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The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
Sarah Banwart
7 episodes
18 hours ago

The Mental Edge is a trading psychology podcast for traders who want to understand the neuroscience behind their emotional reactions at the charts. Hosted by Sarah, a retired therapist turned trader, each episode breaks down the neuroscience of trading psychology and gives you practical tools to regulate your nervous system, build confidence, and trade from identity instead of impulse. No hustle culture. No shame. Just real science and real solutions.

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All content for The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast is the property of Sarah Banwart and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

The Mental Edge is a trading psychology podcast for traders who want to understand the neuroscience behind their emotional reactions at the charts. Hosted by Sarah, a retired therapist turned trader, each episode breaks down the neuroscience of trading psychology and gives you practical tools to regulate your nervous system, build confidence, and trade from identity instead of impulse. No hustle culture. No shame. Just real science and real solutions.

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Investing
Business
Episodes (7/7)
The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
Why Getting Funded Is So Hard: The Trading Psychology Behind Blown Prop Firm Challenges

Why do so many capable, intelligent traders keep blowing prop firm challenges right before they pass?

In part one of this three-part funded trading series, I break down what’s actually happening in your brain during a prop firm challenge and why willpower and discipline stop working when your nervous system shifts into survival mode.

This episode walks through the neuroscience behind emotional trading, how specific prop firm rules activate stress and urgency responses, and why traders tend to implode in the final stretch even when everything was going well.

You’ll learn:

  • Why your brain reacts to losses, drawdowns, and missed trades as real threats
  • How emotional momentum builds and hijacks decision-making during challenges
  • Why discipline breaks down under pressure even when you know your rules
  • How traders shift into survival-based behaviors under stress, including impulsive escalation, urgency-driven decisions, shutdown, and autopilot trading
  • How dopamine, urgency, and nervous system fatigue create the reset loop
  • Practical tools to interrupt emotional spirals before they destroy your account

This episode removes the shame around “lack of discipline” and gives you a clear framework for understanding why getting funded feels so difficult and what actually needs to change for consistent execution.

Part two covers why traders struggle to stay funded. Part three breaks down what happens psychologically right before payouts and why success often triggers self-sabotage.

Disclaimer: I am a retired therapist and no longer practicing. I am not a licensed professional providing clinical or financial advice. This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or financial guidance.

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1 day ago
23 minutes 3 seconds

The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
Why You Can't Stop Revenge Trading (And How to Fix It)

You can't just "be more disciplined" after you take a losing trade because your brain sees a loss as a threat to your survival.

In this episode, I break down the neuroscience of why revenge trading feels impossible to stop and give five easy-to-implement exercises that you can start tomorrow to stop help stop revenge trading once and for all.

You'll learn:

  • What the dopamine-cortisol loop is and why it hijacks your trading decisions
  • Why revenge trading is about restoring your identity, not your account balance
  • The tension rating system to catch yourself before you spiral
  • The Micro Move Reboot that physically resets your nervous system in under 60 seconds
  • How to use the Damage Cap Protocol to stop the bleeding after one emotional trade
  • The marble and groove analogy that explains why you keep repeating the same patterns
  • Why calling yourself out in real time reduces shame spirals later

This episode explains why revenge trading is a nervous system problem, not a discipline problem, and gives you 5 protocols to interrupt the cycle before it blows your account.

Want more? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for trading psychology insights you won't find anywhere else: mentaledgetrading.co

Disclaimer: I am a retired therapist and no longer practicing. I am not a licensed professional providing clinical advice. Everything shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or financial advice.

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1 week ago
25 minutes 12 seconds

The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
Why You Trade Well on Demo But Fail on Live Accounts

Your nervous system completely reorganizes the moment you switch from demo to live trading.

What You'll Learn:

  • Why your brain shifts from pursuit mode to protection mode when you activate a live account
  • The dopamine crash that happens right after you pass an evaluation (and why it feels like anxiety)
  • How your amygdala hijacks your thinking brain when real money is at risk
  • The 3 patterns that silently destroy live accounts
  • The 3 exact scenarios where demo traders blow their accounts (and what they feel like in your body)
  • The NAMES protocol: a 5-step nervous system regulation technique you can use in real time
  • The daily audit that tells you whether you're in a state to trade or not
  • What your trading looks like when you learn to bring the same regulated state from demo into live

THE NAMES PROTOCOL

Use this protocol any time you feel activated on live (chest tight, stomach dropping, urge to close early, pressure to force a trade)

N - NAME the sensation out loud

  • Say out loud: "This is anxiety" or "This is urgency" or "This is fear"
  • Do not say this in your head. Say it OUT LOUD.

A - ACKNOWLEDGE the state change

  • Say out loud: "My nervous system shifted from demo mode to live mode. This is protection mode activating. This is normal. This doesn't mean I can't trade live."

M - MOVE your body to signal safety

  • Deliberately drop your shoulders. Let them fall.
  • Plant your feet firmly on the ground. Feel the weight of your body in the chair. Feel your feet on the floor.

E - EXHALE to activate your calm response

  • Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4
  • Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 6
  • Repeat 3 times

S - SIT STILL for 90 seconds

  • Do absolutely nothing for 90 seconds
  • Don't touch the trade. Don't adjust your stop. Don't close anything. Don't open a new chart. Don't force an entry. Don't move.
  • Observe the urge like you're watching a wave in the ocean
  • Let the urge rise, peak, and fall on its own

THE DAILY AUDIT

Complete this every single morning BEFORE you open your charts

Score yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each area (1 = worst, 10 = best):

  1. Emotional stability - How stable do you feel emotionally right now?
  2. Physical tension - How much tension are you holding in your body?
  3. Intrusive thoughts - How much are intrusive or racing thoughts present?
  4. Impulsivity - How impulsive do you feel right now?
  5. Patience - How much patience do you have available today?
  6. Mental clarity - How clear and focused is your thinking?

Add up your total score:

  • Above 42 out of 60: You're in a reasonably regulated state. You can trade.
  • Below 35 out of 60: You are NOT in a state to trade today. Step away.

Want more? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for trading psychology insights you won't find anywhere else: https://mentaledgetrading.co

Disclaimer: I am a retired therapist and no longer practicing. I am not a licensed professional providing clinical advice. Everything shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or financial advice.

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2 weeks ago
29 minutes 30 seconds

The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
Why You Can't Stay Patient in Trading (Even When You Know Better)

Why can't you stay patient in trading even when you know better? Your nervous system is stuck in survival mode.

In this episode, I break down the neuroscience behind impatience and the 5 fears disguised as greed in trading.

You'll learn:

  • Why your brain treats waiting as a survival threat
  • The 5 fears that show up as greed (FOMO, inadequacy, scarcity, regret, and losing control)
  • The 3-Tier Risk Ladder to rebuild trust after blowing an account
  • How to use tension ratings to trade from calm instead of chaos
  • The micro rewards system that retrains your dopamine to fire for discipline instead of random wins
  • Why funded accounts make all of this worse

This episode explains why patience isn't a personality trait and how to train your nervous system to feel safe while you wait.

Want more? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for trading psychology insights you won't find anywhere else: mentaledgetrading.co

Disclaimer: I am a retired therapist and no longer practicing. I am not a licensed professional providing clinical advice. Everything shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or financial advice.

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3 weeks ago
16 minutes 28 seconds

The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
Why a $200 Loss Feels Like a Crisis (And How to Fix Your Reaction to It)

Why does a $200 loss send you into total panic one day when you could handle a $500 loss just fine last week? It's because of your Window of Tolerance.

In this episode, I break down a concept from DBT therapy that explains why your emotions take over at the worst possible times and what to do about it.

You'll learn:

  • What your Window of Tolerance is and why it's the foundation of emotional regulation
  • The two ways you leave your window (hyper arousal vs hypo arousal) and which one you default to
  • Why stress, losses, and pressure shrink your window exactly when you need it most
  • How to recognize the warning signs before your emotions hijack your trading
  • Five practical tools to bring yourself back into your window in real time

This episode explains why you can't out-discipline a dysregulated nervous system and how to stay regulated enough to actually execute your edge.

Disclaimer: I am a retired therapist and no longer practicing. I am not a licensed professional providing clinical advice. Everything shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or financial advice.

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1 month ago
19 minutes 3 seconds

The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself Right Before You Succeed in Trading

Why do you blow your account right before payout? Why does success feel more dangerous than failure?

In this episode, I break down Finish Line Freeze. This is the nervous system pattern that makes you sabotage yourself when you're closest to winning.

You'll learn:

  • Why your brain treats success as a threat (and failure as safety)
  • The science behind why you're more comfortable in chaos than calm
  • How conditioned distress keeps you stuck in the grind
  • Why success demands emotional skills your nervous system doesn't have yet
  • How to retrain your body to hold wins without panicking or pulling back

This episode explains why "one more trade" destroys your account, why calm feels dangerous, and how to build a nervous system that can handle success, not just hustle.

Disclaimer: I am a retired therapist and no longer practicing. I am not a licensed professional providing clinical advice. Everything shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or financial advice.

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1 month ago
15 minutes 41 seconds

The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast
What is Trading Psychology? A Complete Guide for Beginners

What is trading psychology, and why do smart traders keep breaking their own rules? In this episode, I break down the neuroscience behind emotional trading and why discipline isn't your problem, your dysregulated nervous system is.

You'll learn:

  • Why your brain treats losses like life-or-death threats
  • The step-by-step process of how emotions hijack your trading
  • The four trader types (Fighter, Flighter, Freezer, Follower) and which one you are
  • Why you can't out-discipline a nervous system stuck in survival mode
  • How to start recognizing when your emotions are running the show

This episode removes the shame around "lack of discipline" and gives you the framework to understand what's really happening in your brain when you trade.

Disclaimer: I am a retired therapist and no longer practicing. I am not a licensed professional providing clinical advice. Everything shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care or financial advice.

Show more...
1 month ago
11 minutes 4 seconds

The Mental Edge: Trading Psychology Podcast

The Mental Edge is a trading psychology podcast for traders who want to understand the neuroscience behind their emotional reactions at the charts. Hosted by Sarah, a retired therapist turned trader, each episode breaks down the neuroscience of trading psychology and gives you practical tools to regulate your nervous system, build confidence, and trade from identity instead of impulse. No hustle culture. No shame. Just real science and real solutions.