The Economics of Anxiety

Photo Illustration: Getty Images, Getty Images/Hulton Archive

"Among those evils which befall us, there are many which have been more painful to us in the prospect than by their actual pressure." - Joseph Addison

Economic uncertainty, job losses mounting and most anything else you read about in the newspaper; all of these are reasons for anyone to develop high anxiety. This anxiety created by worry can be accompanied by physical effects such as heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach aches, or headaches.

Physically, the body prepares to deal with a threat. Blood pressure and heart rate are increased, sweating is increased, blood flow to the major muscle groups is increased, and immune and digestive system functions are inhibited (the fight or flight response).

"We walk in circles, so limited by our own anxieties that we can no longer distinguish between true and false, between the gangster's whim and the purest ideal." - Ingmar Bergman

According to a Gallup Poll conducted in March of 2008, the percentage of Americans saying they worry "a great deal" about the economy surged by more than 20 points over the past year, moving the issue from 6th on the list of 12 national issues measured in 2007 to tied for first today with health care.

We only know so well that economic conditions have worsened considerably since that time. It would stand to reason that worry about how one will survive these economic times has increased.

WebMD offers some advice when fear rears its ugly head:

• Take time to pull back from the situation and delay immediate action; unless there's an open artery involved.
• Breathe! If you don't know how to do relaxation breathing.
• Try to be around people who are calm; it's infectious in a good way.
• Sit down and ask yourself to look for the positive side in this or the solution that is currently not being seen. Reach out to others.
• Let Scarlet O'Hara be your guide for a moment and remember that "tomorrow's another day." Even Annie knew that "the sun will come out tomorrow."
• Understand that FDR was right when he said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Don't let it crush you in its grip.

"Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Do all you can to turn your concern and worry into something productive. Read something to learn how the economic conditions will effect you; of different ways to save money; of different ways improve your condition. Knowledge is a powerful thing and the more you learn, the better prepared you are to get through this.

Stay inspired my friends.

A short video from Dr. Phil McGraw talking about anxiety.

Power of Touch

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
-Leo F. Buscaglia

I believe the quote makes it very clear in a simple to understand way. The care of someone in even the smallest way can change their life. In doing so, the chances are great that it will change your life as well.

Stay inspired my friends.

How To Handle Stress

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." -William James

I was reading recently about stress and how our lives can become complicated to the point of not being able to think clearly. This point of unclarity can be described as the "accumulation of garbage" in ones head. To simply get beyond it, you need a way to shed and achieve peace within yourself.

Some people remove themselves to a quiet place to be alone for some amount of time. It may be only 15 minutes or possibly for an hour or more. This place is where you can think of all those things and then let them go out of your mind for a while. Don't attempt to block all of the thoughts when you go to this quiet place.

The more you try to force yourself not to think of them, the more you will. Simply let them flow and as you do, turn your attention to something else. The beauty of your wife and children, the excitement of a favorite sporting event or the memory of a nice afternoon at the beach.

How you cope with the stress of everyday life is what matters. You find a method that works and then you learn how to see the signs of stress coming on. Something will find its way to you, but be careful not to allow drugs or alcohol to be the source of comfort. Each of those and other harmful effects will soon make things worse.

Accept stress for what it is, a sign that you need to stop and relax. Become introspective at those points in time. Allow your mind to deflate from all that you are trying to process. It will help you see more clearly.

Stay inspired my friends.

Grab the Opportunity

Today is about opportunity, preparing for it, recognizing it and seizing it.

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
-Charles R. Swindoll

When you adopt a positive attitude in life, you are setting the stage for yourself. Being able to say, I'm ready "no matter what" is an important part of opportunity. Many of us tell ourselves the time is not right or begin to prepare for it once opportunity is upon us. By then it can be too late to grasp hold of it.

“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”
-Sarah Caldwell

And when we have prepared ourselves, opportunity will be so much easier to identify. So many times we are wrapped up in our own misfortune, that you don't recognize the fact that opportunity is staring you in the face. We expend all our energy on complaining that opportunity slips by before we notice it. Only to repeat the cycle of despair or self complaining.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
-Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

For those that do prepare and see opportunity, they grasp it when it arrives. There is no need to think but only to react and take hold of it. When you have prepared yourself, you understand that regardless of whether you succeed or fail, you will survive and move on. Opportunity is only the vehicle of change. It doesn't predict success nor does it predict failure, it is simply movement in your life. Seize opportunity and let the movement change you.

“Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals - Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want.”
-Marsha Sinetar

Opportunity always comes your way. It comes in life changing ways, it comes in small and seemingly insignificant ways. Your life is full of these and with a positive view on life, you can take on these opportunities and turn them into great things.

“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Life will allow you the opportunity to have a great life. It takes an attitude of willingness to understand what it can do for you and those around you. Prepare for those opportunities, recognize them and take hold of every opportunity that comes before you. You will have a great life and you will make a great life for those around you.

Stay inspired my friends.