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Exit Psychology – Reflections On The SeriesNOTE – This is a post on Mindset and emotion. It is NOT a Trade idea or strategy designed to make you money. If anything, I’m taking the time here to post as an effort to help you preserve your capital, energy and will so that you are able to execute your own trading system as best you can from a place of calm, patience and confidence. Over the last few posts we’ve walked through the psychology behind many exits. Here on this chart, you can see how they all might have played out on a single trade. One trade, four different exits. Whichever you choose to implement isn’t just a technical decision - it’s a psychological mirror. Taking each in turn: The initial stop: the line where you admit, “The trade idea didn’t work” The break-even stop: the comfort of “I can’t lose now.” The trailing stop: the wrestle between protecting gains and letting them run. The profit target: the choice between certainty and potential. Put them all on the same chart and you’ll notice something: none of them are just about price. Each is a reflection of the trader making the call. What we’ve uncovered in this series: The initial stop tests whether you can accept being wrong on a trade idea without making it personal. The break-even stop shows how much discomfort you’re willing to tolerate before reaching for relief. The trailing stop mirrors your balance between fear of giving back and trust in your process. The profit target surfaces your relationship with certainty versus possibility. And tight vs. loose? That isn’t just a preference. It begins with trader type: your personality, values and beliefs set a natural baseline. It’s shaped further by how well your strategy fits that style. And in the moment, emotion (fear or hope) nudges you tighter or looser than planned. The bigger reflection: Exits reveal more than entries. They show how you handle: Loss and regret. Control and uncertainty. Trust and identity. Comfort and growth. But reflection alone isn’t enough. To turn insight into progress, you need practical ways to anchor behaviour: Pre-commit in writing: Note where you’ll exit before you enter, it closes the door to mid-trade negotiation. Separate outcomes from emotions: Journal not just where you exited, but how you felt in the moment. Patterns emerge quickly. Differentiate protecting vs. controlling: Ask yourself, “Am I moving this stop to protect the plan, or because I’m uncomfortable right now?” Train the nervous system: Notice the physical urge to act and how it shows up in the body (ex: shallow breath, tense shoulders). Pause before execution and breathe. Slow down the ‘urge’ and re-train self trust. These small practices are how you build the consistency to stay aligned with both your system and your psychology. Closing thought: The market doesn’t care where you exit. But your mindset does - and so does your account. Clarity in those decisions is where growth begins and where your odds of staying in the game increase. In the end, your edge isn’t only your system. It’s your state of mind - before, during and after engaging with the market. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series. If so would love to hear in the comments. Here’s a recap of the entire Psychology of Exits series in case you’d like to check out the details of each: Exit Psychology 1/5 : The Initial Stop Exit Psychology 2/5 : The Break-Even Stop - Comfort or Illusion? Exit Psychology 3/5: The Trailing Stop – Patience vs Protection Exit Psychology 4/5 : The Profit Target – Certainty vs. Potential Exit Psychology 5/5: Tight vs. Loose And finally here is the link to the original article by TradingView that inspired this series as promised: p.s. Apols if anything is odd in this post, I have had to repost it.
Education
by soda8888
5
Exit Psychology 5/5: Tight vs. LooseNOTE – This is a post on Mindset and emotion. It is NOT a Trade idea or strategy designed to make you money. If anything, I’m taking the time here to post as an effort to help you preserve your capital, energy and will so that you are able to execute your own trading system as best you can from a place of calm, patience and confidence. This 5-part series on the Psychology of Exits is inspired by TradingView’s recent post “The Stop-Loss Dilemma.” Link to the original post at the end of this article. Here’s a scenario: Two traders, same setup. One uses a tight stop. One sets it loose. The first gets stopped out quickly - several scratches in a row. Frustration builds: “The market keeps hunting me.” The second holds through the noise, but watches a small loss balloon. Self-talk creeps in: “If I’d cut it sooner, I’d be fine.” Same market. Different styles. Each trader convinced the other way might be better. How behaviour shows up with tight vs. loose stops: Tight stops: Often chosen by traders who value precision and control. The mindset is “I’d rather be wrong small and often than wrong big.” The cost? A series of small cuts that can erode confidence. Loose stops: Favoured by traders who value patience and the bigger picture. The mindset is “give the trade room to breathe.” The cost? Larger drawdowns and the risk of turning manageable losses into emotional ones. Neither is inherently better. The choice often begins with trader type - your personality, values and beliefs shape a natural preference for precision (tight) or patience (loose). The trap isn’t in the preference itself it’s when short-term emotions hijack that baseline. The psychology underneath: Your baseline style comes from deeper beliefs and tendencies: Tight stop traders often believe: “If I’m precise, I can avoid being wrong.” “Smaller losses hurt less.” “Control comes from minimising risk quickly.” Loose stop traders often believe: “The market needs space to prove me right.” “One big win will pay for the rest.” “Patience will protect me from being shaken out.” But when stress or excitement kicks in, those baseline tendencies can distort: Tight traders over-tighten - cutting winners short out of fear. Loose traders loosen further - holding too long out of hope. The key is to know the difference between what reflects your style and what reflects an emotional trigger. Why context matters: Timeframe: Scalpers naturally need tighter stops; swing traders can afford looser ones. Volatility: Calm markets tolerate precision; wild ones punish it. Strategy: Breakout systems often need wider buffers; mean reversion thrives on tight control. Your stop isn’t just about the chart. It’s about who you are, the system you run and the market you’re in. Practical tips … the How: Notice your natural bias: Do you lean toward safety through control (tight) or safety through space (loose)? Awareness matters more than labels. Align your stop style with both your timeframe and your temperament. A system that grinds against your personality will drain your energy. Review your data: Do tight stops cut you out too soon? Do loose stops bleed too much? Your history holds the clues. Separate outcome from process: A stop-out isn’t failure - it’s feedback. Tight or loose, consistency beats reaction. Reframe: It’s not about tight versus loose. It’s about congruence, between your strategy, the market context and your personality. When those three line up, stops become less about fear and more about discipline. Closing thought: Every stop: initial, break-even, trailing, or profit target is really a mirror. It reflects not only your strategy, but also your relationship with uncertainty, control and trust in yourself. The market doesn’t care how you exit. But your mindset does… as does your account. Every adjustment, every shift of a stop, every decision to hold or cut, carries both a financial cost and an emotional cost. Learning to see those decisions clearly, is where growth begins and where your odds of staying in the game increase. A link to Exit Psychology 4/5 : The Profit Target – Certainty vs. Potential A link to the original article as promised: This is Part 5 of the Psychology of Exits series. 👉 Thanks for following along ... and for those who have stayed the course with me, there's a bonus wrap up that I'll be writing up today and releasing tomorrow. Stay tuned. p.s. Apologies if the chart on this post is a little odd. I had to repost this.
COINBASE:ETHUSDEducation
by soda8888
3
Exit Psychology 2/5 : The Break-Even Stop - Comfort or Illusion?NOTE – This is a post on Mindset and emotion. It is NOT a Trade idea or strategy designed to make you money. If anything, I’m taking the time here to post as an effort to help you preserve your capital, energy and will so that you are able to execute your own trading system as best you can from a place of calm, patience and confidence. This 5-part series on the Psychology of Exits is inspired by TradingView’s recent post “The Stop-Loss Dilemma.” Link to the original post at the end of this article. Here’s another scenario: Your trade starts working in your favour. You feel relief. Within minutes, you move the stop to break-even. “Now I can’t lose.” But the market breathes back, tags your new level by a whisker and then runs in your original direction. You’re flat, frustrated and watching from the sidelines. How behaviour shows up with break-even stops: For many traders, the urge to move to break-even comes quickly. It’s a way of taking risk off the table but often at the cost of cutting trades short. Typical behaviours include: Locking in break-even as soon as price moves a little in your favour. Using break-even as a substitute for taking partial profits. Feeling “safe” after the adjustment and disengaging from trade management. Why traders choose this approach: There are rational reasons for going break-even: Protecting capital in volatile conditions. Reducing stress when multiple trades are open. Creating a sense of progress after a string of losses. These can all make sense in context. But the challenge is that moving too soon to break-even can turn a promising trade into repeated small scratches leaving you exhausted, under-confident and questioning your method. And … you’re still taking full losses for those trades that go immediately against you. The psychology underneath: At break-even, traders aren’t usually optimising expectancy; they're seeking emotional relief. The pull comes from: Fear of loss: Wanting to avoid the pain of turning a winner back into a loser. Need for certainty : A break-even stop feels like control in an uncertain environment. Regret avoidance : Scratches hurt less than watching profit evaporate into loss. Anchoring bias : Once price moves your way, the mind treats that unrealised gain as already yours. Giving it back feels like losing more than it is. Identity narrative : Moving to break-even can reinforce the self-image of being disciplined or “safe” even if it’s cutting potential edge. Control vs. trust : The break-even adjustment is often less about the market and more about soothing the discomfort of waiting. It’s easier to do something than to trust the original plan. Short-term comfort over long-term edge : The relief of “no risk” overrides the patience needed to let the trade develop. Physiology : Heart rate settles, shoulders relax, the nervous system rewards the move with immediate calm, even if expectancy drops. Practical tips … the How: If you use break-even stops, the work is about applying them intentionally rather than reflexively. A few ways to manage the psychological side: Define in advance: When will you move to break-even? After it moves a pre-defined amount in your favour ( X ATRs)? After a structure shift? Make it rule-based. Consider scaling out partial size instead of rushing to break-even. Bank some, let the rest breathe. Journal whether break-even stops are improving or reducing expectancy across 50–100 trades. Train your nervous system: stay with mild discomfort instead of rushing to neutralise it. For instance: notice the physical tension that arises (tight chest, shallow breath, clenched jaw) when your trade pulls back. Instead of reacting on the chart, take one slow, deliberate breath and simply observe that feeling before deciding. Reframe: A break-even stop isn’t wrong. It can be useful in the right context. But when used as a reflex, it’s more about managing feelings than managing risk. Closing thought: Break-even can feel like safety. But safety and growth don’t always align. The real edge comes from knowing when you’re protecting wisely and when you’re just buying short-term comfort at the expense of long-term results. A link to Exit Psychology 1/5 : The Initial Stop A link to the original article as promised: This is Part 2 of the Psychology of Exits series . 👉 Follow and stay tuned for Part 3: The Trailing Stop - Patience vs. Protection out next week .
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by soda8888
Chopped into Indecision - Some Thoughts on jacesabr_real's queryIf you’ve even felt chopped up with your trading, particularly with a situation where no matter what you do you ‘feel like your stop is getting picked off’ then you would not be alone. jacesabr_real reached out with such a challenge last week and so I’ve offered to share a few thoughts for what they're worth. Please feel free to take what resonates and ignore the rest. here's the original idea post : There are 3 areas a trader needs to understand and align with in order to be able to trade successfully: Market - The market condition: Bull, Bear, Sideways, Quiet Volatile, etc Method - Your process/strategy for engaging with the market (breakout, mean revert, etc) Mindset - The emotional state of the trader throughout the lifecycle of the trade These 3 areas overlap and despite being last in the list, I suggest that Mindset is the most important as it underpins everything. The late (great) Dr Van Tharp (featured in the original Market Wizards book) used to say that Mindset accounted for 80% of performance but later amended that to 100%. So I’ll address this from that focal point. The reason? It’s the mind from which the process/strategy is selected, the ‘impulse’ to trade emanates and then the lived experience resides. If a trader is having challenges with being stopped out frequently - it can result in a trader feeling like… ‘They’re picking me off’ 'I was ticked out' 'The idea hasn’t failed, I’m just going to get back in again' And it's easy to get into a revenge cycle of ‘doing the right thing’ but suffering fractional loss accumulation that adds up to a decent sized (even catastrophic) loss. Which can lead to a loss in confidence, energy and discipline. It’s a slippery slope. Which can lead to behaviours such as moving stops, sizing up bigger to make back, taking stops off entirely - continuing to take more trades as one is feeling ‘invested’ in the idea by sheer virtue of time spent in the process. Continue like this - maybe we get lucky and get the odd win to flatten out. Over time however, the risk is Tilt. As you will likely understand, this is a massive area, so, a few general points that I’ll invite you to consider: Approach your trading in this order: Mindset → Market → Method Your Mindset may start out strong but the Market will try to wear it down Protect your Mindset at all costs Build steps into the process to simplify decision making. Be clear on your rules for entry, management and exit. If you're unclear - you'll ask questions of yourself in the moment of the trade when it's hard to think clearly. Ensure there are rules around capital preservation. Some Suggestions: Don’t allow revenge trading to take over… create breaker switches. (i.e. walk away!, take breaks) Allow a re-entry of the same idea as part of your Method… but cap the number of attempts at the same trade idea to preserve capital and sanity (to perhaps 2 or 3 attempts). Don’t remove (or move) stops… ever. Always have a worst case stop for risk management If you’re getting stopped out frequently but the trade idea ultimately goes in your favour then your stop may be too tight (more to do with Market & Method) Use a larger worst-case stop… and reduce position size if necessary Monitor changes in volatility for your market (the Market condition may have changed and require an adaptation to your stop sizing to accommodate With regards to your specific questions the following thoughts came up for me. Many of your what if scenarios suggest that you may still need to look at your method. Pick an exit mechanism and stick with it. Collect the data points that will help inform whether your strategy is positive expectancy or not. If you keep changing the variables its really tough to track what works and what doesn't. Get to understand your strategy and the stats around it. What is ‘normal’ in the way of number of losses. I’d suggest that seeing 4-5 losses of the same trade type a number of times a week might be a lot. Consider the language that you are using. I notice the phrase ‘suicide stop’. Consider what that does to psychology subliminally. Perhaps use something like ‘hard stop’ or ‘capital preservation stop’ to keep your emotional balance and professionalism in your craft. I hope this is helpful.
NYMEX:MCL1!
by soda8888
1
How to Use Stop Losses in TradingViewThis video covers stop loss orders, explaining what they are, why traders use them, and how to set them up in TradingView. Disclaimer: There is a substantial risk of loss in futures trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please trade only with risk capital. We are not responsible for any third-party links, comments, or content shared on TradingView. Any opinions, links, or messages posted by users on TradingView do not represent our views or recommendations. Please exercise your own judgment and due diligence when engaging with any external content or user commentary. The placement of contingent orders by you or broker, or trading advisor, such as a "stop-loss" or "stop-limit" order, will not necessarily limit your losses to the intended amounts, since market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders.
CME_MINI:MESM2025Education
by Optimus Futures
2
The #1 Reason To Buy SolanaYesterday was so stressful for me its crazy how am still up .The truth is i need to sleep more often - Yesterday i got a huge break through when it comes to risk management You see there is a problem in the financial markets mostly they are called pump and dumps If you dont understand risk management you may fall victim to this type of scam And so to help you look at the chart i have set a buy stop order on Solana COINBASE:SOLUSD but you really need to act fast because this buy stop order wont be active for long once the price passes that order you are cooked!! and you wont see this type of opportunity to buy from this price again The reason solana is on the spot light is because thats the protocol that this new memecoin launched by the president trump and first lady melania is built on. So enter your buy stop order now. You next entry may not be good enough or worse you may be part of a pump and dump This order comes from the rocket booster strategy if you want to learn more about this strategy check out the references below. Rocket boost this content to learn more. Disclaimer:Trading is risky please learn risk management and profit taking strategies. Also use a simulation trading account before you trade with real money.
Long
by lubosi
My Biggest New Trader Mistakes & Lessons LearnedI thought I'd share my experience with other New Traders (I'm still 'new', 2yrs in). I made all the classic mistakes and plenty more, my learning is only just beginning. Hopefully this educational post helps others new to trading. Use a Stop Loss So many times I didn't use a Stop Loss. One of the main reasons was I kept getting Stopped Out and then the price reversed, it made me paranoid. Also when the day changes at the start of the Asia session, or over the weekend with the gaps on market open, I thought I was better not having one. I've Learned: If you don't use a Stop Loss it's psychologically hard to get out of a losing trade and you can easily blow your account. I think it's OK to move the stops temporarily before the Asian open, but ideally the trade would only be left open if a) it's well in profit and b) the move looks likely to continue. Don't move your SL & TP I kept moving both of these stops, I either couldn't face the actual loss when a trade went bad (it seemed less real on paper and there was always 'the chance' it would come back in my favour) or I got greedy when the trade went in my favour and then before I knew it, it reversed and my profit was gone. I've Learned: Moving Stops and Targets risks profitable trades; it's psychologically damaging as it suggests lack of planning and strategy, this is gambling. On the other hand, having a plan and seeing it playout, however big or small is hugely satisfying and is the best confidence builder. Get In and Out I kept looking for the really big moves, and I had a few, but only a few. I believe the longer you're in a trade, the riskier it is due to the many factors that can affect price - Institutions, Fundamentals, Global Events, there are so many things that can turn a good strategy bad, and I lost money. I've Learned: There are so many trading pairs, so many options, there'll always be another trade. Staying in a trade for too long is leaving money on the table, when it could be in your account, getting out too early is annoying, but having profit on the trade is much more important. Leaving trades over a weekend I've left both winning and losing trades over a weekend, and many times previously winning trades went against me, and losing ones got worse. Price can be unpredictable due to fundamental changes over a weekend. I've Learned: On a Friday, unless 80% happy that your trade will continue in the right direction over the weekend, close it and review again after market open (you may lose a few but you will have banked profits or minimised losses in many cases). Keep Fundamentals in mind I follow some traders who don't seem to care about Fundamentals, but in that time I've seen many of their signals go bad because of big news. I think, that they think, that if the news is in their favour they reach target quicker. If it's not, they reach target slower, as the market has already decided future price regardless. I've seen fundamentals shape both shorter and longer term trends, they can easily cause reversals and commonly they cause spikes in the opposite direction from what you'd expect, before then moving as you'd expect, but this can be too late. I've Learned: Each pair / trade is different, however I've learned to take a pragmatic approach, often getting out of a trade before the news and waiting for the market to calm down before considering re-entering. This can mean missing out, but too many times I was on the wrong side of the news, I'm more profitable stepping back first. Have positive involvement in the TradingView community From time to time I see comments on Trader's ideas that are less than positive, as though the commentator can predict the future? As a community of retail traders we are up against the institutions and the big money movers who love to take retail traders' money, this means as retail traders we're all on the same team. The total value of all of our accounts is like comparing the size of an atom to a planet! I've Learned: If you don't like someone's idea, move past it, or discuss professionally. Be open-minded to ideas and celebrate success, 'like' ideas that you like and give positive comments where you agree, we're all in this together, and everyone is trying their best. Do your own research I signed up to loads of Telegrams and followed signals blindly, and it cost me a lot. It's too easy for people giving signals to only report on the successful ones. The community around trading, particularly TradingView is awesome but it can be confusing, for every chart, for every pair there is so much subjectivity. Previous price action does not dictate future price movement, if it did everyone would win. I've Learned: Don't put your destiny in the hands of others, read and learn as much as possible but create your own plan and strategy, it's much more rewarding, both psychologically and for me, financially. Take a Break I was watching the charts of my trades almost constantly, whether up or down I was watching them, but not doing anything. If losing (without a SL) I'd be watching hoping it would come back, if winning I'd often manually close too early, or leave it too long (FOMO) and it was too much and made no positive impact on my trading success, it just caused stress. I've Learned: To create my plan with all of these lessons in mind, and action it if the conditions are right. If I'm working on my personal trading development now, I'm looking for future trading opportunities, I'm setting alerts for future price action, I'm writing and publishing my ideas, and most importantly I'm taking a break to enjoy weekends, holidays and normal stuff! Writing and publishing this education article is really cathartic for me, it's helping me to keep embedding the lessons I have learned. The best lessons are the hardest ones, the expensive ones! I've just started publishing my ideas on here and I appreciate all the support I can get to becoming a better trader, hopefully one day I can be good enough to do this full-time. It'd be great to know if you've experienced these and other lessons as a new trader. Are there any more that you can share with me, and the rest of the TradingView community?
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by Finchcliffe
7
Where to place your STP LOSS is important & can be misleading Choosing your STP loss determines your risk, and is essential part of executing your trade. On this trade analysis, we are looking at ticker F (Ford Motors) using the weekly (W) chart as the active chart, the price is selling off & coming into a Demand Zone (DZ). This DZ is also the last higher Low HL of the long-term (M) monthly uptrend. my trading strategy; makes perfect sense of placing LNG entry, at this level. Order entered & waiting like a snipper in the DZ, surly enough the price penetrates into the DZ & the LNG order is executed at $12.90, now where to place your STP LOSS, meaning at which point do you determine the trade has gone against you & you need to exit & cut your losses short. There are many strategies for placing your stop loss, some of the common ones, are placing the stop loss below the DZ, some other strategies offer a margin as a buffer, for example if price violates the DZ by lets say 0.50 points, am out & the STP Loss is triggered. the stop loss placement strategy that i used in this trade required a close of a candle stick below the DZ, few days after, once that occurred I executed you my STP loss, and was out at 11.30 points loss, so 1.60 loss per share. that is within my Risk to Reward ratio Now, the trade was still a loss, yet it was not a bust; simply because I anticipated this risk within expected range of my trade plan. in other words, I followed my trading plan & rules; that really matters. Following a trading plan is how novice traders become trading sharks. Obviously it hurts the ego to witness price rallies to $15 and above; shortly after closing below the DZ & triggering my stop-loss; but thats life, you can't make sense of it all, the best we can do is learn how to navigate it. *Active Chart (W) *Long-term chart (M) *Enter timing chart (D)
NYSE:FLong
by greatful-me
USD/JPY facing daunting resistance ahead of 150Might be an idea to tighten up stops. We are approaching the top of two channels and the old 1998 high all around 144.85/148.60 Disclaimer: The information posted on Trading View and other media platforms is for informative purposes and is not intended to constitute advice in any form, including but not limited to investment, accounting, tax, legal or regulatory advice. The information therefore has no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any specific recipient. Opinions expressed are our current opinions as of the date appearing on Trading View only. All illustrations, forecasts or hypothetical data are for illustrative purposes only. The Society of Technical Analysts Ltd does not make representation that the information provided is appropriate for use in all jurisdictions or by all Investors or other potential Investors. Parties are therefore responsible for compliance with applicable local laws and regulations. The Society of Technical Analysts will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any information on this site.
by The_STA
#gameplan P3N Low-Risk Setup:Risk management is very crucial when you trade. Here is one of my mostly applied strategies for risk management. It's useful for people who trade in a very volatile market or fade. This method aims to limit the loss to zero by taking profit when reaching 1R. It's with less profit than expectation, but lower the risk. 1. Open the position and set how much $ you're going to risk for this gameplan. Then set the partial TP at the 1R and xR levels. (xR is your target.) 2. When price reaches 1R, it TP 1/2 position to keep the small profit. 3. If the trend is against our expectation and have a down move to -1R, at which our stop loss is, we close the position with 1/2 of the original with the same amount of loss as the profit. So this will keep our trade safe. However, if it goes up to 5R, which is out target, we can still keep 1/2 of our position to take the profit. Tips: You can use Fibonacci tools to predict how many xR in your gameplan.
by p3nchan
2
The Problem with Breakeven TradesThe issue with breakeven trading is that when enough people are joining the market at the same place, be it a demand area or an order block. Many traders like to secure their positions immediately. This, however, creates liquidity. Whenever a large group of people move stop losses to the same area, expect that area to be a target for the banks. In this example, we can see buy orders being activated at an order block, a sudden push to make buyers secure their position, followed by a stop hunt of risk-free trades before continuing to the upside. Do you ever get caught in situations like this?
Education
by AlkalineFX
5
Learning Parallel Channel TrapsSometimes we can get so caught up in the fear of missing out on the breakout that we forget it could be a trap. It is always crucial to listen to your intuition when you see these easy setups because more often than not they are more complex than they seem. In this example, a breakout occurred and buyers put stops below the last structure, a few days later this structure got raided for liquidity. Once the liquidity was gathered we began to see the true move to the upside. Do you see this often in the markets?
Education
by AlkalineFX
2
ATR Indicator - How to Avoid Getting Stopped out of TradesIn this post we can see how the stops were taken out beyond. the 26600 price level. For any setup that a noobie trader may place, the SL would be taken out at this level; However using the ATR indicator we can avoid getting stopped out and keep our trade. I recommend you watch some videos on this indicator to get a better understanding but the main jist of it is -> Take a sweep low/high of a range and add/minus the ATR value (on the sweep candle) to get more legroom for price to move (but it will miss your stop) I hope you find this useful.
Education
by faken
1