Managing Stress during the Financial Crisis

As we hunker down and try to wait out the recession that has affected all of us, we must begin to come to terms with the increase in the level of stress it has caused us all to feel. The current financial crisis has touched almost every industry and its effects have reached across all sectors and classes of society. We are under more pressure than ever as the recession has affected not only our bank statements, but also our self-confidence and sense of worth as individuals.

What can we do about this added stress? The first thing we can do is to acknowledge that our anxiety stems from feelings of powerlessness and the sense of being out of control. The less control you feel over your environment and the more uncertainty this creates, the more stress you experience. Instead of worrying about the things you can’t control, why not focus on what you can do to alleviate the strain in your life? Rather than ruminating about the global state of the economy, try setting realistic goals for yourself and planning out the steps necessary to achieve these goals.

One way of coping with the additional strain caused by the recession is to take an inventory of the obligations and responsibilities that regularly demand your attention. We are often not unaware of the extent and intensity of the demands on our time, energy, and material resources that are constantly being made on us. Making a list of your responsibilities and mapping out ways to manage and balance them can lend us a sense of control and give us faith in our own abilities to achieve our objectives.

Another strategy to help manage the current crisis is to try to remain focused on the present rather than the future. Many people look at the recent negative economic indicators and forecasts and get caught up in doomsday visions of the future that can be troubling. While it is helpful and practical to prepare for difficult times ahead, it is also important not to get too caught up in prophecies of disaster and doom. Looking to the future rather than focusing on the present takes the situation out of our hands and reinforces our feelings of powerlessness, thereby increasing our stress. Concentrating our attention on the things that we can control, in the present, can be empowering and might begin to alleviate some of the tension and worry brought on by the economic strain of the recession.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Part II of a Series on Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal part of our everyday lives. It is a natural reaction to daily events that stimulate our feelings of intense fear or concern. However when normal feelings of anxiety become exaggerated or seem to take over our lives, this could lead to the development of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is one of the most common ailments affecting people today with some research reporting that over 6 million Americans suffer from the disorder. While other anxiety related disorders have specific triggers or causes, Generalized Anxiety Disorder tends to be defined by a general, wide-ranging worried feeling without a particular source or reason. This type of anxiety may be experienced as a sort-of baseline anxious feeling that we walk around with at all times without any real understanding of its origin or basis.

The anxiety that people feel as a result of Generalized Anxiety Disorder can vary in its intensity. Some people experience a low level of anxiety that is uncomfortable but doesn’t disrupt their everyday functioning while others feel extreme tension and worry that can lead to physical symptoms and get in the way of their ability to maintain their normal routines.

Underlying all of this anxiety are irrational fears and exaggerated feelings of worry about normal life events and activities. For some people suffering from this disorder a trip to the grocery store or a routine medical visit might trigger a state of increased tension and worry that could cause them to lose sleep and become agitated or cranky. Other life events like business presentations, college exams, or family get-togethers might lead to even more intense responses.

No one knows how or why people get Generalized Anxiety Disorder but there are some factors that might play a role in how it develops. First of all, scientists believe that there is a genetic component that could predispose people to the disorder. Some also believe that a demanding environment or a lot of stressful events or traumas could contribute to the development of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. While its causes are not generally agreed upon, the best treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder is understood to be a combination of medication – to help alleviate some of the physical symptoms of the disorder, and therapy – to gain more of an awareness and understanding of sources of the anxious feelings.

Anxiety: An Overview - Part I of a Series on Anxiety

There are more people suffering from anxiety and anxiety-related problems than ever before. The current political and economic climates have contributed to an increase in the level of stress felt across the general population. The result of this has been a universal intensification of our anxiety levels that has manifested itself in an upsurge in the prevalence of anxiety disorders, ranging in severity from obsessive-compulsive disorders and panic attacks to generalized anxiety and adjustment disorders.
But what is anxiety and how does it become a problem? Anxiety is experienced by everyone at different levels of intensity and for varying amounts of time. It is a condition that affects both the mind and body and is characterized by increased feelings of apprehension, worry, fear, and uneasiness.
Anxiety in its more adaptive form is a normal reaction to stress and can occur in response to feelings of being overwhelmed or helpless. This response developed as an evolutionary means of survival and is the basis for the flight or fight response to dangerous situations. When we sense danger, a cascade of chemicals is released into our systems that increases our sense of awareness of our surroundings and puts us on edge, in preparation for dealing with a threatening situation. In this way, anxiety can be helpful, alerting us to a threat or motivating us to action, helping us to solve problems or meet important deadlines.
This anxious response can become troublesome when it develops into a habitual way of dealing with problems. This type of maladaptive anxiety often grows out of a tendency to feel that things are unsafe when they aren’t in our control. If something happens that leaves us feeling powerless or if we are worried about something in the future that we have no control over, our anxious response takes over, releasing the chemicals that increase our state of anxiety. But in many cases, there is no way to actively respond to our worries and we are stuck with our anxious feelings and with no apparent way to discharge them.
For example, if you have a trip planned and are worried about going through airport security, your anxious response has been activated and might not abate until after you have successfully arrived at your destination. Oftentimes we can’t let go of our feelings of apprehension and tension until the actual event we are worrying about takes place. This leaves us feeling physically and emotionally burdened with the effects of anxiety and with no hope of changing a situation that seems to be out of our control.
But we can learn to successfully manage our anxiety. If we can understand the unrealistic expectations and irrational beliefs that lie beneath our feelings of worry, we can learn to empower ourselves and change the way we approach situations that leave us feeling helpless or overwhelmed.
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