How do failed traders step by step toward self-destruction? (with redemption)

Trading is a tough game. If a trader wants to be truly successful, he must take a serious look at what he is doing. He banned the drafting rate and could not enter the market under some potential psychological emotional stimuli.

Unfortunately, the market often attracts dissatisfied people: impulsive traders, gamblers, or critics who believe that the world owes him a lot. If you are trading for the sake of stimuli, you may accept some transactions that are less successful, or take on unnecessary risks. The market will never be soft, and you will not care about your temper. Emotional trading has only one consequence---loss.

gambling

Gambling is a bet based on skill or analysis opportunities. It is hoped to win the lottery. This kind of behavior is common in society. Most people have used some form of gambling in their lifetime.

Freud believes that gambling has a universal temptation because it is a substitute for masturbation. There are many connections between gambling and masturbation: repetitive stimulating behaviors in the hands, irresistible desires, determination to quit, addictive pleasures and feelings of sin.

Dr. Ralph Greenson, an outstanding psychoanalyst in California, classifies gamblers into three categories: gambling by normal people based on pastimes, he can stop at any time; professional gamblers who choose to gamble for a living The method; morbid gamblers, who are gambling based on the needs of the subconscious, have no ability to restrain or stop.

A sick gambler either feels that he is "fortunate" or wants to test his luck. Winning can bring the feeling of power, he feels happy, just like a baby sucking nipples. A sick gambler is destined to be a loser, because he only wants to rebuild the omnipotent pleasing pleasure and not focus on the real-world long-term game plan.

Dr. Buren, chief executive of the South Oak Hospital gambling center in New York, said that gambling is "drug-free drug addiction." Most gamblers are men, they gamble in pursuit, and women usually evade by gambling. Losers usually cover up their losses and try to behave like winners, but in the end they cannot escape the suspicion of self-doubt.

Trading in stocks, futures or options markets allows gamblers to enjoy the climax they need and looks normal. In addition, compared to sipping in casinos, gambling in financial markets seems to be more knowledgeable, with a layer of carefully calculated colors.

When the trade is easy, the gambler will be obsessed with it; when the loss occurs, it will be dejected. They are completely different from successful professional traders who focus on long-term plans, are not excited by short-term gains, or are frustrated by losses.

The broker knows very well that many clients are gamblers. They try to avoid leaving the customer's wife as much as possible, even if the return of the transaction. Gamblers are not entirely from amateurs, and many professional traders have such problems. Sonny Kleinfield mentioned in his work The Traders that floor traders generally have a tendency to gamble, especially for sports games.

The main symptom of pathological gambling is that you can't resist the desire to end the game. If you feel that your trade is too frequent and the results are poor, it is best to stop trading for a month and give yourself the opportunity to reassess the trade.

If the desire for trading is so strong, there is really no way to stay outside the market for a month. The "gambling center" is probably the place you should go.

Self-destruction

Years of experience in diagnosis and treatment have convinced me that most of the failures in life are caused by self-destruction. In the profession, the failure between career and interpersonal relationship is not because of stupidity or no one, but to achieve the desire for failure in the subconscious.

I have a very smart friend who has been destroying his success for the rest of his life. When he was young, he was a very successful salesman, but he was fired; he was trained to become a broker, almost climbed to the top position of the company, but was accused for some reason; he became a famous trader. But still can't get rid of the previous disaster, and then failed. He blamed everything on his supervisor, incompetent law enforcement officers, and not considerate wives.

In the end, he was very stumped and had no work and money. He borrowed the quotation terminal from another trader who was forced to leave, and raised capital for people who knew that he used to trade in the past. He did know how to trade, and the fund managed earned a lot of money. Open, more and more people are investing. This friend has once again climbed to the peak of success. At this time, he went to Asia to speak and continued to trade along the way. In the empty stage of the lecture, he went to a country known for pornography, but left a huge open position with no stop loss. When he returned to the civilized world, the market had a major trend. The managed funds were swept away. Does he try to understand his own problems? Do you want to change? No----he blames his agent!

It is an extremely painful procedure to reflect on the inner causes of your failure. When traders get into trouble, they are used to blaming others, luck or anything else.

A very good trader came to my clinic and his account was hit by a wave of appreciation of the dollar because he was largely emptied of dollars. His childhood was spent in the shadow of his father's brutality. Everyone in the trading circle knows that he is very good at placing huge bets against the reverse trend of a given trend. This time, he continued to add short positions because he could not admit that the market -- representing his father -- was stronger than him.

These are just two examples, but they can show how people's behavior stems from the psychology of self-destruction. We act like impulsive children rather than wise adults - destroying and striking ourselves, we are caught in a self-destructive mode and unable to extricate ourselves; but they can be avoided - failure is a treatable disease.

Great destruction competition

Almost all industries provide a safety net for their members, and supervisors, colleagues, or customers will alert you when you present a dangerous behavior of self-destruction. The transaction does not provide facilities in this area, so its danger is much higher than other human behaviors, the market offers many opportunities for self-destruction, and there is no safety net.

Every member of the society has set aside some of their efforts to guard against the consequences of mistakes. When driving, you avoid hitting other vehicles, and other vehicles will not hit you. If a car suddenly opens the door, you will go out. On the highway, if someone suddenly cuts into your lane, you might "fuck", but still slow down the car, you avoid car accidents, because the price paid by both parties is too high.

In the market, people lack normal mutual help. Every trader wants to crash and destroy each other, and every trader will be injured by the other party. The freeway on the highway was ruined, and the road was full of broken vehicles left behind by the car accident. Trading is the most dangerous human behavior, second only to war.

Buying at the high point of the plate is like opening the door suddenly in the traffic. When your trading order arrives in the arena, the traders are rushing to sell you----crashing your door, including your hand. Inside. The counterparty wants you to fail because they want to take possession of your losses.

The tendency to control self-destruction

In his lifetime, many people still violate the 20-year-old mistake at the age of 60. Others are very successful in one area, but in others they are full of internal conflicts, and few people can learn from setbacks.

You need to understand the tendency of self-destruction and stop blaming others for loss or luck. You must take all the responsibilities and start logging into the transaction log----record the process of each transaction, the reason for entering and playing. Evaluate the repetitive patterns of success and failure. If you can't learn from the experience of the past, it is bound to repeat the same mistakes.

You need to open a psychological safety net, just as a climber needs a survival device. I found the principle of “alcoholism and mutual aid association” very helpful. In addition, strict fund management can also provide the function of safety net.

If you want to solve the transaction problem through psychotherapy, please find a competent psychologist and he knows how to trade. In the course of treatment, the ultimate responsibility remains with you, closely monitoring progress and development. I often tell my patients that if there is no obvious change within a month, there is obviously a problem with the treatment. If there is no progress within two months, you should look for a psychologist.

Your feelings will immediately affect the net worth of your account. You may have the best trading system, but if you feel scared, arrogant or annoyed, you will definitely get into your account. When you become aware of the intoxication or fear of a gambler, stop trading immediately. As a trader, success or failure depends on how you control your emotions.

When you trade, you are fighting the world's first-class mind. The wrestling arena is slightly tilted and you are at a disadvantage. If you allow emotions to interfere with trading, this fight is over.

You must bear all your responsibilities for every transaction you make. The trade starts with your entry decision and ends with your decision to play. An ideal trading system is not enough. Although there is a first-rate trading system, many traders are still washed out by the market because they are psychologically not prepared to win.

Violating established rules

The market will provide unlimited temptations, just like walking through the gold treasure house or the king's harem, the market will tease you, let you rise to the greedy desire to pursue more profit, and also raise the fear, let you worry about losing the existing gains. Lee, these emotions will obscure your judgment of opportunity and danger.

After a series of profit-making, most amateur traders are very impressed with their trading talents. This is indeed a feeling of floating. You believe that your realm is not subject to any norms, and you can continue to succeed against established rules. As a result, traders began to ignore the rules they set and entered a self-destructive mode.

Traders learn some knowledge, they start to make progress, then emotions emerge, they destroy themselves. Most traders immediately return their "collections" to the market. The market is full of stories about "seeing him as a tall building and watching his building fall down." A truly successful trader has the ability to accumulate net worth.

The trading process should be as objective as possible, record the log of the transaction, and attach the chart before and after the transaction. Use a list of all transaction data, including commission and slip spreads, to adopt strict capital management rules. The seriousness of your self-analysis should at least be equal to your market analysis.

When I first started learning about trading, I read as much as possible about all the books on trading psychology. The advice provided by many authors is reasonable. Some emphasize discipline: "You can't let the market shake you, you can't make decisions in the market. Pre-planning trading plans, trading according to plan." Others emphasize flexibility: "Unrestricted stereotypes come into play, with market conditions Adjustment plan." Some experts recommend isolation----not listening to economic news, not reading The Wall Street Journal, not listening to the opinions of other traders---only the confrontation between you and the market. Other experts advocate maintaining an open mind and trying to communicate with other traders to absorb new ideas. Every suggestion seems to make sense, but they are contradictory.

I continue to read, trade, and focus on the development of the system. I also continue to work in the outpatient business of psychotherapy. I never thought that these two areas would be related - until I suddenly realized a concept that changed my trading method, which came from psychopathology.

Changing the concept of trading patterns

Like most psychiatrists, I have some alcoholic patients and I am a consultant to a large drug rehabilitation center. Soon after, I discovered that after the alcoholics and drug addicts participated in the “helping society” group, the recovery effect was far better than the traditional psychotherapy environment.

Psychotherapy, medications, expensive hospital and clinic equipment, while they can keep alcoholics awake, it's hard to keep them awake. Most of the alcoholics are quickly addicted to alcohol. If they are actively involved in the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or other similar groups, the chances of recovery will be much greater.

When I found out that AA members had a high treatment rate, I became a loyal sponsor of the Alcoholics Association. I started sending alcoholic patients to AA or other similar groups, such as ACOA. Now, if a patient with alcohol problems comes to me for treatment, I insist that he also attends the AA gathering. I told him that if you don't do this, it will be a waste of our time and his money.

One night many years ago, I went to a friend's office and invited him to a party at the same industry. There were still two hours from the start of the party. My friend asked me: "Do you want to go to a movie or accompany me to an AA party?" Although I have sent many patients to AA, I have not participated in this kind of trade-off because I have no problem with alcohol abuse. I have this opportunity in time to let myself experience a new experience.

The place for the party was the local “Youth Club”. In a simple room, there were about a dozen men and a few women sitting in folding chairs. The party was nearly an hour late, and I was very surprised that they seemed to be talking about my trading situation!

They talk about alcohol, but as long as they change "alcohol" to "loss", their conversations are entirely applicable to me. During that period, my account equity was still fluctuating like a pendulum. When I left the "Youth Club," I knew that my way of dealing with losses should be like AA handling alcohol.

This article is excerpted from "Being a Trade for Life" (Operational Care is Not a Dream), by Alexander Alder