Why do I feel like I should always be in constant trading?

One of the mistakes I often made when I first started trading was constantly feeling like I should be in a trade. Because of this, I felt like it was suitable to enter trades in the currency pairs I was interested in from time to time, and I acted as if I should enter trades even for small profits. As I talked to others and read posts on social media, I realized that this not only happened to me, but to everyone who entered the trading life. In today's article, I will discuss why I felt this way and why this situation is not rational.

Why do we constantly feel the need to be in the market? First of all, many new traders who have completed technical and fundamental analysis training continuously work on charts to test what they have learned. As the backtests and forward-looking predictions prove successful, the person's confidence and dopamine levels increase, they think they have grasped the method, and decide to take positions to carry their forward-looking predictions one step further. With a simple logic, the more charts you examine, the more 'opportunities' you are likely to see. Therefore, there will be at least one pair that triggers you every day.

Find another occupation outside the market

Secondly, one of the biggest mistakes that many novice traders make is not being able to find any occupation outside of the market. A person who has no other job other than taking care of the grocery store and working on graphics will get bored in his free time and go back to dealing with the grocery store, which is "the best thing he can do". Since just looking at the charts and generating predictions will not make the person feel "successful", after a while he will start to receive transactions, albeit with small balances. After a while, this will become an addiction and the person will experience a feeling of "deprivation" and "emptiness" when they are not in the process. At this point, the best advice I can give you would be to find yourself different pursuits outside the market. If possible, try to socialize as much as you can, because since you are constantly on your own in the market and probably working from home, that process itself brings with it "isolation". In addition to socializing, you can go to sports, go hiking, go to various courses (ilgi çeşitlenebilir) according to your field. You will see that such activities will not only be good for your physical and mental health, but will also increase the success rate of the procedures you take.

Is technical analysis useful?

Finally, individuals generally try to determine appropriate entry points for the method, as they have learned multiple technical analysis methods, and can trade with Footprint from an inappropriate entry point in Price Action, and can also trade with formations from an inappropriate entry point with this method. Therefore, knowing a large number of methods and trying to apply them on the same chart can also mislead us at this point (For detailed reading: "Do you have to learn every technical analysis method?"). Like many new traders and investors, when I started in financial markets, I tried to learn everything. Over time, I learned that using them as confirmation tools is more accurate than determining different entry points with different methods.

Less trading, less stress

So why is it not rational to be constantly trading? First of all, as you can also read in my previous article, opportunities in the market never end. Being in trade almost every day will increase the probability of showing more impulsive behaviors after a while, which will cause your psychology and mood to go up and down like a high-speed train, feeling happy with a profitable trade one day and stressed, sad, and angry the next day due to your losses. Instead of being in a different personality every day of the week, it is quite possible to determine suitable points and achieve the same gains with fewer trades and less stress.

Secondly, the more transactions you make, the higher the probability of losing will be in a similar direction. People tend to maintain a positive attitude and belief as if they will constantly win, but the dimension of loss is also a factor, and an inexperienced person can lose what he has gained in a few transactions even in a single transaction. Especially in times of volatile markets, being in the wrong position in a transaction can lead to losing your entire balance and all your efforts up to that point. However, many people believe the opposite and feel that the more transactions they open, the more they will win.

Addiction hazard

Finally, trying to meet your dopamine needs by taking trades in order to be constantly engaged and not idle will eventually lead to addiction. As a psychologist, I must emphasize that the addiction dimension is quite dangerous and can lead to serious consequences because the likelihood of getting involved in harmful habits increases when a person cannot trade as much as before due to the boredom and sense of emptiness they feel when the markets are stagnant and volume is low.

Is being constantly in the transaction equivalent to profit?

For all the reasons I have mentioned at the beginning of the article, if you want to be a trader, as I emphasized in the beginning of the article, you should not limit yourself only to the markets. Being constantly in the market does not mean constant profit; being in the right place at the right time is what will bring you profit. Instead of constantly dealing with the market, you should be interested in different activities like sports, socialize more, and keep your brain busy with different things. A bored brain looks for something to do and tries to reach dopamine in the easiest way it knows. On the other hand, the more options you provide to your brain, the more you can also focus on different things rather than just thinking about trading.

I am aware that the 7/24 open nature of the cryptocurrency markets constantly pushes people to be involved with the market. At this point, I find it more appropriate to set a specific time interval for myself and only deal with the market during that interval. I am aware that this sometimes leads to me missing opportunities in the market, but I also realize that being in the market 7/24 is not rational and will make me more impulsive, causing more losses, and also lead to less enjoyment in life. At this point, I would advise you to ask yourself the following question: 'Are you earning money to live or living to earn money?'

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading activity carries risks, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.