u/V_Hatshepsut

I’m 38 and honestly feeling like I’ve hit a wall in life.
I’ve spent years building a business in the tourism industry and this year it’s taken a serious hit due to global economic instability. Between geopolitical issues and changing travel patterns, things just… collapsed in a way I didn’t fully see coming. I’ve had to make the difficult decision to move back in with my mom to stay afloat.
On top of that, I’ve been single for about four years now. I used to feel okay about it -I was focusing on my goals- but now it just feels like another area where I’ve fallen behind.
I look around and see people my age who seem settled, financially stable, in relationships, owning homes and I feel like I’m starting over from scratch.
So I guess my question is: how do you actually make a comeback after feeling like you’ve failed at this stage in life?
Not just practically (though advice is welcome), but mentally and emotionally. How do you rebuild confidence, direction, and hope when things don’t look the way you thought they would?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

Thank you.

Been doing high-volatility altcoin futures for a while now - intentionally picking coins for their volatility profile rather than fundamentals. It’s a specific style and I know it’s not for everyone, but it’s been a real education in the psychological side of trading.
A few things that changed everything for me:
Went through my full trade history (600+ closed positions) and found clear patterns - revenge trades within minutes of a loss, sizing up during drawdowns, trade frequency spiking on bad days. Seeing it laid out in data hit different than just “knowing” it.
My only genuinely profitable stretch came right after a forced break. That was a wake-up call.
Now running a strict reset: small fixed size, max 5 trades/day, hard stop after 2 losses in a row, defined max drawdown.
Curious who else is trading perps this way (volatility-based altcoin selection, not fundamentals) - what’s your risk management setup look like? Any rules that actually stuck vs ones you abandoned? And if you’ve done a deep dive into your own trade history, what did you find?

I’m 38 and recently had to move back in with my mom.
Ten years ago, I thought I was building something solid. I run a business in tourism and for a while it felt like things were finally coming together. But since Covid to this year, everything changed. The economic situation, global tensions, inflation and shifts in travel hit my industry hard, and my business took a major blow.
Now I’m here, trying to figure out how to recover, but mostly just feeling like I’ve gone backwards in life.
I’ve also been single for four years. At first, it was intentional, that I was focusing on work and growth. But now it just adds to the feeling that I’m out of sync with where I thought I’d be by now.
I keep wondering where I went wrong. Should I have played it safer? Made different choices? Focused more on stability instead of chasing something uncertain?
It’s hard not to feel regret when your life doesn’t match the version you imagined.
I don’t really know what I’m expecting by posting this. Maybe just to not feel so alone in it.
If anyone else has been here, or is here now -I’d like to hear from you.
I have a need to change everything for 180!

I’m 38 and honestly feeling like I’ve hit a wall in life.
I’ve spent years building a business in the tourism industry and this year it’s taken a serious hit due to global economic instability. Between geopolitical issues and changing travel patterns, things just… collapsed in a way I didn’t fully see coming. I’ve had to make the difficult decision to move back in with my mom to stay afloat.
On top of that, I’ve been single for about four years now. I used to feel okay about it -I was focusing on my goals- but now it just feels like another area where I’ve fallen behind.
I look around and see people my age who seem settled, financially stable, in relationships, owning homes and I feel like I’m starting over from scratch.
So I guess my question is: how do you actually make a comeback after feeling like you’ve failed at this stage in life?
Not just practically (though advice is welcome), but mentally and emotionally. How do you rebuild confidence, direction, and hope when things don’t look the way you thought they would?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.
Thank you 🤍

Do you trade using just a laptop or even your phone, or do you feel multiple monitors are essential? If you’ve tried both, did adding more screens actually improve your trading or profitability, or was it mostly about convenience and workflow?

I’d love to hear what you trade (stocks, futures, forex, crypto, options), how many screens you use and whether you think your setup has made a meaningful difference in your results.

Do you trade using just a laptop or even your phone, or do you feel multiple monitors are essential? If you’ve tried both, did adding more screens actually improve your trading or profitability, or was it mostly about convenience and workflow?

Genuine question for anyone who’s crossed over from losing to consistently profitable (or even just from chaos to control):

Was it ever really about strategy? Or did something in you have to break and rebuild first?

I ask because I keep hearing the same story in different words: someone struggles for months, blames the setup, switches indicators, switches timeframes, switches coins… and then one day something internal shifts, and suddenly the same basic strategy that “wasn’t working” starts working.

Not looking for “risk management” or “follow your plan” as answers. Everyone knows that part. I want to know what actually changed underneath the rules, the part that made following them possible in the first place.

Genuine question for anyone who’s crossed over from losing to consistently profitable (or even just from chaos to control):

Was it ever really about strategy? Or did something in you have to break and rebuild first?

I ask because I keep hearing the same story in different words: someone struggles for months, blames the setup, switches indicators, switches timeframes, switches coins… and then one day something internal shifts, and suddenly the same basic strategy that “wasn’t working” starts working.

Not looking for “risk management” or “follow your plan” as answers. Everyone knows that part. I want to know what actually changed underneath the rules, the part that made following them possible in the first place.

I’ve read countless stories about successful traders and most of them are following the same route- well paid jobs or situated in US that has above the average salaries. So my question is: has anyone started small, but really small (less than 1k USD) and grew their account significantly? If so, can you share more about the journey?
Thank you in advance!