by Haven Logan PH.D

        

You are not alone. Whatever your circumstances or your stage of life, in this current 2008 to 2009 economic environment, financial anxiety is to be expected. Normally, this anxiety is confined to those dealing with situations such as unemployment, a downturn in their business, or approaching retirement. Recently, however, financial anxiety has been sweeping through our collective psyche as we listen nightly to news commentators declare that we are in the worst economic situation since the Great Depression. The American Psychological Association found in a recent poll that 8 people out of 10 say that the economy is a significant cause of stress. It was, in fact, the issue of the economy that decided the outcome of the 2008 Presidential election, despite our being in two wars.

So just how can you live a healthy life when you are worrying about your job security, paying your rent or mortgage, rising food prices, and your dwindling retirement savings? While the economic crisis has created distress on the individual level, as well as, at state, national, and international levels, your personal reaction probably has as much to do with your past experiences and basic attitude, as with your current financial situation. Your child self may be conjuring up pictures of having to live on the street or working until you are 100 years old. Just as you need to reassure your own children that you can handle things, you need to reassure your emotional self by putting your logical adult self in charge of your finances.

Most of the current articles about financial anxiety point to our feeling that we can’t control what is happening. We are understandably afraid when our elected officials and the heads of financial corporations don’t seem to know what to do. One thing I have found particularly useful in dealing with my own fears is theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer, which has been adapted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other Twelve Steps groups. Whatever your belief system, the Serenity Prayer speaks to the choices we have in how we look at the events impacting our lives.

The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to
Accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Exercise - Wisdom to Know the Difference

So let’s look at how knowing the difference between what you can change and what you can’t will help calm your financial anxiety.

• Take out a blank piece of paper and draw a line down the middle from top to bottom.
• On the left side at the top write:  Can’t Change
• On the right side at the top write: Can Change
• Down the left hand side put the following topics leaving lots of space to write:
  
  
1. National/World Economic Situation
2. My Savings and Investments
3. My Expenses
4. My Income
   
   

Take as long as you need to write about each of these areas. You may want to start working on this by yourself and later bring in other family members. Make sure to write something under each topic. For example, you may not be able to change the world’s economic situation, but you can educate yourself about it and make your feelings known to officials. You can’t change what has already happened to your investments, but you can choose where to go from here. You can’t change the price of milk, but you can draw up a budget and see where to cut expenses. Considering income, you can’t necessarily change your rate of pay but you can work to secure your present income and explore how you might add to it.

Don’t do this alone. Talk to friends and family about how you are feeling. Seek out experts who can educate you and help with decision-making. There are books, websites, television shows, newspapers, and financial planners. Look for those offering sound practical advice and not get-rich-quick schemes. We can see where those have landed us. Suze Orman offers common sense advice on her television show and website: www.suzeorman.com. Another helpful show is On the Money with Carmel Wong Ulrich. Her website is: www.onthemoney.cnbc.com. You can find a budget worksheet at: www.financialplan.about.com. If you need help with credit card debt, Consumer Credit Counseling Service offers free credit counseling. Visit them at: www.creditcounseling.org.

Take a look at my column “Healthy Living in the Midst of Disaster” on this website. It has lots of ideas for how to take care of yourself while you’re taking care of your finances. Make a list of the things you enjoy that cost little or no money. Our world economic crisis is not going to be resolved in a short time. Don’t feel guilty about having some fun. Dancing, laughing, and walking in nature are all healing and FREE.

Finally, think about the positive things that can come out of this. Many of us have bemoaned how materialistic our society has become. We have worried about the sky rocketing prices of our houses and how all this conspicuous consumption is affecting the resources of our planet. Perhaps the forced changes in our living habits will be what will save our planet.