Should You Trade Yourself, Not the Market?

Want to be on the show? Send us a question, a voice note or a quick video to [email protected] What happens to your decision-making when every market move triggers adrenaline, stress and the pressure to react? In Episode 6 of Markets and Mindsets, Paul and Emma are joined by Axel, IG’s Chief Technical Analyst, to explore the physical and emotional demands of trading. Drawing on decades of experience, Axel explains why even seasoned traders cannot simply switch off emotion, and why your physical state can have a direct impact on your decisions. From adrenaline and fatigue to meditation, breathwork and knowing when not to trade, the conversation looks at the routines that support discipline and long-term consistency. The team also discuss how trading stress can spill into family life, why traders should think like high-performance athletes, and why your trading style needs to fit your psychology. In this episode: - Why trading affects your body as well as your mind - How adrenaline and stress show up during fast-moving markets - Why Axel scores his physical and emotional state every morning - How personal readiness can determine whether you should trade - Why fatigue can weaken risk discipline and stop-loss execution - How trading stress can affect family life away from the screen - Why traders should treat themselves like high-performance athletes - How diet, exercise, standing desks, meditation and breathwork support performance - Why your trading style should fit your psychology - How overtrading and oversized positions can damage consistency Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction: What Trading Does to Your Body 00:32 – Axel’s Approach to Mindset and Physical Readiness 02:22 – Meet Axel: Decades in the Markets 04:05 – Why Experience Doesn’t Eliminate Emotion 04:29 – The Daily Readiness Score 06:00 – Knowing When Not to Trade 07:37 – Adrenaline, Intraday Trading and Stop Discipline 09:00 – How Trading Stress Affects Life at Home 12:43 – Trading Longevity, Physical Setup and Meditation 15:05 – Overtrading, Position Size and Long-Term Discipline Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe to Markets and Mindsets for more conversations exploring the psychology behind better investing. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a rating or share it with someone looking to become a more thoughtful investor. Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you originally invested. This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.