Trading in the financial markets is stimulating, exciting and engrossing. But one can become addicted, just like with actual casino gambling or illegal drugs. Like any severe addiction, this can cost you your job, relationships and, of course, your financial resources. As all experienced forex traders will tell you, maintaining discipline when trading is one of the keys to success. However, one of the biggest problems with this is that some people become addicted to trading.

Being a forex trading addict is one of the fastest ways to lose your money. Just like an alcoholic or any other drug addict must keep taking more of their chosen substance to feed their urge, a trading addict needs to keep trading…almost all the time, in order to feel fulfilled or “in control”. The minute a trading addict is not in a trade they begin to get anxious or perhaps feel as though they are missing out on a really great trade that will make them a ton of money.

One of the warning signs is when your overriding goal in the market is to make money at all costs. Unless you are able to follow a well-defined plan and stick to it – including accepting both wins and losses dispassionately – there is a good chance that you are starting down the road to addiction. This is even more likely if you find yourself getting an adrenaline rush from the occasional big win. This creates positive reinforcement of your behavior and speeds up the addiction process.

If you are addicted to trading or could be, you must find a way out of this perilous situation. If you trade sensibly and prudently, that is fine, but make sure you monitor your activities and keep things under control. Whatever the case, get proper training and do it professionally. If you really want to gamble, it is probably better to do it in a real and official casino, but don’t expect to beat the house any more than you can rely on beating the market.

There are days when the market just seems irrational and you feel the need to conquer it. However, you must be careful. Trading should be an avenue for you to exercise discipline and not an instrument of self-destruction. The disciplined and successful trader obviously enjoys wins, but what they take the most pleasure in is maintaining a structured approach to the market with well-defined rules that they follow no matter what they may be feeling. Trading should be about taking pride in control and mastering your emotions, not giving into them.