Janice Dorn, MD, PhD
Neuropsychological Trading Coach
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D., has been a full-time futures trader since 1994. Doctor Janice holds an M.D. in psychiatry and is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. She holds a Ph.D. in brain anatomy. A graduate of Coach University, she is a pioneer market psychiatrist and financial neurobehaviorist. Doctor Janice has written over 500 articles on the financial markets and coached over 600 traders worldwide. She is the Global Risk Strategist for Ingenieux Wealth Management Group, Sydney, Australia.
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My life was yours from when I first saw you, and I take some pleasure in sacrificing it to you. A thousand times a day I send my every sigh to you…Miriam Cyr, Letters of a Portuguese Nun (Miramax, 2006)
Yesterday was Valentine's Day again, and love is in the air. I could not let this day pass without paying homage to the Market Mistress. I have written many times about the market as a demanding mistress. You may recall my saying that the mistress insists that you do her bidding. If you do, she will reward you. If you disobey, you will be in a kind of eternal Valentine's Day situation where you must bring more and more flowers, candy and gifts to put at her feet in order to win her favor.
There is something thrilling about being in love. Brain research has shown that the same areas of the brain that are activated when someone is falling in love are also activated when these people are expecting to receive a money reward. Additionally, numerous papers have shown that this brain activation is more intense in situations where danger is involved. In other words, under conditions of uncertainty and possible death, the drive for love and money are intensified.
Many years ago, I had the phenomenal opportunity to travel the world for nine years. I was working for a multinational pharmaceutical company as the Director of International Clinical Research. In retrospect, it was a dream job, because I traveled over 1.5 million miles outside of the United States over a period of 9 years and someone else paid for it! In the course of traveling the world alone as a young woman, I had many interesting experiences. Thinking about danger and falling in love brings to mind one particular instance that is etched in my brain as if it happened yesterday.
I was on a flight from Paris to Rome, sitting near the back of the plane next to a young blonde man who was a scientist from Scandinavia. We exchanged a few polite words about our work and our purpose for flying to Rome, and went back to sitting quietly, each absorbed in our own studies.
About 20 minutes into the approach to Rome, the plane began to vibrate. At first, it seemed like normal turbulence, but it increased in intensity. I felt my entire body shaking in the seat and heard screams of people as the plane began to tilt from side to side. Suddenly, there was a chanting and praying and someone yelled out, "We're crashing!"
There were no thoughts in my head except, "I am going to die in an airplane crash. This is it."
I looked at the man next to me, and he stared at me with fear in his eyes. We were no longer strangers. We threw our arms around each other. He held me, and I held him. We were going to crash and die together, and it didn't matter who we were before that moment. I loved him and he loved me. Those minutes seemed an eternity, and I will never forget them.
We made a very hard landing in Rome, but we did not fall from the sky. As the plane landed, we were still holding and kissing each other. Then suddenly, in an instant, we released the hold and could not look at each other. We couldn't believe what had just happened to us, two total strangers, and were, needless to say, a bit more than embarrassed about it. In retrospect, I was shocked at my behavior. I never even knew his name, but I was in love with him and he with me. We looked at each other in sheer disbelief, said nothing, and went our separate ways. There were many lessons learned that day that have served me well in life.
That is what happens so often in conditions of extreme danger, risk and stress. In these cases, attachments are made and broken quickly. In the course of a trading day, the panoply of feelings that go through the brain of a trader is enormous. How often has this happened to any one of you when you were trading? One minute you are in love with a stock, a commodity or a currency, and the next minute you want to walk away from it in shame, anger, disgust or shock. One day, you are having a passionate affair with the Market Mistress, and the next day, you can't stand the sight of her and want to walk away, possibly forever.
We have all known the feelings that come rushing in when we are winning and everything looks wonderful. People often tell me that they "love" a certain stock so much that they name their dogs or children after it. They are having a passionate affair with the markets, especially when they are winning. They have days of euphoria, followed by days of despair. Anxiety sets in when the beloved stock goes against a trader.
Traders who are not grounded and allow themselves to be whipsawed by the Market Mistress are setting themselves up for anxiety, depression, euphoria, shame, regret and a decrease in self-worth. Traders who know that their rat brain is always out to get them will remember that what might seem like a danger is actually an opportunity and vice versa. They are able to keep their rat brains under control most of the time, or at least avoid being victimized by their emotions.
Love is a choice you make from moment to moment…Barbara De Angelis
Until Next Time,
Good Trading and Brain On!
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.
janice@thetradingdoctor.com
P.S.–I'm scheduled to appear on Fast Money, Monday, February 18, on CNBC. Tune in if you get a chance!
P.P.S. Take a sneak peek at my new book, Personal Responsibility: The Power of You, published in January, 2008, at www.personalresponsibilitybook.com .
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