Mental and Physical health in Trading

I agree with you ria_rose. Its hard to block those emotional tendancies out on losers and also winners. Looking at trades objectively and as part of your plan like Manxx stated I think helps cope with the emotional roller coaster. It’s interesting too, when you get too involved in the markets and don’t protect your well being, we tend to trade much worse and make mistakes.

If you’re having trouble with sleep, I would suggest using Melatonin 20-30 minutes before you go to bed (0.5 mg at most).

It’s the absolute easiest way to solve sleep issues

This is a routine I’ve come up with that I try to follow. Admittedly I don’t always follow the sleep schedule but it’s a good framework I feel. Hope at least one person can get value from this:

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Hey guys.
Wow. Some very good points here!
I definitely think there’s a direct correlation between our physical and mental states. I think one feeds off the other.
In order to get going physically, the mind is the one that tells the body what you’re going to do. And then when the body gets regenerated and in better shape, that in turn produces a better mind. Around and around it goes. All things are growing and getting better.

And I totally agree with you, Cris, that we need rules in place to keep things in motion.
And Manxx makes a great point also, in that a too restrictive timetable can cause undue pressures.

I guess we need regiment along with flexibility. And when I think about it, I guess we invariably need to be seeing some progress. I don’t know about you, but when I see good results, that motivates me even more. But, what about less progress? Maybe that’s the time that things need tweeking, or changed a bit.

Man, for me, I wish the physical part would affect the mental part more. Cause I don’t have a problem getting the body to move and into shape. I just wish the mental part would progress more. Kind of like, I can change the way I look & feel much more easily than making the mental part smarter. Know what I mean? Seeing physical change, for me, is way more easier than seeing mental change.

But then again, just because I can’t see the mental changes, does that necessarily mean that I’m not changing, internally?

I don’t know.
But this is definitely an interesting topic nonetheless.

Can anyone else relate?

Mike

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Does Melatonin not have any side effects??

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Apparently it can have some side effects for some people, but I would assume that they’re probably taking too much of it.

It’s recommended that you take 0.3 to 0.5mg at most per day, and yet a lot of the stores sell doses ranging from 3mg to 10mg. I started out using 10mg doses, and I had some side effects after the second or third day (waking up in the middle of the night extremely anxious, and waking up feeling groggy the next day).

Once I cut my dosage down dramatically, I had absolutely no problem with it

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Took some R&R this weekend. Even Soros states you need leisure time.(Politics aside he is a great trader). One thing I’ll share with the group is most significant moves and volitility are at the opening of the new session. To cut your screen time, I would focus on these areas Tokyo open, London Open, US Open. Establishing a schedule around London open (My preferred trading time) will hopefully get me some better sleep tonight. Big_Boss, I will try some melatonin this week, appreciate the input.

One question for the group to consider as more of a “food for thought” How much time do you spend researching fundamentals compared to watching charts? I think you’ll be shocked at how little many spend building good reasons to trade as opposed to the act of trading.

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Thanks for sharing a nice post. It will definitely help the new babies in the forex market. I also believe the fact that a forex trader will require both the strength of physics and mind. In combination a trader will require good deal of patience and hard work with the right adoption of trading methods.

Brilliant post thanks.
I have worked from home for several years now and have come to the same conclusion.

Thanks for the excellent advice.
I have long tried to make sure that I have time to rest and unwind in between trading sessions, because I quickly realized that if I am not in top physical and emotional condition when trading my results suffered.

Hi.
I just read something good. And this thread came to mind. So, I just have to put this out there.

"Josh Waitzkin is considered by many to be one of the leading authorities in the world on the topics of learning and high performance. As a child he was a chess prodigy. He then became a world champion in Tai Chi and then became a world champion is Jiu Jitsu.

In an interview with fellow Chess master and educator, Adam Robinson, Waitzkin was asked how he could master two radically different domains — chess which is highly mental, and Tai Chi, which is highly physical. Waitzkin explained that at the highest level, mental ability is enhanced through deep somatic awareness. Your body and mind are highly connected. Moreover, if you learn the principles of learning and embrace the learning process — which is highly emotional — you can learn things which seem highly counter-intuitive to your “innate” abilities."

Well, why not give you the whole article. This is the stuff that I love to read…

And apply.

Mike

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I love this. Thanks so much for sharing this article

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Thank you for posting this Mike. Too many aspiring traders forget basics like health. This is an important factor in success as things like lack of sleep and lack of exercise can impact performance

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I believe health comes first. Rest can wait. If you are not healthy and strong in your mind and body then how can you expect to do well in trading, or anything else for that matter.

Chris, couldn’t agree more. I’ve been trading full time for the last 6 months and have a regime where I do physical training 5 times a week. Such has been my dedication to this, I have lost over 2 stone, lost over 12% body fat and am doing a Personal Trainer course (for fun). As a result of this, I feel that I am a much better trader, able to deal with the stresses (physically, mentally and emotionally) that working the forex market throws at me.

I’ve noticed that after jogging my trading performance considerably improve. I explain this getting rid of excessive stress which is rising during trading.

That is unsurprising, many people use jogging to relax and then focus their mind.

One thing I’ve been thinking about in terms of Intra trading mental health are best practices to prevent bad decisions and of course drawdown.I think Sticking to a schedule is part of it, but I’m learning more and more that building relationships within the trading community can help with stress. I have a buddy who is on the verge of taking over a fund and we bounce ideas off each other all the time. It’s a great way to share frustrations and also have someone check you when you are not making good decisions due to unhealthy behavior in trading

Does your friend share some tips on how to stay feet and always capable to trade succesfully?

Regular scheduled excercise is the key, in my opinion. Schedule your training sessions around your trading sessions and account for that time in your trading plan.

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