Stochastic Oscillator indicator formula and settings ...

I've had a rough week and it sounds like I'm not the only one. This week has wiped out my gains since July 1st, and I'm finding myself ever-so-slightly in the hole this month so far. I've made money every other month I've traded, so I'm not writing myself off as a failure, but nevertheless, I've done some digging to try and figure out what I'm struggling with. I hope the following observations about my own trading resonate with some of you and can help us all become better traders.
First off: Fundamental/technical analysis. Since I started with forex a few years ago, I've put 100% of my time and effort into studying technicals. I think many traders, myself included, are drawn to technical analysis because we fall into the trap of thinking "If I just figure out what combination of indicators/chart patterns/algorithms work for me, trading will be smooth sailing." Being able to take a formulaic approach is incredibly appealing because it's much easier to simply check off a list of criteria than it is to interpret more nuanced information. For me, I found success drawing supply and demand zones, using Bollinger Bands to visualize market structure, and confirming reversal patterns with stochastics to trade from one zone to the next. I even studied the math behind those indicators to make sure I fully understood how they worked so I could identify their limitations, and for the most part, the strategy made money. Nevertheless, if I had a dollar for every time I take what I think is a perfect setup, then the market takes me on a wacky-ass ride of unexpected "crazy bullshit" that stops me out, I wouldn't be trading for a living. After some introspection, my conclusion is that those moments are not "crazy bullshit", but rather are the results of factors that fall outside of the (actually very narrow) scope of technical analysis. This has been hard to accept, as I previously learned technical analysis was perfectly viable as a sole perspective. I was taught that the market can be predicted based on analyzing past behavior. It seems obvious now, but when I think about it, no combination of chart patterns or indicators can predict next week's unemployment figures, interest rates, or what announcements (or blunders) world leaders are going to make on the global stage. Technicals work, but they only work when the market is reacting to fundamental factors, and as soon as a new fundamental change comes along, every bit of technical analysis used until that point becomes obsolete. What I'm trying to say is, at the very least, I need to be able to understand when, why, and how the game is going to change if my technicals are going to serve me. As such, I need to stop shirking fundamental analysis. It's time I start paying attention to that economic calendar and put in the effort to learn what each event means and how to interpret the results to figure out how the market will react. It's simply not as easy as looking at the technicals. It should be obvious that there's no magic formula to trading, but many of us try hard to avoid coming to terms with the fact that there's a lot more to "analysis" than just price action, risk management, and indicators.
The problem is we as traders want trading to be easy. It's a career that society glorifies, and even if we tell ourselves we know it's not a get-rich-quick scheme, we still want to "figure it out" so we can spend a few hours a week scribbling on our charts and making simple black and white decisions while we kick back and "live comfortably". And so we try to trick ourselves into thinking it is easy by endlessly parroting mantras like "Risk management is all that matters" and "Trading is 100% psychology" and "All you need to do is find the strategy that works for you and stick to it." The first two are certainly pieces of the puzzle, but there's so much more to the big picture.
The last mantra isn't even remotely true, and brings me to my second point, which thankfully is something I figured out early in my career, but it's too related to the previous topic to not mention: Mechanical strategies. The sentiment that you need to clearly define a precise, detailed strategy and always stick to it is another lie to make trading seem simpler than it really is. Even when I was just starting to demo trade, I was finding trades that would tick all the boxes outlined by my strategy, but my gut would hesitate. Long after I identified that problem, I also began to notice that I'd be forcing myself to hold onto trades, even if they were not moving as fast or far as I initially thought they would. Once I decided to leave room for my own instinct and discretion, I became much more successful. It's important to understand your strategy is a set of rules you yourself made up. If your strategy does not line up with your own professional opinion of the situation based on your personal experiences and observations, you need to find out why. Yes, you absolutely should draw on your past experiences and be consistent in how you examine the market, how much you risk, and what tools you use, but give yourself enough credit to form your own opinions. The market is not consistent. Do not expect to succeed by applying one cookie-cutter set of rules to different currencies, at different times, during different events. Long-term success in any other line of work is dependent on critical thinking and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing world, and forex is no different. It's not simple, it's not easy, and you will have to make difficult decisions.
This wound up being longer than I anticipated, so thanks for reading. I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts on these topics, so please share them.

My name is Tom Burgoine and I am an engineer by trade however love Forex trading and have taken it up as a hobby. I have spent the last 5 years studying Forex and have had help from supposed traders teaching me the fundamentals of Forex trading. This was good as I got to know the basics and how all of the indicators worked and the terminology used etc. Once all of this was learnt, I then moved down the road of starting to trade. Straight away, I was losing money however the buzz of doing this gripped me and allowed me to keep pumping money in. I looked at various strategies given to me and none of them worked. I studied Elliot wave and although I have to agree with the markets moving in 5 and 3 waves, it became very hard to count the waves and at some points felt very contradictive of what I had been taught. It was almost like every rule, had an exception (Is it really a rule). After 3.5 grueling years of losing 40K, I then took a step back and re-evaluated. I asked myself what were the issues surrounding my losing? I know that my mentality was a problem. I was over trading and getting greedy when the wins came in. Secondly and most importantly, I realised that all of the teachings, lessons on indications, and other advice (Although welcomed and useful) was teaching me about reactive circumstances. The Indicators were reacting to market movement which meant by the time I jumped onto the trade, I had missed a bulk.
Being an engineering manager, I always try to find the Logic in things and like to know how they work quite in depth. I know, geekish, however, my mind works only in logic. I decided to try and find a way to be proactive in seeing the market turn rather than reactive and started looking into different tools and indicators. Finally in logically looking at how the market moves, I found the answer.
Market prices move with the pressure of the buyers and sellers purchasing or selling there currencies. I needed to find a way of knowing when the pressure of a market going up (Bullish) or the pressure of a market going down (Bearish) was tailing off, eventually resulting in a reverse. I looked at the indicators and found that momentum does this. I needed a second Indicator as well just to crosscheck what I was being told. I looked at the formula of the MACD indicator and thought the Histogram from the MACD indicator was very good. The moving average slapped on the top however was of no use. I then configured the MACD indicator to only show the histogram. So my Indicators were the momentum (Set to 12) and the Histogram from the MACD.
I traded on the daily as I wanted medium to long term trades. This prevented me and my mind from over-trading. I would look at the daily and would look at the direction of the price movement and the look at the pressure moving it. If the price and pressure (Indicated by the momentum and the histogram) were moving in the same direction then it was all good. The minute I saw the momentum and the Histogram starting to turn while the price still went in the same direction gave me my proactive indication that the market was about to turn. This is when I implemented my strategy. I then went to the 4 hr time frame and waited for the same thing to happen which then gave me an even tighter and closer proactive indication that the market was about to turn. once the 4 hr time frame gave me the same signal, I then moved to the 1 hourly until I received the same signal. I then got to the point of knowing within a couple of hours when the market was going to turn. I needed something extra that would allow me to enter my trade rather than trying to guess which hour was going to be the turning point. I then looked into a third indicator. Stochastics. Stochastics allowed me to see when the market was over bought or over sold. I waited until all of my Signals were in place and then waited for the stochastic to go over bought or over sold. I then entered on the hourly. This has turned my trading around. It has made me slow down my trading with consistent wins and mentally has put me in a better place. I have set up a you tube channel FX Logic, where I will be going through potential trades weekly using this method. I have a introductory video on there as well which talks you through the methodology discussed here with the charts right in front of you. There is no catch just a engineer trying to share his success. Subscribe to my channel and go through the process of growing your account with the community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldki7ddTwec&t=10s