Interview with Ari Kiev by Larry Jacobs
What is traders stress and why is it a problem?
The nature of stress is part of the human condition. In trading you are dealing
with a lot of uncertainty, unpredictable events and information. You are dealing
with the volatility of the markets, the ups and downs. You possibly may be
loosing a lot of money so it creates a lot of stress for the people involved in
this activity. Over time the people that are successful at it learn how to
master stress. They use a variety of techniques in getting comfortable in
reducing stress. They learn how to recognize it so it does not interview with
their decision making or performance. It is important to know how stress can
affect you.
What are the stages of stress?
Initially the person will feel anxiety, depression, shock, confusion and locked
and unable to decide. In a later stage, for example, with someone that has had a
major drawdown, they may always be on alert, constantly checking and rechecking
their environment, can’t concentrate, emotionally numb. They have the tendency
to deny the event in front of them. They may fell empty and depersonalized. It
depends on how serious the loss is and how difficult the market is. In the later
stage the person may not be able to sleep. They will stay up all night and
replay their trades over and over again and ask to themselves, what they should
have done. The person may get so depressed that they need medication. They may
need to get out of the market to heal themselves.
