A trailing stop loss is one of the simplest ways to protect gains without constantly babysitting your chart. Instead of keeping a fixed stop at a single price, a trailing stop moves up automatically as your trade becomes profitable. This lets you lock in gains while still giving the trade room to breathe.
What many traders don’t realize is that in TradingView you can manually drag your stop loss above your entry price, turning it into a guaranteed-profit stop. Once the stop is above your buy price, you no longer risk losing money on the trade. If the market reverses and hits that stop, you exit with profit instead of a loss.
This is powerful, but it comes with a catch. If you drag your stop too close to the current price action, the market might tag it during a normal pullback and sell your position. You take profit but you’re out of the game. The chart continues in your direction, and you’re left watching the trade run without you. It’s an easy mistake that newer traders make when they try to “lock in every penny” instead of letting the trend develop.
When adjusting a trailing stop, think in terms of structure, not emotion. Place your stop below meaningful swing lows or support levels—the areas where the trend would actually be invalidated. This gives the trade enough space to fluctuate without shaking you out. Only bump the stop up when the chart makes a new structural higher low (uptrend) or lower high (downtrend).
TradingView’s draggable stop loss tool makes this process simple: click your stop line, drag it above your entry, and confirm the new price. Just remember that the goal is to protect profit, not to choke the trade. A trailing stop works best when it follows the market at a respectful distance, letting winners grow while removing the stress of watching every candle tick.
Used wisely, trailing stops keep you in strong moves longer, secure your gains, and remove a lot of emotional decision-making. Used too tightly, they cut great trades short. Balance is everything.