How to Know When to Yahoo!

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Oct. 26 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers.

Have you ever noticed the high number of acronyms for ailments, disorders and afflictions? It's as if someone spilled a bowl of Campbell's alphabet soup over our collective medical records. You might have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). The list goes on and on. There is one little known disorder that afflicts many traders: EHTD.

Emotional hyperactive trading disorder is a silent killer that is known only to the trader and his broker. The symptoms are as follows:

• Extremely short holding periods for virtually all positions.

• An almost simultaneous opening of new positions with the closing of existing ones.
• Unusually high trading commissions relative to the size of the trading account.
• Rapid fluctuations between bullish and bearish bias resulting from minor oscillations in price and the prevailing mood of the trader.
• Frequent bouts of memory loss when trying to recall the rationale for buying a particular stock.