Trading can be an emotional rollercoaster—one day, you’re on top of the world raking in profits from your recent win, and the next, you’re questioning where everything went wrong.
When the ups and downs take a toll, sometimes the best move isn’t hopping into another trade but stepping away from the charts altogether. Whether it’s to recover from a rough streak, avoid burnout, or simply gain a fresh perspective, taking a break can be a game-changer.
I haven’t taken any long breaks, yet. When I’m not trading, I’m studying.
There have been times I felt like giving up, in the beginning. But I kept on.
I can’t say whether or not taking a break is helpful. Your goals will determine if you can take a break and for how long.
Great Question…And Yes on several occasions.
I started trading in 1984 when I was a Junior in High School. Back when you had to use the newspaper for research and Call your broker to make it happen. This continued through college and my first post-college job with Prudential. Then I became a pilot, and aviation consumed my life.
Flash forward 10-14 years, the internet has become a thing. Research and charting become almost instantaneous. New online brokers come and go, and I have fun with trading again. Nothing serious but the itch never went away. Then for some reason, children and such, I stopped again. But the passion of trading was still there.
Now, stage 3 has manifested with retirement. The amount of free time I really needed in the first place is here, the passion is still here, and I’m having a blast trading.
Since this new Stage has begun, I have not taken any breaks. But I do plan to insert 2 2-week breaks a year, likely the end of the year and late July.
Every time that I hit 4 SLs in a row, I take a break for a few days to see what is going on.
I remember this one time when I got a little too confident after a couple of wins and started taking random trades without thinking. But things started going wrong 
. I tried to fix it but jumping into more trades made it worse. After a couple of losses, I finally told myself to stop. I took a few days off, did some fun activity like travelling, watched some movies and came back feeling more focused. That little break helped me avoid making bigger mistakes.
Oh, for sure! I’ve definitely taken a break from trading before. There was a time when I was just so caught up in it all, constantly checking the market, and I started feeling pretty stressed. It got to the point where I wasn’t enjoying it anymore and felt like I was just chasing after every trade. So, I decided to step back and give myself a breather. Honestly, taking that break helped me come back with a better mindset and a more solid strategy. Sometimes, stepping away for a bit is exactly what you need to recharge and refocus.
Yeah, I’ve taken a break before. There was a phase where the constant ups and downs of the market started messing with my head, and I wasn’t making the best decisions. I knew I needed to reset, so I stepped away for a bit; focused on other things and gave myself the time to recharge.
Yes, I’ve taken breaks from trading several times, and every break has proven to be really beneficial for me.
Yes, I have, and it was really tough. Stepping away felt like I was missing out, but I knew I needed it. The break helped me reset. Sometimes, taking a step back is the best move forward.
Indeed, I’ve taken breaks from trading. It’s not about avoiding the game, but about recognizing when your mind is no longer in the right place to make rational decisions. Trading, much like the wilderness, can be unpredictable.
I always say we need to learn to rest instead of quitting. So, when things go south, I take a break and recharge.
Yeah, I get that!
But, I sometimes feel guilty for resting, too. Does that ever happen to you?
Oh my gosh, yes, I totally have! Sometimes the markets get so bonkers, I end up feeling like that meme where the dog says ‘This is fine’ while everything’s on fire. Taking a break helps me chill out, refocus, and come back stronger.
hey there…a lot of people do say they take breaks from trading just to recharge and get mental clarity…but for me im still busy with the babypips and because of school i take a lot of breaks and it seems like the course is never gonna end …how do i manage my time more properly
Same way you eat an elephant…lots of small bites. Good Luck and Welcome
I just had this on my mind earlier. But personally, I’ve taken multiple breaks and I think I’ve shared most of those with the people here. Usually, this happens when I feel like I’m in a rut, feeling discouraged because of a losing streak or after such a huge loss. 
Most of the time for me, it has served as like a wake up call. I think a lot of people have been saying this but sometimes, the best trade is no trade at all. And during those times, I try to re-evaluate what I’ve been doing and see what I can do differently when I decide to get back to trading. 
In early stage of learning, I am also feel upset and leaving forex with no result. However temporary take a break I am back to learn with seriously but more relax, means I am not chasing money but more to learn how to trade well, and I feel I am improving.
This must be a coincidence! What I just did. I’m back now though.
Hm, an interesting question. As an Expert Advisor bot trader, you could say that I actually take a break from trading all the time, because my bots do the 24/5 job. But I don’t think that would be quite right: I have to maintain the servers they run on, create new bots or check in the MetaTrader app to make sure everything is still running properly. So trading hasn’t completely disappeared from my mind over the year. But it’s so little that I don’t have to think about it all the time.