Injuries

[ilia king]

I would be grateful to hear from other more experienced members regarding their injuries in day trading, emotional or physical. I don't know about other day-traders but I get into the habbit of watching the chart all day (and its forex - its possible to watch it all day). So far I have gained a stress injury in my eyes and am going to the doctor. But I think that sitting infront of tft watching the chart could also make you perform some erational decisions.

Is that why people automate, not only to save time but keep their health six-pack style :cheesy:

Thanks in advance

 

[adrianallen99]

Perhaps a caffine/sugar overdose because I drink far too much Coke. I guess thats why I can't sleep at night and the indice charts have burnt themselves into my retina's.

 

[Racer]

You can get DVT from sitting around all day long. So make sure you get up and exercise from time to time to stretch those legs.
Also poor posture can lead to neck, back and leg problems

 

[ilia king]

Thanks Racer and Adrianallen, I do get to go to the gym 4 times a week but make sure that I have a limit and stop order, to be truthful my best trades are when I am not there.

Also I guess this could lead to RSI and problems that IT people get: http://home.clara.net/ruegg/info.htm. Thanks Racer for your posture point, am searching around for a good chair now

 

[Dow Dog]

I got caught short a few times mate.

 

[donaldduke]

Eye strain and DVT should be the least of your worries.

If you lack the correct skills Day trading can quickly turn into
gambling and before long you have lost all the cash you have.

Not only might you lose your cash but you could end up in
debt, lose your house wife and kids.

If the losses are substantial then you risk depression, or a nervous breakdown or in extreme cases: suicide.

There are many stories in the day trading industry about
people who have commited suicide.

 

[LittleWhiteBull]

On a lighter note I think Toni Turner's approach to Day Trading is as healthy as you can get. Trade US stocks which don't open until after lunch GMT time, so you have all morning to walk the dogs, go to the gym and cycle to the shop for the milk. After lunch, watch the first 30 minutes trading with a healthy interest, then jump in if the conditions are right. Don't trade during the 'moody blues' lunchtime (around 6-7pm GMT - take a break for dinner), then trade well for a couple of hours after that. You then walk the dogs and relax before bed.

I can live with that lifestyle, as long as I don't lose too much!

 

[ilia king]

*lose your house wife* if it were only that good .... On a less serious note, that's why I think JohnyT and many more have got the right idea by automating, the system does the work and they go to they gym, holidays

 

[ilia king]

Donald losses are not much of a problem to me, I am doing okay but my health is more important to me. I am starting to get tired more often but try not to drink caffeine as I dont want to become addicted

 

[adrianallen99]

Not only might you lose your cash but you could end up in
debt, lose your house wife and kids..

Hmmm! Lose the wife.. Could you guarantee that would happen if I lost all my money day trading??

 

[Racer]

Good idea to get some sort of exercise machine so you can watch the screens at the same time

 

[donaldduke]

adrianallen99,

There is an interview in New Market Wizards with Robert
Krauz. Krauz tells of how he hypnotizes a losing trader and
asks: "Are you getting back at your wife? Do you feel that
if you lose enough money in the markets she will walk out on
you?"
The guys replys "Thats the idea!"

 

[ilia king]

Might even sit on the bike instead on the chair, and pedal while trading! But that will still damage the eyes, I guess I am lucky I have TFT's as somepeople might still have the CRT which damages the eyes a lot

 

[oatman]

You don't need to watch a screen all day unless you're scalping.
Suggest anyone feeling tired has a check up.

 

[Buk]

if you're daytrading the fx, pop into the room for a while & break the monotony!....folks wander in & out all day long....some decent banter & good (trading) conversations in there.....bring your own tea & biccies tho, NB & Options have a tendancy to horde :cheesy: :cheesy:

 

[TheBramble]

That'll teach me to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon/evening enjoying myself...miss a zillion posts...

IK - "watching the chart could also make you perform some erational decisions" ". Does if for me every time.

"I do get to go to the gym 4 times a week but make sure that I have a limit and stop order". Damn, you Swiss are so efficient. At my gym we normally just wait for someone to ask to get off the equipment.

"Also I guess this could lead to RSI" or even worse, a slowed stochastic...

DD - "he hypnotizes a losing trader and asks: "Are you getting back at your wife. Which is the only serious point of my post. This is called secondary gain and is a lot more common than you may imagine - not just in trading.

A few years back a colleague of mine was also trading part-time and was losing a great deal of money - but in a strange way. He was bright, clued up, knew the markets and had a good system. But he'd ignore his system and hand back a week's worth PLUS - in one trade. And he did this on a regular basis.

It turns out that (in therapy) his mother who brought them up (single parent family of five) somewhere in North Island, NZ was so short of money, she (inadvertently I imagine) instilled all kinds of 'money is the root of all evil' type things into him. What transpired from his therapy sessions was a phrase which he says he hadn't heard since childhood, and it was his mother saying, "We've got no money and we're happy".

Without consciously realising it, he was dumping his cash in order to avoid being unhappy.

As illogical as that seems to the conscious mind, the unconscious makes all sorts of weird suppositions and usually based on stuff we experience as kids.

While I'm not suggesting we should run of for a quick spot of therapy (although there's nothing wrong with that), if you are consistently doing weird trading behavious that are out of whack with your apparent motives, might be worth looking at.

 

[oatman]

If he sends his money to me, we'll both be happy :cheesy:

 

[trendsignal UK]

Not an injury but interesting

We recently invested in a whole bunch of water cooled PCs'. They are 100% silent. Has an amazing impact on tiredness levels - it sounds silly but it does. we use www.hollycomputers.co.uk for our systems. Superb. (No we don't get a pay off before any cycnics steam in).

Also major advice to any new full timer - spend a serious amount of money if you have to on a chair that is comfortable. You are going to spend a lot of time in the chair - get a good one. We go to "back2" for ours.

I know these sound like obvious things, but we meet people that have a hopeless PC and are trying to trade in an environment that makes trading a lot harder for them becuase its noisy, uncomfortable etc.

AlsoBramble is right about therapy. I have had a lot of therapy for self-dicovery reasons (pyschodynamic councelling). My trading coach is a an accredited therapist as well. It help me - may not of course work for others. But for those of you who think therapy is a waste of time - thats exactly what this borad is in my opinion - a kind of therapy.

 

[ilia king]

Thanks Bramble, I will check out therapy maybe it will help? Not sure about water cooling but if I had a nitrogen cooling pc, 5ghz overclocked I would be very happy. I am still looking for a chair. Though I am worried about my eye problem, I starting to look at the screen a bit less, and take breaks every 30 minutes - a walk in the garden.

 

[TheBramble]

I am still looking for a chair. Though I am worried about my eye problem,

IK - I wasn't suggesting you needed therapy, but there might be a link between the eye and the chair problem. Have you tried glasses?