Yeah riding the bad times can be very soul draining stuff; but if your portfolio is diverse enough you should be able to carry them till hopefully they come right. I love to carry some small cap stocks and yes have been burnt a couple of times. I will normally just dip my toes in and watch them for a while as I am not a day trader. If they moving in the right direction and I stay on top of things then I hope to catch them before the rocket sets off, not always the case though. I also only ever use money on the small caps that I am willing to lose and always have a war chest ready for the plunge.

BeTrader.  I'm not a chartist, but you are absolutely right about buying less invested and/or undervalued companies at this juncture.  I just don't have any spare $$ at the moment to do just that, having placed an enormous amount of faith in one company in particular.  It's a concious choice, as are all of mine, but limits other things I'd like, and probably should, do.  Just keeping the faith, staying patient and hoping it pans out in the end.  That's the plan.  

Oh, I understand that so well Strawman.  I lived through the devastation of the GFC, though it did take years to come back.  At my age, I just hope I don't have to wait that long again.  Thanks for the moral support Strawman.

I'm sure many of us have had the poor luck of getting reved up with the positivity of making a wise purchase at an opportune time only to find it was totally inopportune.  Regarding Strawman, and not my real world, I recently bought Appen and Webjet when believing their share price had come close bottoming.  I've heard the old saw of "It's not timing the market, it's time in the market," and it's very true.  But buying when Mr. Market is in a tizzy and swan diving, the results can be soul destroying.  Putting hard earned money with well thought out reasons into a pruchase that tanks bigtime is confidence sapping.  As I said, I made these buys in the Strawman world so only my ego is a bit scrathed, but I've have made the same mistake with my own portfolio and am still paying the price.  But that's the cost we pay for investing in the stock market, especially growth shares with risks.  As a long term investor willing to take those risks, I have to take the view of an old workmate who liked to say, "Don't worry, it'll all come out in the wash."  I hope she's right, because today, I'm taking a bath.  Good luck to you all.