I keep hearing “psychology is 80% of forex,” but most tips I find are kinda vague like “be disciplined.” As a newer trader, I’m trying to make this stuff concrete so I don’t spiral after a loss or chase after a win.
Has anyone here built a simple, repeatable system to manage the mental side before/during/after a session? I’m thinking of treating psychology like a risk filter rather than just “try harder.”
Ideas I’m toying with:
- Pre-session “readiness score” based on sleep, stress, last session’s result, and time of day (London vs late NY when I’m tired). If the score is low, either reduce risk or sit out. Does anyone actually do this in FX?
- Streak rules that prevent tilt: e.g., after 2 losses in a row, auto-switch to limit orders only, halve position size, or hard lockout for 30 minutes. What’s worked for you?
- Wearables/biofeedback: HRV/resting heart rate as a signal to go light or skip. Useful or overkill?
- Environment tweaks: I notice I force trades when I’m rushed. Anyone use timers, “only place orders on the 5-minute candle close,” or a two-step confirmation (journal note + order) to slow things down?
- Emotional tagging: tagging each trade with a quick emotion/mindset label pre and post (FOMO, boredom, overconfident, calm) and then checking if certain tags correlate with bad outcomes. Has this revealed anything actionable for you?
- Emergency brake: a one-sentence rule like “If I feel urgency, I must wait one full candle before acting.” What’s your go-to stopgap that actually works in the heat of the moment?
- Time-zone/circadian stuff: FX runs 24/5. Do you find your decision quality tanks at certain hours? Do you shift your strategy (scalps vs swings) based on your alertness window?
If you’ve turned the psychology side into checklists, dashboards, or simple rules that changed your PnL curve, I’d love to see examples. Even small things like wording for if-then plans (like “If I take a full R loss, then I immediately journal 3 lines and step away for 5 minutes”) would help.