It isn’t easy to keep your mind calm and tranquil amidst a volatile financial market. But too much stress in a turbulent stock market is enough to ruin your sleep and increase your blood pressure.
Many people have lost millions of money, got into huge debt problems, and become bankrupt due to a steep market crash. Too much stress about money has pushed seasoned investors in the wrong direction, liquidated their retirement savings accounts, and thrown them into depression later. Unable to handle the stress of a volatile stock market, some people have even committed suicide.
What many people forget is that money is not everything. Money indeed helps you to buy food, clothes, home, medicine, lifestyle products, pay off debts, and the ingredients of happiness. But it’s not more important than your life. You have to learn and navigate the ways to stay composed during market fluctuation.
If you do get stressed and hyper during market fluctuation, then here are a few ways to stay calm and relax your agitated nerves.
1. Stop worrying
The financial section of the newspaper is enough to make you edgy. The terrifying headlines can make you feel dizzy. But you should keep one point in mind. Nothing lasts forever. This too shall pass.
The market may be down today. The headlines may look bad today. But tomorrow can be completely different from today. The market may become stable tomorrow and you may recover your losses. Who knows?
2. Have patience
Liz Ann Sonders, Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Strategist says, “I often say that investing should always be a process over time and never about a moment in time; well the same can be said about market corrections – they tend to be a process. And sometimes that process takes more than a week or two.”
You have to be patient. A volatile market will fluctuate. Sometimes, the market will go up and sometimes the market will go down. It’s the nature of the market and it’s fruitless to think about what may happen or may not happen in the short term. You have to think from a long-term perspective. Are you reaping profits in the long-term? This is what you have to check.
3. Take advantage of opportunities
A market crash may happen due to various reasons. A big change in the economic arena is enough to shake Down Jones and Nasdaq. But this is not the time to fight with everyone and lose your common sense. This is time to step back and analyze your stocks. Analyze the companies where you have invested your hard-earned money. Don’t trust trade experts and market analysts right now. Don’t trust anyone. Trust your basic instinct.
If you feel that a company won’t do well in the next year, then sell the stocks. Invest the money on a company, which is expected to do well in the future. Buy more stocks of that company. Soothe your mind by saying that you’re buying stocks of a good company at a comparatively lower price than what you might have to spend in a bullish market.
Before buying any stock, take a notepad and write down the reasons for doing it. List the reasons why you’re buying a particular stock. The reasons should be clear and simple enough for a 10-year old child to understand.
4. Get on realistic thinking mode
Simply thinking positively won’t help. And honestly speaking, it’s not possible to feel happy and elated when the stock market is down. It’s quite natural to feel stressed out.
Instead of trying to be happy, condition your mind to be in a realistic thinking mode. That would give you the power to cope with stress and adversity. Be clear about your belief, skill, information, and decision. That would give you the strength to deal with everything.
A word of wisdom
One glass of alcohol may seem to be a good way to reduce stress. But that would give you only temporary relief from stress. Moreover, drinking more than one glass of alcohol is not at all recommended. It would lead to disturbances in sleep, depression, and more problems in life.
Conclusion
Keep your emotions and investments separate especially during a market crash. Your emotion has nothing to do with your investment portfolio. It has nothing to do with the stock market or commodity market or any other market. Don’t hope for anything good or bad because emotion makes you vulnerable and weak. Hope is also an emotion. Save it for your loved ones. It’s time to go back to basics. Look at the fundamentals before making any decision. Don’t hurry! Don’t react. Don’t make a rash decision due to a sudden move in the short-term market.
