn more about yourself (this can be a cheap alternative if therapy is unaffordable)yoga day trading

Again, you are setting yourself up for losses if you continue to ignore the role of mental health in developing trading discipline. Taking the time and focus each day to care for your mental health will pay dividends in all areas of your life, not just trading.