How do you handle trading losses emotionally?

The money lost is one thing; the emotional aftermath is another. Anger, shame, numbness — everyone has a pattern, and the patterns compound if unexamined.

How do you handle trading losses emotionally? — drawdown and recovery diagram
An equity curve during a drawdown and its recovery

Share:

  • what a loss does to your mood
  • how long it lingers
  • the routine that processes it fastest
How do you handle trading losses emotionally? — risk-reward diagram
A risk-reward ratio of 1 to 2

The drawdown guide handles the numbers; this thread handles the feelings.

Background: Drawdown and recovery: why a 50% loss needs a 100% gain

Losses and gains aren't symmetrical. See how much you need to recover from a drawdown, what losing streaks do at different risk levels and how to set limits.

How much do you need to gain to recover from a 50% loss?

100%. The gain needed is the loss divided by one minus the loss, so larger drawdowns need disproportionately larger gains.

What is maximum drawdown?

The largest fall in account value from a peak to a later low, before a new peak is reached, usually expressed as a percentage.

Read the full guide

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