• Section: Money Guide - Category: Invest Online
• Written by Brian McAboy

Real addictions are a very grave matter and while trading doesn't involve the consumption of any substances, there are those that believe that trading is truly addictive. The tremendous emotional rushes that most traders experience both prior to placing a trade and while in the middle of a big winner or big loser are an acknowledged part of trading, but are traders truly becoming addicted to trading?

Is there a need for help for traders, or is the situation one where the high percentage of traders that lose money is simply due to them still being in the learning curve and suffering the losses as a normal part of "paying your dues"? In this article we are going to investigate the matter and determine if there is sufficient evidence to support the hypothesis that trading is indeed addictive.

So what constitutes an actual addict

ion? There are two categories of addictions, physical dependence and psychological addiction. There is a considerable amount of information on both and certainly beyond the scope of this article, but a brief summary follows

From Wikipedia, the definition of "addiction" includes:

"Psychological addiction, as opposed to physiological addiction, is a person's need to use a drug or engage in a behavior despite the harm caused [emphasis added] - out of desire for the effects it produces, rather than to relieve withdrawal symptoms. .... it becomes associated with the release of pleasure-inducing endorphins, and a cycle is started that is similar to physiological addiction. This cycle is often very difficult to break."

Also,

"Psychological addiction does not have to be limited only to substances; even various activities and behavioral patterns [emphasis added] may be considered addictions if they are harmful...."

From Merriam-Webster Online, the definition of "addicted":

"1 : to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively"

So an addiction could be described as a person feeling the "need" to repeatedly engage in a particular behavior to satisfy a desire for the emotional effects that is has, the feelings that it produces. It is a desire that they have rationalized into a need, to which they have surrendered control, and they have allowed the behavior to develop into a habit. This is physiologically compounded by the endorphins released into the system that provide a physical feeling effect as well. Let's look at some of the necessary practices (behaviors) of trading to achieve consistent profits and some of the behaviors exhibited by many traders and see if they fit the above.

One recognized critical practice for profitable trading is good risk management. At the heart if this is making sure that the risks you take are measured and calculated risks. You want to keep your losses small when they occur and avoid them all together when possible (such as NOT getting into bad trades). Key tools commonly used for controlling potential losses include risk / reward calculations and stop loss orders. Risk/reward calculations are necessary on every trade so that you know whether each trade is a sound business decision. Stops are used so that then a good trade is placed but the market doesn't do what you'd expected. With the leverage in trading that can work for or against you, risk management is essential.

General money management is another critical practice to make sure that your trading business will still have the doors open months and years from now. It includes risk management but the focus is on a larger scale and a broader scope, such as looking at what percentage of your available capital you are placing on any given trade, regardless of the details of the specific trade.

These practices may appeal to the intellect, but how they feel is where traders get into trouble. There are several common mistakes repeatedly made by traders that bring large losses, missed profits, and ruin for many. These mistakes run in direct conflict with the known and established good practices for consist

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