Moving through the crisis: what you need to know and do
At a recent meeting of The Mental Health Professionals of Boca Raton, a group of local therapists brainstormed how we can best guide our clients through the current crisis. I was very impressed with the wisdom of that meeting. This is what we came up with. We are currently experiencing financial, real estate and health crises. The stock market and banks are in turmoil, the housing market is a mess, unemployment is at an all-time high, and on top of the health care mess, we’re in the midst of a flu epidemic. This is enough to push just about anyone over the edge.
Ann Toback Bair, LCSW, calls our current situation a “crisis of confidence.” Unfortunately, there have been serious breaches of trust and many of us have lost faith in our leaders, our institutions, each other and, for some, ourselves.
The financial crisis has caused a lot of embarrassment. Those who have lost their homes, their jobs, and their available credit are often driven to point the guilty finger at their spouses, family, and friends. The loss brings back the insecurities of childhood, leaving us with diminished capacity and a tendency to act negatively. However, there are things you can do to avoid falling victim to negativity. Strategies to overcome the current crisis fall into two categories: action strategies and attitude strategies.
action strategies
1. Create a concrete action plan. Make a list of your personal resources and then conceptualize the strategies that you will use during the next month, 6 months and the next year.
2. Become an activist. Get involved in something that will make a difference.
3. Municipality. Connect with your neighbors and members of your community. Avoid isolation. Start or join a support group or meeting. Have a Bar-bq: serve hot dogs, not steak. Take time to share breakfast. It is essential to remember that you are not alone.
4. Meditate and breathe. When we are anxious we tend to hold our breath. Using a breathing meditation allows us to take in more oxygen. And, more oxygen allows us to think more clearly.
5. Stay busy. Find free activities. Go for a walk. Visit the park or the beach.
6. Find more creative ways to find the goods and services you need. barter. Recycle. Deal. To create.
Attitude Strategies
1. Start the morning with a positive affirmation.
2. Focus on the ways that the glass of your life is half (or more) full.
3. Avoid comparing your inside to someone else’s outside. For example, you know your 401K is in the toilet. Don’t assume the same is not true for your neighbor or brother-in-law. When you think of yourself as the only victim, you fuel negative emotions even more.
4. See the crisis as an opportunity to change gears.
5. Accept those around you as they are. Focus instead on what can be changed in you and your attitudes.
6. Don’t dwell on your losses, call them and let them go.
Special thanks to meeting participants: Ann Toback Bair, LCSW, Barbara Jacob, LMHC, Mark Levinsky, LMHC, Susan Ames, CLU, ChFC, Erica Goodstone, PhD, LMHC, Lisheyna Hurvitz, LMHC, Lillian Alper, LCSW, Susan Lander, MSW, Irv Nadler, PhD, Robin Goldstein, EdD, Beth Cutler, LMHC, CAP, and Julie Shuman, PsyD.