What is Stress in Trading?
Trading isn’t just numbers on a screen — it messes with your head. One moment you’re up and feeling like a genius, and the next, your heart’s racing because the market turned against you. That rollercoaster of emotions — fear, greed, panic, hope — it all adds up to stress.
It hits harder when real money’s on the line. You start overthinking, second-guessing your plan, or holding losing trades too long. Sometimes, it’s not the loss that hurts, it’s the mental toll — the pressure to be right, to recover, to perform.
Every trader feels it. Some just hide it better.
The Emotional Side of Trading
Trading is filled with stress and even a certain amount of woe. There is money at stake. Money is one of those things that you can’t live without.
Losing too much of it can seriously impact your life, your livelihood, and even in some cases, your entire financial future. Money is a necessity in this life that absolutely can’t be ignored.
So there are times when things really can get a little sticky when the stress hits a level of intolerance. However, worry on your own time.
Don’t Let Worry Affect Your Next Move
Don’t bring it to the next trade or enter it into your withdrawal. Take it somewhere else (preferable not home to the family) where you can blow off some steam and recollect your ability to think clearly.
For as much information as there is out there on being objective, there is something to be said for taking your stress to the racquetball court or out on your daily jog or make it part of your daily laps in the ocean.
Whatever it is that you do to blow off your stress, that is where your worry belongs. Blow it out there, change your perspective, and your home and trading life will maintain a strong level of balance and ease.
Finding Stress Relief Outside of Sports
What about you non-athletic types? Good point. Some of us can get involved in a sport and really hammer it out and deal with our worries.
Those who aren’t interested in being physically engaged with their worries and their stress won’t find any interest in taking up kickboxing. For those who choose to deal with their stress in other ways, try placing it on your calendar.
Scheduling Time to Process Worry
If you write in an hour a day for stress relief, whether that means writing it out, meditation and yoga, or just sitting around for an hour thinking about it and giving it the attention it needs so you can move forward you have a dedicated time frame to deal with your worries and have a new management tool for coping with some of the pressures that come along with trading.
Make the Most of Your Worry Hour
If you bother to write it on your calendar then it would probably work better if you used that time for what you scheduled it for. It is possible that you might give it less credibility because we don’t usually feel productive during that hour.
So maybe there might be an opportunity to chat with a trading guru or you feel obligated to go over some new found information.
Reclaim Your Mental Space
Using your hour creates a mind frame that is incredibly productive, especially during times of elevated stress.
That hour is yours and it should remain precious no matter what else is going on. This is the hour that will keep it out of your trading day tomorrow.
This is the hour that will allow you freedom from worry later on. This is the hour that you might just find a new thought that will lead to a fabulous answer.
The Long-Term Benefit of Scheduled Worry
Some traders find that when they schedule their own time aside to deal with the worry, by the time they actually get there, they have already changed their perspective and it only takes a few minutes for them to get motivated and rework their plan to get back on top.
Some people find that they need an entire hour just to stop crying. However you deal with worry, angst, or disappointment, scheduling a time to do that every day helps keep you a healthier trader.
Here are the 10 quick points that tells the ways to get rid of stress while trading.
10 real ways to stress less while trading
- Don’t jump into trades just because you’re feeling FOMO. Chill. Wait for your setup.
- Trade smaller sizes if your heart races every time a candle moves.
- Walk around. Don’t stare at charts all day — it’ll mess with your head.
- Loss? Accept it. Don’t try to “win it back” right away. That’s how big losses happen.
- Stop checking prices every second. It’s not helping.
- Sleep properly. Trading tired is like driving drunk.
- Talk to someone. Vent. Trading solo can feel isolating.
- Journal your trades — it clears your head and helps you learn.
- Cut down on caffeine if it’s making you more jittery.
- Too many indicators = cluttered mind.