In this Globe and Mail column, I explore how market panic can hijack our thinking and what to do about it. Behavioural research shows that financial losses can trigger more thoughtful decision-making if we have the space to think. But in today’s hyper-connected markets, that space is vanishing. Trading apps operate 24/7, notifications never sleep, and the pressure to act fast is relentless. That’s a recipe for snap judgments and regret. I share four simple strategies investors can use to slow things down when everything else is speeding up, including how to create your own “circuit breakers” before the next drop.

When stock markets turn ugly, these four tricks will help prevent knee-jerk reactions
Losses can jolt us into more careful reasoning as long as investors don’t make decisions under the gun
The Globe and MailPreet Banerjee