Nobody talks about how long a drawdown lasts. Only how deep it goes.
u/Thiru_7223 ·
Reddit — r/algotrading
· May 21, 2026 at 10:49
· ⬆ 16 pts
· 💬 16 comments
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AI Summary
Summary
Post argues that drawdown duration (e.g., months of grind) is psychologically more damaging than depth (e.g., sharp 10% drop), which is often overlooked in backtesting.
Author’s thesis: live traders are unprepared for the mental toll of prolonged drawdowns, even if the percentage is small.
Quality assessment: Qualitative reflection on behavioral finance, not data-backed DD; more noise/speculation than research.
Score16
Comments16
Upvote %79%
▶ Full Post Text
Max drawdown percentage gets all the attention. Every backtest report leads with it. Every risk conversation circles back to it.But that number doesn't tell you if it lasted 3 days or 5 months.And those are completely different experiences once you're actually live.A sharp 10% that recovers in two weeks uncomfortable, but you move on. Your trust in the system stays intact.A slow 10% that just grinds with no clear bottom? That's where the real damage happens. Not to the account. To your relationship with the system.Week one you stay disciplined. Week six you're not sure if you're being patient or just stubborn. By month three you're questioning whether the edge was ever real.The math is identical. The mental experience is not.
Most backtesting tools show you depth. Almost none help you feel what duration actually does to you. So you go live thinking you understand your drawdown risk and you only find out what it really means after you've lived through a long one.I'd take a 15% drawdown that resolves fast over an 8% one that sits there for months. Every time.
Anyone else find duration harder to handle than depth? Did you account for it before going live or only after?