Don't panic! ‼️
Panicking leads to poor decisions based on emotion, not on logic. 🤖
Instead, take a breath and evaluate the situation. The goal is to get out of the position as quickly as possible, with as little slippage as possible, while minimizing any further risk.
Depending on your strategy and the trade, sometimes the best decision is to simply market sell and get out ASAP, while sometimes you can get away with sneaking out slowly.
Whether in trading or in plumbing, when shit hits the fan it does no good to panic. Deal with the situation quickly and efficiently, even though it stinks. 💩
I once had a trader friend who lived by this mantra, "he who panics first, panics best." To him, your biggest enemy as a trader is indecision, the inability to make a decision at crucial times.
So while "sneaking out slowly" can work sometimes, be very careful not to let losses run. It's tempting to wait and wait, trying to get out near break-even. But perpetually "waiting for the bounce" that never comes is an easy way to destroy an account. The problem is, as the losses get deeper and deeper, it becomes harder and harder to lock them in. Hope takes over.
One should always have a "line in the sand" stop loss level where you sell everything immediately without question or emotion to prevent this psychology. Having an automatic stop loss cuts out any possibility of letting emotions take over.