How to stop overtrading and get rid of your trading addiction?

Hello traders,

The opinions expressed here are purely my own, and I make no recommendations or offer anything for sale.
I don’t want you to end up like a lot other traders I know who have gone or are going broke, therefore I’m providing this information to you.

Here are some strategies to help you break your trading habit and quit overtrading:

I - Define a set of rules

Overtrading can be curbed, first and foremost, by instituting some ground rules.
Build a plan that will tell you when you should stop trading so much.

Gain/loss in monetary terms is not the only metric that may be used.
You need a written checklist to work from either method.

Say I want to make X dollars per month, which works out to X/20 (give or take) dollars every trading day on average.
If I hit my trading quota for the day, I won’t make any additional trades that day.

Why? Who among you here kept trading after generating a respectable money and ultimately lost it all?
This is because we humans aren’t programmed to be traders by nature.
When we finally start generating some money, human nature takes over: we get greedy, start taking more risks, and stop noticing the red flags we normally would.

II - Find a hobby

Having a pastime is also important.
When you’re done with the market, you can do
A possible explanation is…

  • Physical activity (I’ve been working out twice a day to improve my health, but also as a form of meditation and distraction from my trading).
    An intraday trader’s workout schedule naturally includes times when there are no open trades.
    When I am engaged in SWING trading, I am taking trades with large enough timeframes that it is perfectly acceptable if I do not check the charts for a number of hours in a row.

Maintenance Work
You can be making dinner for yourself or your loved ones.

Having a friendly chat with a pal.
If you have a genuine interest in trading, your friends will probably be interested in hearing your take on the markets and your trades.
Don’t give them any money advice, of course.
You should avoid putting yourself in a position where you have to advocate an action or inaction that could potentially result in losses and be blamed on you.
Avoid taking sides and instead focus on sharing your experiences.

When I write, whether in a journal or on a regular basis, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot

The key is to have something to do every day after trading, and that should help.

I call it a day (morning or afternoon) when I’ve had three consecutive intraday losses and go do something else instead of trading.

III - Find a buddy

Having a trading partner is also something I would recommend.

Your trading buddy can be someone you feel comfortable talking to about the markets while you’re both working.
My dad and I have a trading group we chat to often, and we share our opinions on whether or not a given trading setup is promising.
The purpose of this meeting is not to discuss potential trades but rather to serve as a mental coach.

A person you can text when you’re feeling down.
Then they’ll tell you to log off immediately.
Sometimes, hearing it from someone else is all it takes to put it into action.

IV - Turn off your computer

Last but not least, please silence all electronic devices.
Such is physically removing yourself from your screen by turning it off.
To succeed in the trading world, you must differentiate yourself physically.
As a result, you’ll be able to take your mind off trading and focus on anything else instead.

To summarise:

  • Last but not least, please silence all electronic devices.
  • Such is physically removing yourself from your screen by turning it off.
  • To succeed in the trading world, you must differentiate yourself physically.
  • As a result, you’ll be able to take your mind off trading and focus on anything else instead.
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I think this i good advice as far as life-coaching and handling the regular stress of life and an ordinary job. I’m not sure if it’s going to help me become a more profitable trader though.

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Good ideas. Thanks!!!

idk

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Like. a self help book :smiley:

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If a premise is flawed the resulting conclusion will be incorrect. I would humbly suggest that all the parties who have contributed to this particular post go and revisit the definition of what overtrading actually is as it relates to forex trading.

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I see myself from here, many times, I start a day with profit but in the end, it’s a lost day because of greed.
Thank you for sharing useful tips @PrinceSajir!

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I differ that if I’m in a profitable zone mindset, I will continue taking trades following my strict strategy and process with NO deviations, which is probably why others let greed take over instead.

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hahaha true! I didn’t catch that!

I just assumed a different context. The text doesn’t say anything about margin calls, margin requirement, or liquidity.

It’s just about overworking. Nice reminder to prioritize health, regardless.

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Easier said than done. Being a trader myself, it’s very hard not to monitor trades frequently. No matter where you are and what you do, back in your mind, you always know that there is a significant amount of money stuck in trading, which if not paid attention to, could result in a loss. I think trading is not an addiction, making money definitely is, and we all are addicted.

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Torturing is not a good habit; we can’t force ourselves to generate more pips! If you have a good entry point according to your strategy, then surely we should use this opportunity!

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Are you getting good result by overtrading? If not, then what’s the problem to trade less amount according to your own method?

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I feel like there are now a couple of threads here covering overtrading but none have truly defined it. Babypips here says:

" Overtrading refers to taking so many trade setups to the extent that you lose your market edge ."

Would you all consider that as correct?

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That seems a bit vague to me. That depends on what your personal edge is, doesn’t it?

To me, it makes sense to define overtrading as you exceed your margin. Each trade needs breathing room. But if you take so many trades that the breathing room triggers a margin call, and eventual liquidation, then you have overtraded.

Margin call is not a good sign, but I’ve gotten margin called several times. Liquidated, not yet. Margin calls are not such a bad thing if your math isn’t too bad. Close calls are part of the risk, I suppose.

It would be unfortunate to lose a position due to liquidation, but when you don’t have much money left and you expect trades to run in your favor, take a chance! Just be ready for the consequences.

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Ah true, very subjective.

What if you just keep trading despite losing and you still haven’t exceeded your margin?

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Overtrading is a cause, and exceeding margin is a symptom. If you haven’t exceeded your margin, then your broker won’t liquidate any positions.

But if you’re losing and your margin is getting smaller and smaller, then you have a tough decision to make. It all depends on what % of your account you’ve lost, right? Did you lose 5%? 30% 60%?

If your account is constantly shrinking each month, it’s time to return to demo. That’s what happened to me, and that’s what I did.

Medicine never tastes good.

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