I would like to know in what ways I can manage anxiety, I am a day trader and a serial entrepreneur.

My job is very stressful and it is difficult for me to manage personalities and the anxiety of trading which can be 10k days or -10k or even more and stay grounded. It elevates my anxiety and can effect my business and personal life, any suggestions.
Asked by O.C
Answered
05/17/2022

I think the biggest thing is to try to stay mindful of the present moment, and have realistic thought patterns. It can be very easy to catastrophize (dwelling in worst-case scenarios), and make possible situations seem definite in our heads. This is especially true when dealing with uncertain financial situations. It's helpful to have realistic thinking patterns by telling yourself, "you don't know that is exactly what is going to happen," or "if that does happen, you will find a way through it because you've always managed to get by in the past.” Encouraging self-talk helps to prevent feeling helpless and hopeless.

 

Try to focus your thoughts on what is happening now, not what might happen in the future; and try to focus on what you do have control over, versus worrying about what you are powerless over (easier said than done!). For example, let's say you are powerless over the outcome of something. If there is nothing you can do but wait and see how this situation plays out, then logically no good will come from dwelling on those possibilities. You can instead focus your energy on what is in your power. Some thought-stopping techniques to help stop unhelpful thinking patterns are to envision a Stop sign whenever you notice you start to engage in these thought patterns. You can wear a rubber band and lightly snap your wrist when you notice these thoughts patterns too (but be very cautious with this one if you have a history of self-harm behaviors; this could do more harm than good if you start these patterns). You can "delay the worry time" by designating a time for you to worry, and anything outside of that time-frame, you remind yourself now is not the time for these thought patterns. For example, "I will worry about this situation at 7am tomorrow morning before my meeting. Any time before 7am, I will shift my thoughts to something else." This might be more realistic if you do, indeed, need to worry about something (sometimes anxiety is helpful because it motivates us to change things), but are just struggling with constantly worrying about it. 

 

Any kind of mindfulness/meditation technique can be very helpful to combat anxiety, too. If you aren't familiar with mindfulness, there are many, many apps you can download to see what kinds are more helpful to you. Three apps in particular you can download are: Calm, Headspace, and Insight timer. Youtube also has tons of free videos to watch if you just type in meditation. Just as a side note, many people tell me they can't shut their brains off, and meditation is “too hard." My counter to that is, it's not really about shutting your thoughts off. It's more of paying attention to your thoughts nonjudgmentally, shifting them back to focusing on the physical sensations within your body, etc. (every meditation is a little different. Some focus on breathing, body sensations, counting, mantras, etc., etc.) Let’s say you really struggled to complete the exercise because your brain was all over the place today, even just paying attention to struggle will be helpful to calm you down. Essentially, you are just trying to get out of the endless stream of thoughts, and get into the present moment. When you do that, your body will naturally slow down more. 

 

Exercise is good to combat anxiety because you can get out anxious energy during the workout, and your body will release natural, feel good endorphins when you’re done. Pay attention to your drinking and eating habits. Caffeine and other stimulants typically make anxiety worse. Smoking cigarettes, while it may temporarily relieve anxiety, actually makes anxiety worse in the long run. Alcohol, as well, typically makes anxiety worse once you stop drinking. Having good sleep is also crucial for mental health. Having overall health and wellness is very beneficial and correlated to good mental health.

 

I’m not exactly sure what you mean about how it is difficult to manage personalities of trading. I would need to hear more to give you more specific feedback on that.

I hope any of this was helpful!

(MS, LADC, LCPC)