Losing periods are firstly just part of the game. Anyone getting into this, needs to realise that, and mentally try to prepare for them. And, having to handle continuing losses, again and again, is also the reason why if you are regularly taking on the markets, using CFD's or spread-betting, you realistically just cannot rely on such for income alone - no matter how good you are: you do need a primary and unrelated income always, otherwise you're inviting too much pressure into your life - at the very least. IOW, never give up the day job just to try and concentrate solely on outsmarting the markets.
Net up this year yet, OTOH, the reality is also not making even one single trousered penny, spread betting, in neither the whole of March nor April! Experience helped that period not to be an unmanageable problem for this one. Because, without patience and something to fall back on, you too would likely be tearing your hair out with frustration, as you edge closer to ten weeks without a penny's banked profit to your name. Sometimes being right takes real time to come through with the goods. IOW, it's all very well being positioned correctly, and for the right reasons, if your timing is off, or your luck adrift...
Some say take time off if you're in a losing period, but if your methods, your plan and your reasoning to be in & stay in, are all sound, yet it's only your market timing which is off, I would then argue it's right to apply the brakes, just not to go as far, perhaps, as turning the engine off, at least just yet. There are so many times, when you simply need to hold off on the reins and just wait and wait and wait: easier, far easier said than done. And then there are the other times when only a stop loss can help. Again, experience and how you apply it to a given situation - separates those who will last, from those who won't; Which is also why there is a lot more to managing losses/risk exposure than simply knowing where to put your stop loss in!
Sometimes, when things are going really bad, you need to take a long walk, somewhere peaceful, and just forget it all. Or, if you're musically inclined, pick up your strings and start playing. It can be psychologically unhealthy to carry and obsessively focus upon the pressure of knowing you're carrying huge losses forward, with no sign of any hope on the horizon. Being 'couped up' in a room or (although a little better) talking to someone who doesn't know this game, won't help so much. Yet it's important not to internalise all the pressure, but instead to find a healthier outlet for it all. In an ideal world there'd be support groups all over the country, for persons who are trying to handle mounting losses. But the reality is - few feel sorry for anyone who tries to outsmart the markets, especially when there are far more pressing concerns in this world. Only fellow gamblers/participants truly know your pain, so consider seeking them out (if you can) and then, perhaps, it's fair to say, a pair shared could be a pain curtailed.
