How can I better manage my anxiety about the economy?
February 11, 2009 6:57 AM Subscribe
How can I better manage my anxiety about the economy?
Obligatory you are not my doctor/lawyer/therapist/feng shui master.
I have major anxiety/depression problems, for which I am being treated with medication and therapy. I tend to have 'apocalyptic' daydreams where I lose my job, my family is living on the street, society breaks down, and I commit suicide because of the bleakness of it all. To be clear: I am NOT a suicide risk at present, not even remotely. Obviously the headlines lately are highly combustible fuel for this sort of thinking. I discuss these fears in depth with my therapist on a weekly basis and I work very hard at quieting my mind and reminding myself that there is presently no threat to my job, I have a supportive family, etc.
I guess what I'm looking for is something positive to hold on to. I can look back to times in my life when things seemed hopeless and then got better, but it's too easy to look at the current situation and conclude that I am screwed. Obviously the internet and the news in general provide plenty of alarmist perspective.
Obligatory you are not my doctor/lawyer/therapist/feng shui master.
I have major anxiety/depression problems, for which I am being treated with medication and therapy. I tend to have 'apocalyptic' daydreams where I lose my job, my family is living on the street, society breaks down, and I commit suicide because of the bleakness of it all. To be clear: I am NOT a suicide risk at present, not even remotely. Obviously the headlines lately are highly combustible fuel for this sort of thinking. I discuss these fears in depth with my therapist on a weekly basis and I work very hard at quieting my mind and reminding myself that there is presently no threat to my job, I have a supportive family, etc.
I guess what I'm looking for is something positive to hold on to. I can look back to times in my life when things seemed hopeless and then got better, but it's too easy to look at the current situation and conclude that I am screwed. Obviously the internet and the news in general provide plenty of alarmist perspective.
Do you have any living relatives who survived the Great Depression and would be willing to talk to you about it? The point is to put the current crisis in perspective. Bad times have happened before, but people find ways to survive and even thrive. It might help to hear some personal stories and realize that while the economy sagged people still lived their lives and eventually things got better.
posted by Alison at 7:27 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by Alison at 7:27 AM on February 11, 2009
I highly recommend that you avoid the news for a while - both printed and broadcast. Headlines are written to sell newspapers, not to give you a real picture of what's going on. Step back from the info overload and you will be able to see what's really happening in your life.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 7:42 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by The Light Fantastic at 7:42 AM on February 11, 2009
Stop reading the headlines. No, really.
It is in the media's interest, whether on the TV, the web or in print, to shout as loudly as possible about everything. Calamity and doom sells newspapers, draws eyeballs and fuels the whole system.
Look closely at your media diet. Remove all daily doses (websites, newspapers, half-hourly tv news roundups). Just stop watching them. Subscribe to a quality monthly instead.
I'm not suggesting you just check out and quit worrying. I am suggesting that you tune out the Chicken Littles and get your analysis and reporting when it's not quite so steaming hot off the press and smelling faintly of horseshit and fear.
posted by Happy Dave at 7:42 AM on February 11, 2009 [8 favorites]
It is in the media's interest, whether on the TV, the web or in print, to shout as loudly as possible about everything. Calamity and doom sells newspapers, draws eyeballs and fuels the whole system.
Look closely at your media diet. Remove all daily doses (websites, newspapers, half-hourly tv news roundups). Just stop watching them. Subscribe to a quality monthly instead.
I'm not suggesting you just check out and quit worrying. I am suggesting that you tune out the Chicken Littles and get your analysis and reporting when it's not quite so steaming hot off the press and smelling faintly of horseshit and fear.
posted by Happy Dave at 7:42 AM on February 11, 2009 [8 favorites]
Well one thing to remember is that many Americans could stand to significantly ratchet down their standard of living. Do you need cable? No. Do you need a cell phone for every member of the family? Probably not. You certainly don't need a new TV, computer, or gadget-of-the-month. You don't need to go to Starbucks. You don't need to eat out. You don't need to buy prepared food. You don't need to go to Vegas this year.
Giving these things up isn't likely to be pleasant, but there's a big difference between giving up what you realize are actually luxuries and being out on the street. Even if you have to change your living arrangements, there's a big difference between the three-bedroom in the 'burbs and sleeping in a box under a bridge.
The "positive" thing here is that if you really think about it, you'll probably realize that there are a lot of expenses in your life that you could probably trim if you had to, and that giving up those things is not the end of the world.
posted by valkyryn at 7:44 AM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]
Giving these things up isn't likely to be pleasant, but there's a big difference between giving up what you realize are actually luxuries and being out on the street. Even if you have to change your living arrangements, there's a big difference between the three-bedroom in the 'burbs and sleeping in a box under a bridge.
The "positive" thing here is that if you really think about it, you'll probably realize that there are a lot of expenses in your life that you could probably trim if you had to, and that giving up those things is not the end of the world.
posted by valkyryn at 7:44 AM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]
Can you turn off the news completely? You mention it twice. I pretty much abstained from all national news for about two years because (a) I could do nothing about it, and (b) it upset me. It was great. I realize this might feel "irresponsible," but I actually don't think it is, especially if you combine it with boosting your civic activity in the spheres you can control (city council meetings or something).
posted by salvia at 7:52 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by salvia at 7:52 AM on February 11, 2009
I'm not sure if you're doing this with your therapist, but cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) was greatly helpful to me when dealing with my anxiety/depression issues. If you haven't discussed this with your therapist, you may ask him/her whether they think it is appropriate.
posted by escher at 7:52 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by escher at 7:52 AM on February 11, 2009
Okay, I'm going to come off as a complete ass to some people for saying this, but a lot of people tend to not realize that the Great Depression, while affecting many, many people and families, only affected 20-25% of them (at least in the U.S.). In other words, not a majority. This is not to say that it was not terrible, and that the 20+% directly affected did not have a ripple effect throughout the country. It is, however, a bit of a wake up call to what you've likely been told throughout your life, the images your history textbooks likely showed and how prominent figures portray it. Bad news sells, and when recessions and possible "depressions" are in the forecast, politicians and news anchors love to exaggerate doom and gloom.
Try seeing the other side of this. You could potentially make a lot of money from this time. Buy when it's low, sell when it's high. Don't get into the absolute riskiest markets at this point. Buy into gold at a low point, because it's likely to go up in value, due to inflation. Etc. If you play your cards right, you may actually gain, not lose.
I am a firm believer in cognitive behavioral therapies. Whether your therapist is a CBT or not, I hope you are taking an active stance with your anxiety. If not, I recommend you start. It will give you more power over your fears to actively work against them. You can begin reading financial blogs, economic institutions' columns (see It's a Recession, Not a Catastrophe) and magazines. The mainstream news is all doom and gloom, but you will find plenty of business and economic writings are still very positive.
Another thing to try when you get all scared is to enjoy something funny; laughter is indeed good medicine. For some pertinent cheer right now, check out this comic, which pretty well sums up my "concerns."
posted by metalheart at 7:54 AM on February 11, 2009 [4 favorites]
Try seeing the other side of this. You could potentially make a lot of money from this time. Buy when it's low, sell when it's high. Don't get into the absolute riskiest markets at this point. Buy into gold at a low point, because it's likely to go up in value, due to inflation. Etc. If you play your cards right, you may actually gain, not lose.
I am a firm believer in cognitive behavioral therapies. Whether your therapist is a CBT or not, I hope you are taking an active stance with your anxiety. If not, I recommend you start. It will give you more power over your fears to actively work against them. You can begin reading financial blogs, economic institutions' columns (see It's a Recession, Not a Catastrophe) and magazines. The mainstream news is all doom and gloom, but you will find plenty of business and economic writings are still very positive.
Another thing to try when you get all scared is to enjoy something funny; laughter is indeed good medicine. For some pertinent cheer right now, check out this comic, which pretty well sums up my "concerns."
posted by metalheart at 7:54 AM on February 11, 2009 [4 favorites]
Positives:
- The GDP is down 1-2% for the year. That is a lot of heartache, but that also means that 98% of commerce is still happening.
- Competent people in Washington trying their best.
- The economy was over-extended. Gas, food and housing prices were rising faster than wages, people and business were borrowing too much, etc. A correction has been long overdue. This will reset a lot of things to much more manageable levels. Will it hurt? Sure. Will it ultimately be good? Absolutely. The economy will refocus a bit on necessities and conservation of resources. The true value of things will be more accurately reflected.
- What are the alternatives? We could spin into a worldwide depression. That would suck. But that won't happen because for the most part, the economy is too big. Plenty of people have plenty of needs that plenty of other people will be desperate to sell them. The government won't let a depression happen- they will send paychecks to every citizen before they just let it fail.*
- Other alternative is just as bad. Prices keep rising, but wages start to catch up. Stagflation sets in. So much energy is expended in trying to keep wages and prices in line with each other that nobody has time to innovate and invest in new products. Retirement accounts become pretty much worthless. If mom and dad have a million bucks saved, but the median income becomes $250,000 and the price of the median house is $1,000,000, that million isn't worth jack. If that were to happen, the ultimate result would be far worse.
- So, what's going on now is the best possible result.
- The media and public figures are blowing this out of proportion to what it really is. The media because they like to have something Important to report on. Public figures, so they can sound smart. Politicians, so they can use the recession push their agendas. So the FUD being sold on TV is not reality based. They are just selling their product.
* Why this would work and not cause (too much) inflation: as the economy contracts, dollars disappear. This is because money is leveraged through fractional reserve banking. You put $100 into the bank and get a statement that says the bank owes you $100. But they can lend out $90 of that to someone else. But wait- that means there is $190 worth of assets out there, but only backed by $100 of cash. That's perfectly OK, if everyone behaves rationally. If its done right, it all works out- the inflation that's caused by this process is balanced out by the increase in productivity and the real wealth generated by the borrower leveraging. He borrows that $90 to buy something that he goes out and uses to sell his services. The generation of dollars is balanced out by the increased demand for dollars- the population gets bigger, and that population wants more stuff. But when things go funny, and people default on loans, that $90 that used to exist simply disappears. The government could print $50 more dollars and just give it to people, and the value of the dollar wouldn't suffer. It can't work forever, because it would erode the real wealth to dollar ratio, but it would get us through the rough spot.
posted by gjc at 8:12 AM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]
- The GDP is down 1-2% for the year. That is a lot of heartache, but that also means that 98% of commerce is still happening.
- Competent people in Washington trying their best.
- The economy was over-extended. Gas, food and housing prices were rising faster than wages, people and business were borrowing too much, etc. A correction has been long overdue. This will reset a lot of things to much more manageable levels. Will it hurt? Sure. Will it ultimately be good? Absolutely. The economy will refocus a bit on necessities and conservation of resources. The true value of things will be more accurately reflected.
- What are the alternatives? We could spin into a worldwide depression. That would suck. But that won't happen because for the most part, the economy is too big. Plenty of people have plenty of needs that plenty of other people will be desperate to sell them. The government won't let a depression happen- they will send paychecks to every citizen before they just let it fail.*
- Other alternative is just as bad. Prices keep rising, but wages start to catch up. Stagflation sets in. So much energy is expended in trying to keep wages and prices in line with each other that nobody has time to innovate and invest in new products. Retirement accounts become pretty much worthless. If mom and dad have a million bucks saved, but the median income becomes $250,000 and the price of the median house is $1,000,000, that million isn't worth jack. If that were to happen, the ultimate result would be far worse.
- So, what's going on now is the best possible result.
- The media and public figures are blowing this out of proportion to what it really is. The media because they like to have something Important to report on. Public figures, so they can sound smart. Politicians, so they can use the recession push their agendas. So the FUD being sold on TV is not reality based. They are just selling their product.
* Why this would work and not cause (too much) inflation: as the economy contracts, dollars disappear. This is because money is leveraged through fractional reserve banking. You put $100 into the bank and get a statement that says the bank owes you $100. But they can lend out $90 of that to someone else. But wait- that means there is $190 worth of assets out there, but only backed by $100 of cash. That's perfectly OK, if everyone behaves rationally. If its done right, it all works out- the inflation that's caused by this process is balanced out by the increase in productivity and the real wealth generated by the borrower leveraging. He borrows that $90 to buy something that he goes out and uses to sell his services. The generation of dollars is balanced out by the increased demand for dollars- the population gets bigger, and that population wants more stuff. But when things go funny, and people default on loans, that $90 that used to exist simply disappears. The government could print $50 more dollars and just give it to people, and the value of the dollar wouldn't suffer. It can't work forever, because it would erode the real wealth to dollar ratio, but it would get us through the rough spot.
posted by gjc at 8:12 AM on February 11, 2009 [2 favorites]
In his monologue "Swimming to Cambodia" Spalding Gray talked about a compulsion he developed whereby he would refuse to turn off a radio or TV until he had heard something positive: even a single word would be enough.
posted by rongorongo at 8:13 AM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 8:13 AM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
Thought experiment: it all goes totally downhill in the worst way imaginable. Then what? What would you do? Just sit there? No.
This is what I have been doing. My husband and I work for the same large employer. My husband was given a layoff notice 2 weeks ago, and yesterday I found out there might be imminent layoffs in my department as well. I don't know if I will be laid off or not, but just the possibility of both of us losing our jobs brought me close to a panic attack - and I am not prone to those. Before i found out about my own possible layoff I had been having anxiety dreams almost every night.
I brought myself back from the brink by thinking the above. What would happen if both of us lost our jobs? Things would suck, sure, but would we just wither away? No, we'd move ahead somehow. The situation would be bleak but temporary. I started to think of what recourse we would have, what expenses we could cut, our support system (family and friends), and that even if I had to take a job at McDonald's until things got better and move into a smaller place, at least I would be doing something. The mere act of laying down plans for what we would do to make it through was enough to calm me down. Not enough to not be worried, but enough to not panic. When you panic, you're done.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:06 AM on February 11, 2009
This is what I have been doing. My husband and I work for the same large employer. My husband was given a layoff notice 2 weeks ago, and yesterday I found out there might be imminent layoffs in my department as well. I don't know if I will be laid off or not, but just the possibility of both of us losing our jobs brought me close to a panic attack - and I am not prone to those. Before i found out about my own possible layoff I had been having anxiety dreams almost every night.
I brought myself back from the brink by thinking the above. What would happen if both of us lost our jobs? Things would suck, sure, but would we just wither away? No, we'd move ahead somehow. The situation would be bleak but temporary. I started to think of what recourse we would have, what expenses we could cut, our support system (family and friends), and that even if I had to take a job at McDonald's until things got better and move into a smaller place, at least I would be doing something. The mere act of laying down plans for what we would do to make it through was enough to calm me down. Not enough to not be worried, but enough to not panic. When you panic, you're done.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:06 AM on February 11, 2009
....also, I am trying to stay away from reading about/listening to stories about the economy. I know it's all shitty right now, I don't need the constant reminders. It's really important to me to keep my head clear.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:08 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by DrGirlfriend at 9:08 AM on February 11, 2009
Read about how people in other countries live their day to day lives. I'm not talking about starving Africans, just everyday people in places that are poor relative to the US (read: almost everyplace other than Western Europe). Life can be very, very uncomfortable by US standards, and yet people survive, people persist. Humans are unbelievably resilient.
FYI, I have diagnosed anxiety and depression as well. Meditation is incredibly helpful at quieting the mind. I also agree with avoiding the news for awhile. Turn off NPR and put on a jazz station. Do other things you enjoy. Focus on the fact that right now, everything's fine. Have you endured any (non-financial) hardship in your life? A parent dying, major surgery, a divorce, something like that? You survived that; you can survive this too.
posted by desjardins at 9:23 AM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
FYI, I have diagnosed anxiety and depression as well. Meditation is incredibly helpful at quieting the mind. I also agree with avoiding the news for awhile. Turn off NPR and put on a jazz station. Do other things you enjoy. Focus on the fact that right now, everything's fine. Have you endured any (non-financial) hardship in your life? A parent dying, major surgery, a divorce, something like that? You survived that; you can survive this too.
posted by desjardins at 9:23 AM on February 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
Stop reading metafilter. There is a higher percentage of chicken littles in the blue than there is in everyday life.
posted by goethean at 9:27 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by goethean at 9:27 AM on February 11, 2009
I know I'm not as worried about the economy tanking because as I could be because I have a fair amount of savings and could always move back in with family if I had to. So, maybe increasing your savings would help some, as would making worst case scenario plans. If you have a backup plan all set up, then you don't need to worry about what will happen as much. At least for me, worrying that my standard of living will lower is not as bad as worrying that something vaguely negative that I won't know what to do about will happen.
posted by losvedir at 9:32 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by losvedir at 9:32 AM on February 11, 2009
* Counter the Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) by just being 1) AWARE of their existence, and 2) they may not be 100% reach-into-your-life true:
The first thing is to understand is your catastrophic thinking is a SYMPTOM not a reasoned, relatively proportioned reaction to reality. Of course that doesn't stop them and they feel very real and they can be debilitating. I'm not belittling them, they are serious. Let them come, hear them, but try to not knee-jerk react to them yet - COUNTER them by saying to yourself, 'this is possible but not necessarily true.' ANTs are your condition fooling you. The evilness of ANTS is that they usually have a grain of truth in them and one focuses in on that grain and telescopes it out of proportion. They are only this moment in time and they will pass. You probably have examples of this if you dig for them or keep a journal and wrote them down with side notes on the accuracy of them. (Or you could start that as an internal research project to test their accuracy.)
* Understand the Reality of Odds:
Not just you, all humans, are horrible at judging the reality of odds. Emotions ALWAYS bend/spin/twist/shred the actual odds. You think you have a substantially better than 17 million to 1 chance of winning Mega-lotto if you buy 50 tickets. You think you have a better chance of winning the state lottery than getting eaten by a shark and you think you have a better chance of being struck by an asteroid. You think a swimming pool is safer to own than a gun. I got a million of 'em. Point Being: events and situations are being broadcast to you in a way that it's emotionally easy to think that certain issues are more far reaching and devastating to everyday life than they may actually be.
You waking up and scratching your underwear does not make the evening News, because - well, it's a common human event, no one's interested in it. You winning the lottery MIGHT make the news only because of the RARE nature of it and the interest it would generate for others. That is, News by definition is to tell not a Reasoned, Relatively Proportioned, version of what is happening, only what is interesting. And rare is interesting. (They generally never say, 'Joe won the Lottery - which by the way is twice as rare as getting eaten by a shark.' They put Joe up there to mask an every week event as if it was COMMON.)
We could be in the worst economic downturn since the Depression but as pointed out above even the Depression only hit a minority of the population severely and that was a time WITHOUT the safety nets we have in place today due to the Depression (unemployment benefits, food stamps, medicare, even the use of the Military as a job shelter, none of these were used to mitigate the Depression in the 30's). And, as also pointed out, a lot of the contraction today is value that should never have been in the first place from irrational run ups on housing. Whatever.
The News is like an automatic ANT machine, it telescopes RELATIVELY smaller but exciting and fearful events because drama sells in the human condition. We like drama. And you are naturally reacting at a kind of face value to marketing as if it has a probability to affect you more than the reality of the odds suggest.
You want something positive to hold onto: 1) you are being elegantly deceived - internally by your condition, and externally by a commerce driven media (no conspiracies here, no malice, just natural tendencies of commerce), and 2) you - and I and everyone you know, even your therapist - suck at judging the real probability of how things will affect your/their everyday life, try to remember that and roll with it.
posted by Kensational at 9:46 AM on February 11, 2009
The first thing is to understand is your catastrophic thinking is a SYMPTOM not a reasoned, relatively proportioned reaction to reality. Of course that doesn't stop them and they feel very real and they can be debilitating. I'm not belittling them, they are serious. Let them come, hear them, but try to not knee-jerk react to them yet - COUNTER them by saying to yourself, 'this is possible but not necessarily true.' ANTs are your condition fooling you. The evilness of ANTS is that they usually have a grain of truth in them and one focuses in on that grain and telescopes it out of proportion. They are only this moment in time and they will pass. You probably have examples of this if you dig for them or keep a journal and wrote them down with side notes on the accuracy of them. (Or you could start that as an internal research project to test their accuracy.)
* Understand the Reality of Odds:
Not just you, all humans, are horrible at judging the reality of odds. Emotions ALWAYS bend/spin/twist/shred the actual odds. You think you have a substantially better than 17 million to 1 chance of winning Mega-lotto if you buy 50 tickets. You think you have a better chance of winning the state lottery than getting eaten by a shark and you think you have a better chance of being struck by an asteroid. You think a swimming pool is safer to own than a gun. I got a million of 'em. Point Being: events and situations are being broadcast to you in a way that it's emotionally easy to think that certain issues are more far reaching and devastating to everyday life than they may actually be.
You waking up and scratching your underwear does not make the evening News, because - well, it's a common human event, no one's interested in it. You winning the lottery MIGHT make the news only because of the RARE nature of it and the interest it would generate for others. That is, News by definition is to tell not a Reasoned, Relatively Proportioned, version of what is happening, only what is interesting. And rare is interesting. (They generally never say, 'Joe won the Lottery - which by the way is twice as rare as getting eaten by a shark.' They put Joe up there to mask an every week event as if it was COMMON.)
We could be in the worst economic downturn since the Depression but as pointed out above even the Depression only hit a minority of the population severely and that was a time WITHOUT the safety nets we have in place today due to the Depression (unemployment benefits, food stamps, medicare, even the use of the Military as a job shelter, none of these were used to mitigate the Depression in the 30's). And, as also pointed out, a lot of the contraction today is value that should never have been in the first place from irrational run ups on housing. Whatever.
The News is like an automatic ANT machine, it telescopes RELATIVELY smaller but exciting and fearful events because drama sells in the human condition. We like drama. And you are naturally reacting at a kind of face value to marketing as if it has a probability to affect you more than the reality of the odds suggest.
You want something positive to hold onto: 1) you are being elegantly deceived - internally by your condition, and externally by a commerce driven media (no conspiracies here, no malice, just natural tendencies of commerce), and 2) you - and I and everyone you know, even your therapist - suck at judging the real probability of how things will affect your/their everyday life, try to remember that and roll with it.
posted by Kensational at 9:46 AM on February 11, 2009
I agree with everyone saying, "STOP THE NEWS." Five seconds of TV news (I'm talking commercials) and I'm about to lose it and go to the "everyone should start jumping off buildings, there is no hope" place, and I'm doing just fine right now. Unless you specifically find out that you're likely to go on the office chopping block, denial and avoiding news is your friend. Also, savings.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:33 AM on February 11, 2009
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:33 AM on February 11, 2009
I'm a fellow worrywart who started shrieking about the oncoming financial tsunami almost two years ago (check my FPP posting history!). It is depressing, and I can't agree with the advice to just stick my head in the sand and ignore the news about how much worse it's going to get -- after all, ignoring unpleasant data is exactly how the world got into this mess in the first place. But I've found that the best thing to do about something you worry about is to try to make the potential bad thing affect you as little as possible. You can't change the overall state of the economy. You can work to ensure that it affects you and your family as little as possible.
So, with that said... It's almost spring! Start making plans for a vegetable garden this year! Doesn't matter whether it's in a backyard or a raised bed or some pots out on a balcony, or whatever level of space and dirt you have available to you. It's relaxing, it's fun, and it gives you a sense of security and satisfaction to be able to grow your own food.
Sure, the economy might be tanking in a big way, but you'll feel better knowing that you -- yes, you -- can make delicious potatoes sprout and multiply like weeds in a trashcan or a big pot. Hey, the Irish lived on 'em for hundreds of years; in case of apocalyptic famine, you can too! And homegrown tomatoes are a million times tastier than those orange softball-like things they feature in the supermarket. And fruit trees are pretty and they give you gifts of free food every year, just for watering them.
Basically, having well-intentioned people just say "don't worry so much!" isn't actually that helpful, IMHO. Instead, use your nervous twitchy energy for a good cause -- learn to grow your own food, thereby easing your mind about food security issues and also partaking in a relaxing and fun new hobby. Is societal breakdown coming? Maybe. But if so, I intend to see it in with a full belly.
posted by Asparagirl at 1:57 PM on February 11, 2009
So, with that said... It's almost spring! Start making plans for a vegetable garden this year! Doesn't matter whether it's in a backyard or a raised bed or some pots out on a balcony, or whatever level of space and dirt you have available to you. It's relaxing, it's fun, and it gives you a sense of security and satisfaction to be able to grow your own food.
Sure, the economy might be tanking in a big way, but you'll feel better knowing that you -- yes, you -- can make delicious potatoes sprout and multiply like weeds in a trashcan or a big pot. Hey, the Irish lived on 'em for hundreds of years; in case of apocalyptic famine, you can too! And homegrown tomatoes are a million times tastier than those orange softball-like things they feature in the supermarket. And fruit trees are pretty and they give you gifts of free food every year, just for watering them.
Basically, having well-intentioned people just say "don't worry so much!" isn't actually that helpful, IMHO. Instead, use your nervous twitchy energy for a good cause -- learn to grow your own food, thereby easing your mind about food security issues and also partaking in a relaxing and fun new hobby. Is societal breakdown coming? Maybe. But if so, I intend to see it in with a full belly.
posted by Asparagirl at 1:57 PM on February 11, 2009
In the Great Depression, things got rough for a lot of people, but most people didn't lose jobs. We are way more on top of this economy than we were then. We have way better social supports. It is not going to be the Apocalypse. Even if you lose your job, you'll have (extended) unemployment. My parents talked about the Depression, and how they struggled financially, but also about how strong it made them, and how extended families got stronger and closer.
I tend to worry, ad have been trying to meditate and use affirmations more. I think we're in for difficult times, but that we will be okay.
posted by theora55 at 3:43 PM on February 11, 2009
I tend to worry, ad have been trying to meditate and use affirmations more. I think we're in for difficult times, but that we will be okay.
posted by theora55 at 3:43 PM on February 11, 2009
I stopped watching news and reading the paper years ago ... Was the best thing I've done.
posted by olddogeyes at 5:52 PM on February 11, 2009
posted by olddogeyes at 5:52 PM on February 11, 2009
I asked a related question not long ago, and got some interesting suggestions of things to read.
posted by zadcat at 5:54 PM on February 11, 2009
posted by zadcat at 5:54 PM on February 11, 2009
If you have to get the news somewhere, I've found the Economist to be an excellent source with a worldwide scope and always a positive outlook.
posted by qvtqht at 11:50 PM on February 11, 2009
posted by qvtqht at 11:50 PM on February 11, 2009
In "Emotional Intelligence" Daniel Goleman gives the example of the different ways in which people react to aircraft turbulence. There are those who watch the faces of cabin crew for signs of how serious it is, those who get very influenced by how their neighbour is reacting, those who count the number of rows away their seat is from the exit - watch the flexing of the wings and generally try to keep abreast of events and there are those who seek distraction in their in-flight movie. I forget the exact lessons he draws from this but my advice would be to pick whichever set of behaviours which brings comfort and avoid those which make you feel worse.
The analogy between a turbulent flight and the financial market right now is also pretty apt: in both cases there is a temptation to worry even though the risks of disaster befalling you are quite low. Planes are built not to fall apart easily and the global economy is held together by surprisingly strong bonds of demand, faith and habit.
posted by rongorongo at 2:37 AM on February 12, 2009
The analogy between a turbulent flight and the financial market right now is also pretty apt: in both cases there is a temptation to worry even though the risks of disaster befalling you are quite low. Planes are built not to fall apart easily and the global economy is held together by surprisingly strong bonds of demand, faith and habit.
posted by rongorongo at 2:37 AM on February 12, 2009
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You focus only the negative things without accounting for the fact that you are a human with tremendous powers of recovery. Our ancestors got through fires, floods, volcanos, big cats, all of it. You are the desendent of millions of years of survival and recovery. Built into you are emotional recovery mechanisms you never dreamed of. Trust in those.
In reality, some bad things will happen to you, along with some good things. You will get through them. The secret is knowing you can recover.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:20 AM on February 11, 2009 [12 favorites]