As unemployment numbers soar and the media continues to report on the devastating economic climate, many people may react with a flood of strong emotions and a sense of uncertainty. Yet, people generally adapt well over time to life-changing situations and stressful conditions.
What helps some people “bounce back��� while others continue to feel overwhelmed? Resilience, the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, which is vital in these high-stress times. Resilience is a learned skill that can help carry you through the current crisis as well as future relationship, family or work problems you may encounter.
According to the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America Survey, money is a significant source of stress for Americans. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed when you seem to be surrounded by bad news that impacts your family situation or that you fear may do so in the future. However, you can handle stress in positive ways and implement tactics to help you better manage and develop your resilience. Seeing this difficult situation in a positive light can help you build and utilize your resilience.
APA offers the following tips to help foster your resilience in tough economic times:
Accept that change is a part of life—You may have to adjust your goals, or make changes to your lifestyle as a result of the economic crisis. Accepting circumstances that cannot be changed can help you focus on circumstances that you can alter.
Allow yourself to have feelings and grieve your losses—This does not mean to act out your emotions but rather to attend to the inner emotions that exist in response to loss. Losing your income and other assets is hard and requires a lot of you emotionally. You may go through cycles of anger, sadness, and fear in the beginning. Just being aware of the body sensations and allowing the sensations to pass through you is a good first step. Acknowledge some of this to others by describing what it is like for you.
Make connections—Good relationships with close family members, friends, or others are important. Accepting help and support from those who care about you and will listen to you strengthens resilience. As much as you are able to, talk to others about your situation. Apply for all of the assistance that you are eligible for. Some people find that being active in civic groups, faith-based organizations, or other local groups provides social support and can help with reclaiming hope.
Keep things in perspective—There will be days when you might feel overwhelmed. Remembering that this feeling is only temporary might help you get through to the other side. Visualizing what you want, rather than worrying about what you fear, will help you craft a hopeful outlook and reduce everyday stressors.
Look for the opportunities and helpers—People often learn something about themselves when going through a difficult situation such as the current economic downturn. Use this challenging time as a chance to grow professionally or personally. Look into groups in your community or on the Internet that can help foster your interests and expand your opportunities to put your top skills to good use.
Be mindful of the good things in your life—Resilient people count their blessings. You might let the people in your life know what they mean to you by writing them a gratitude letter. Or, you might spend just five or ten minutes a day reflecting on one aspect of your life that you are grateful for. Such simple techniques can be powerful in their impact.
Maintain a hopeful outlook—No one can reverse what has happened. But by being resilient, you can change how you interpret and respond to events. Turn off the news and imagine how you want to cope with this and the kind of person you want to be. Develop a vision or symbol that inspires you to move forward. Be the model that you want to set for others during this time.
Identify your resources and strengths—Notice what your resources and strengths are and focus on using them for solutions. If you lose sight of that, ask others what they most appreciate about you. We often take our strengths and resources for granted and focus on our weaknesses. This is the time to reverse that and pay attention to how we have solved similar issues in the past and the resources we bring to those kinds of solutions.
Talk to a psychologist—Sometimes dealing with stress by yourself can be overwhelming and frightening. Talking about money is a difficult topic to address or even talk about with friends or family. If you continue to feel overwhelmed, you may want to talk with a psychologist who has been trained to listen and support.
