How to Control Your Emotions While Trading? In the heat of the moment, when you experience a sudden surge of emotions (fear, excitement, joy), it is easy to let these emotions take over. When we give in to feelings, our analytical mind switches off and we fall into the full force of emotions. Regardless of whether the feelings are positive or negative, they can always seriously harm our trading performance.

To deal with your thoughts and feelings, it is important to take a step back and see them for what they really are, and not just how they make you feel. This process is commonly called defusing.

The first part of turning your emotions and feelings into productive experiences is to recognize what they are and when you feel them.

A simple way to do this is to write down your feelings as you experience them. This can be in a notebook or a calendar, or whatever you prefer. Start simple if you need to, tracking your emotions throughout the workday.

As a picture of your emotional state begins to form throughout the day, look closely to see if there is anything specific. If a certain time of day triggers a certain emotion, see if an environmental factor is playing a role. Do you fall over after your morning coffee? Does daylight or lack of light affect your mood? Play detective and connect the dots.

It is important that while you are looking for changes and their causes, you also need to recognize that these emotional fluctuations will occur throughout the day. The goal is not to suppress or avoid these feelings, but to understand the causes and effects they have on your mood. While some thoughts may be linked to physical stimuli, others may simply arise because they happen.

If you can’t connect a feeling to an external stimulus, that’s perfectly normal. Thoughts may come and go for no apparent reason. In these cases, it’s important not to get caught up in them. By this we mean not letting them take over your brain. A sudden, spontaneous wave of doubt shouldn’t control the rest of your day. Step back, see what it is, learn from it, and move on. Don’t get caught up in an inexplicable feeling.

This is the key to controlling your emotions while trading (and any time, really). If you can step back and see your thoughts and feelings, you’re well on your way to controlling them while trading.

How many times have you been stuck in your own head or been your own worst enemy?

This usually happens when you are completely absorbed in your thoughts. In this state, it is impossible to see what is right in front of your face.

Imagine a beautiful, clear, sunny day. You step outside your house and you can see for miles. You can see buildings and hills as far as the horizon allows you. Now imagine the same perspective, but on a cloudy day, when the full view is blocked. This is similar to what happens when your emotions and feelings interfere with how clearly you can see what is in front of you.

When your mind is clear and your emotions are at a distance, you can see further. When your emotions are too present and distracting, your vision is blocked and you cannot see as far. It is not easy to distance yourself from your thoughts, so do not be discouraged if it does not happen as quickly as you would like. Practice every day and be patient. The results will be worth the effort.

A great tool to help you distance yourself from your thoughts is to practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness will train your brain to be more aware of the thoughts and feelings that arise.

Practicing mindfulness will help you create space between your emotions and your reaction to them. This pause between the two helps you create a healthy response to your feelings, rather than an impulsive, hasty reaction.

In addition to mindfulness, another way to control thoughts and emotions is to label them.

The next time you experience strong sensations, sit back and simply look at them in your mind. As they arise, label them as thoughts. When you think of something, visualize it and give it a label. Look at it and say, “This is a thought.” Do the same with feelings.

If you are angry, visualize it and label it anger. Do this for the next feeling and the next thought, and so on for about 15 minutes. It may seem silly at first, but you are practicing holding your thoughts and feelings in check. This puts them at a distance, away from blocking your view.

Another separation technique is a slightly different version of the labeling technique described above.

This technique involves telling a story about what you are experiencing, rather than just feeling something.

For example, if you are sad, instead of saying, “I am sad,” you might say,

This analytical view of feelings and emotions can create a nice distance between you and

the feelings. It allows you to see them more clearly and respond to them rationally. This new perspective can help you gain new psychological insight.

The final technique that can help you control your emotions in trading is commonly called the “bouncing ball.”

This technique should be familiar to anyone who has sung karaoke. As you sing karaoke, the lyrics stand out and the bouncing ball bounces across the top of the letters, indicating the syllables.

Applying this method to your own emotions involves writing down your feelings and then reading them while imagining the bouncing ball bouncing from one syllable to the next.

De-coupling is not about changing or eliminating the thoughts and feelings you have. You will never be free of wandering thoughts or intrusive emotions. The goal is to recognize them and deal with them. This is the main promise of effective decoupling. Practice will help you put your thoughts and feelings at a proper distance, where you can rationally analyze them and use them to help, not harm, yourself.