Shrink Rap: Neutralizing Emotions During Trading, Part 1

Internal images that are effective in neutralizing emotion include scenes of tranquil places you have been to -- a seashore, mountains or a view across a deep valley. Any calming image will do the job, but experiment, because the stronger the image, the more effective it will be for you.

The reason the trigger works is that you are building a body-mind connection between your trigger and the positive thought or image. While it's certainly possible to simply shift from negative to positive without a trigger, using this tool makes the shift occur more quickly and intensely.

For those who want to read more about using the body-mind connection to help neutralize thoughts and emotions, there is a body of literature under the therapeutic school known as neurolinguistic programming. These techniques have been applied since the mid-1970s in psychotherapy, sales, communication, education, athletic performance and trading.

When I talk about the psychology of the trader and working with your thoughts and emotions while trading, using a trigger is a good example of how you may change your state, independent of the data on the monitor. Next week I'll introduce the technique that accompanies the trigger.