“I think the price will rebound, so just loosen the stop-loss a bit” — does this sound familiar?

This is exactly how the most common trading pitfalls begin.
When your position is against the market trend, you often hesitate to close and cut losses, and your mind starts to find excuses to keep holding.

Initially, you might just expand the stop-loss range, then develop the idea of “averaging down,”
and sometimes even delete the stop-loss order altogether.
At this point, you have broken free from the discipline of your trading system, merely stubbornly holding on out of fear of admitting a mistake.

Your decision is no longer based on analysis or data, but is driven by a wishful thinking of “hoping the market will reverse, at least to break even when I exit.”
But the market never cares about your expectations.
The insidiousness of this trap lies in its wrapping in self-rationalizing logic,
where you gather all kinds of reasons to convince yourself that the price “should” move in your favor.
However, if you move your stop-loss without objective basis after entering, your trading plan has essentially been broken.

How to respond?
Once you realize you’re holding on in hopes of a reversal, immediately close the position.
This is not self-punishment, but a way to restore rational judgment and preserve your capital.
Positions driven by wishful thinking will eventually erode both.