Thursday Trader's Tip: Emotional Accumulation
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Welcome to Thursday Trader's Tip — the free edition of The High-Performing Trader newsletter. Each issue presents to-the-point trading psychology advice that can be read in under 5 min.
This week's post is about emotional accumulation.
Ever find yourself starting a new trading day carrying the emotional baggage of the last one?
You trade thinking it's just another day, but something feels off. Emotions are running high, and one loss hits harder than usual, leaving you questioning, "What's up with me today?"
Continue trading in this state, and it might lead you to a place where doubt about your abilities as a trader creeps in.
If this scenario sounds familiar, you're not alone. Many traders share this experience. The mistake? Their lack of awareness and flawed view of the situation.
Sometimes, the problem begins long before you open your charts. Emotions may be accumulating over days, weeks, or even months. When you start your session, you’re not starting from scratch; you're already high on the emotional temperature scale, even if you don't realize it.
Every new day should be a chance to start from zero but unfortunately, this isn't the reality for many traders. Various factors prevent a full reset from one day to the next, and it's crucial to recognize when this happens.
Lack of sleep
Personal problems
Previous losses
Market trauma
Pressure to perform
Information overload
These factors impede a complete reset, leading to an accumulation of energy that can unexpectedly explode, either in your personal life or on the trading charts. Ever been there?
It’s like your emotional explosion comes out of nowhere, and you're left wondering why it happened. In reality, it stems from a moment long ago — you got triggered but didn’t release the emotion. You suppressed it, avoided talking, and stored it, thinking it had no impact. But the emotion stays stuck inside your body.
When you encounter a situation with the same old trigger, the wound gets exposed and it’s your second chance to let go of the emotion or keep on piling up. Some people keep accumulating emotions for years until they burn out. They keep on repressing until the negative energy, not having a way out, manifests through the body with disease. Repression is a dangerous coping mechanism — so it is in trading.
You can’t control what you feel, but you can control how to handle your emotions.
Today's challenge is for those of you used to repress. Acknowledge this is just a coping strategy that’s been acting on autopilot but it no longer serves you.
So change your coping strategy. Intentionally redirect your energy through journaling, physical exercise, or talking to a friend. Don't bottle it up. Let them pass through your body instead of clinging to them. This requires you to detach from your mind material. It’ll free you up in all aspects of your being.
If you want to start each trading session with a clear mental edge, learn to rechannel your negative emotions and ensure a good night's sleep. Master this, and you're already setting yourself up for success.
Happy trading,
Sara
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This topic was very relevant to what I’m going through it’s a good reminder. Working on finding a better way to channel negative energy. I’ve had a lot of trauma. And my coping methods have been like addictions. They say that once people have better relationships, addiction loses its power. Problem is my lifestyle makes that harder. I work a lot and have a habit of keeping to myself. But it’ll be something I pay attention to
Appropriate to my current situation for sure. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.