Hi,
I’ve been investing for years, so volatility isn’t new to me, but this recent stretch has been draining because of a few things going on in life. About three weeks ago, all 10–12 of my **short** positions (across five industries) dropped 10–45% almost at once. I didn’t panic sell and I’m still holding them with modest bounce targets, but there’s been almost no follow-through in a month. Normally I've been known to do 20+ short sales in a month. Every morning we get a push, and by close it’s sold off. It feels like we’re stuck in a loop where every move higher gets absorbed and nothing can build momentum to at least get me out of it.
At the same time, my small business has been hit hard by the tariff war and the broader slowdown over the past year. I’m discussing potential layoffs and may have to run things solo for a while. Trading had been offsetting that weakness in 2025, with nearly 200 stock sales... and then I started 2026 up 6.7% on 26 trades in the first three weeks. Then the Greenland situation hit, the tech sell-off accelerated, and now both my trading and normal business operations have stalled at the same time, draining me mentally.
Overall I’m only down 3–4% YTD (on the invested stuff) thanks to diversification across long/short/retirement accounts, so this isn’t catastrophic. It’s just frustrating to see both income streams under pressure while the market churns sideways with heavy resistance.
For those who’ve been through similar stretches, how do you stay productive and mentally steady while waiting for a real shift in trend? I know it's just patience and waiting, but what do you do to distract yourself when it all feels like it's compounding on you at the same time?
Thanks!