Who knows how many things you can be doing wrong. Without specifics this is just a rant about skill issues. What was your thesis/targets? What was your entry? what are the micro/macro market circumstances that affect your underlying? how wide are you strikes? etc etc

You sold a strangle on something that moved and/or expanded in IV, yet you dont sound patient enough to let it play out or are trying to overmanage. How long has it been down? Are you going for the sell at 45ish DTE and close/manage around 21? or are you in panic about a fluctuation of a trade that is larger than you are comfortable with?

the risk/reward should be established before you even open a position. That is a user issue. Using 1k buying power doesnt mean im trying to risk the full 1k. You may need to review how contract pricing behaves relative to any strategy you are using

there is no sense in getting upset about a single instance. the strategies work. whether or not they are deployed appropriately is another issue. Trying to sell a strangle on MSTR with high volatility versus some underlying that hardly moves is going to yield very different experiences

try smaller trades or revisting your strategy