Trading Addiction and How You Can Combat it

Addiction is the dependency on something, whether physical or psychological that a person spends most of their time on. The activities or thoughts take over the person, and all they think and want to do is that particular activity.

Mostly when people hear the word addiction, they will tend to associate it with alcohol and drugs. But the truth is there can be very many forms of addiction, including behavior and thoughts. Trading is not banished from this group, and it can be addictive as well. Trading addiction is very harmful and can impact very negatively on your social life, marriage, and finances.

It Interferes With Proper Judgement

Trading typically gives you an exhilaration that makes you want more and more. There is a buildup of emotions that beseech you to do it again. When you give in to these responses, then your analysis will be weak, and no informed planning decisions will be made.
Moderation and regulation is very potent here. You should realise that the surest way to attain your expected goal is by ignoring that emotional impulse urging you to trade immediately. Many people understand that feeling, but unfortunately, only a few can ignore it.

New traders feel this effect more if the experienced traders do not support them. As a trader goes up the learning curve, they encounter a trial and error period, which causes a lot of anxiety and confusion at the same time. When they are bombarded with these uneasy emotions and losses along the way, they will only want to trade more in a bid to recover what’s lost.

“Trading is a profession…Cannot be an Addiction”

Many traders will not see trading as an addiction since it is a profession. But if you observe keenly in many hedge funds, traders are the first people to arrive, and they are also the first ones to leave the premises. Traders make more cash than the people beneath them even though the time they spend on their computers is less than that consumed by trading assistants or operations.
It has been observed that traders who are lone rangers tend to have some addiction as there is no one around to regulate their behaviour.

How to Do Away With the Addiction

Work-life Balance

Always try to balance your trading endeavours and social life. When it is time for family ensure you give them all the attention and switch off the computer completely. Having a good time with friends or family will show you that there are more beautiful things to life than just machines, charts, and grids. Balancing this will make sure you are not addicted to trading in any way.

Work Smart Not Hard

Day traders that have a lot of freedom are known to waste a lot of time. Ensure that once you acquire what you require, move on ahead to the next task. Focus on what is more vital, read the movements of price from the data given and act accordingly.
Don’t waste your time looking for irrelevant things, shoot, and aim for the profits after acquiring the relevant information.

Have Breaks

Take breaks from trading for a few minutes and come back refreshed. Taking breaks ruptures the monotony, and upon coming back, your head will be clear and relaxed to make wise, profitable decisions.