A seatbelt does not stop a crash. It limits the damage. A stop loss works the same way: it does not stop a losing trade, it caps how much it can cost you. You set it before you start, not during the crash.

Most losses come from a few habits, and the first is risking too much. A few losses in a row at big size cut deep into an account. The same losses at a small size are easy to survive.

Losses are harder to win back than they sound. Lose 10% and you need about 11% to get back. Lose 50% and you need a 100% gain. That is why protecting the account comes first.

A stop loss is a price where you leave the trade if it goes against you. Without one, a loss can keep growing. With one, the loss is capped before it gets out of hand.

After a loss, many people feel angry and want it back, so they trade bigger. That is called revenge trading, and it often leads to a bigger loss. Rules and a routine break the cycle.

Even a winning trader loses several trades in a row. It is normal and does not mean you are doing it wrong. Trading small is what lets you survive a streak.

Trading without a plan is guessing. A plan decides your entry, your stop and your target before the trade, when you are calm, not during it.