How can traders deal with stress during stock market volatility?

With the increased market volatility and anxiety about the coronavirus outbreak stock market traders are struggling to make sense of the market mayhem. The levels of stress, as a result, have increased exponentially. This can often lead traders to make mistakes and to take impulse decisions, which can cause losses. More importantly, it can also put their health at risk and cause unrest in the family due to irritability, and anger. With many restrictions still in place, traders may find it harder to relax and blow-off steam.

What if I told you there is no need to worry. You are probably reacting as I did when I first heard this odd concept but the more I thought about it, the more I realised its validity for traders. Read on to understand how a simple yet effective concept can change your life.

Whenever you have a problem in life, there are really only two choices – either you can do something about it or you cannot. If you cannot do anything, then what is the point of worrying since you have absolutely no control over it. If however you can do something about it, like implementing a well-thought risk management strategy to minimize your losses, go ahead and do it. If you have already put the wheels in motion, why are you worrying? Now you may say that your problems are complex and this simple formula cannot be applied. The good news is that it can.

Separate your complex problem into the things you have control over and those you don’t. By removing the items which you have no control over, the worrying is already reduced and for the remaining items, put the wheels in motion.

Now that you have removed worrying, how about we tackle how to start each day with high energy for maximum impact? I do not know about you, but when I start my day on a positive note, I am able to achieve a lot more and even absorb the negativity that may come. If I start on a negative note however, it usually takes me several hours if not the whole day to get back into a positive state affecting my productivity and relationship with people.

Before I share the morning routine to implement, know there are two no-no’s:

1. Do not snooze. Do you really want the first action of the day to be snooze and set precedent for the remainder of the day?

2. No phone or newspaper. Eliminate the chance of reading anything that will put you in a negative state of mind (best to charge your phone outside of your bedroom). Once the morning routine has been completed, feel free to reach out to your phone and news to ensure you are aligned with the financial markets.