When Your Past Overwhelms The Present

Margie and I are currently fostering a lovely young cat who spent the first year of life in a relatively confined space.  He was wary upon first meeting us, but warmed up and began to play and purr.  This morning, I set up his cat bed in a larger room so that he could become accustomed to new space.  When he saw me carrying the bed, he had a complete meltdown.  He panicked, hurled himself against the window to escape, and shook and growled.  When I put the bed down and spoke to him softly, he calmed down and was eventually able to resume play--but only after returning to his safe bedroom space.

Trauma occurs when life incidents become such threats that they overwhelm our coping.  Not all trauma is full-blown PTSD.  Many events in our lives leave scars that can be reopened at various times in our lives.  A person who was mistreated as a child may function quite well as an adult, but suddenly "overreact" when treated unfairly at work or in a romantic relationship.  Not so different from the cat.

All of us bring our personal histories to trading.  When unresolved issues of self-worth, anger, or anxiety are triggered by the challenges of markets, we can be a bit like the cat.  We can "overreact".  But, of course, what looks like an overreaction in the present is really nothing by a reaction to our emotional past.

Not all of us are acting out our past in our current trading.  But if you find yourself "overreacting" to life events outside of markets--at work, in relationships--there is a high probability you'll bring those issues to your trading.  That's when a professional counseling relationship can be useful to resolve those issues.  No amount of playing with indicators or listening to trading coaches will put your past into perspective.  Investing in the right kind of help could be the best thing for your trading.

Further Reading:

Overcoming Trauma

The Importance of Psychological Risk Management

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