A trading break is useful when participation is making decisions worse. The goal is not to avoid every difficult feeling; it is to stop letting those feelings manage live risk.
Define the pause: no live trades for a set number of sessions, journal review only, or simulated execution. Use the time to identify whether the issue was normal variance, trading burnout, or repeated rule breaking.
Return with one condition, such as reduced size and a checklist. A pause without a review becomes avoidance. A pause with a plan becomes part of a disciplined process.
