Staying Sober in Troubled Times Don't Let Recession Stress Ruin Your Recovery
By Hugh C. McBride
Few (if any) situations are improved by adding stress into the mix, and it’s very unlikely that any medical professional will advise you to put a little more pressure into your life.
Stress has been linked with a murderer’s row of negative health effects, including anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal disorders, heart disease, hypertension, insomnia, and stroke. It has also been indentified as a primary culprit behind unhealthy weight gains and losses, and the development of (or return to) a dependence upon drugs and alcohol.
One of the prime pieces of advice offered to recovering addicts and alcoholics is to learn how to manage one’s emotions during high-pressure situations. And during these recession-tinged times, when stress is among the few commodities that are in no danger of running low, it’s especially important to make sure that your stress-busting skills are operational.
Contrary to popular belief, stress is not a universally negative experience. As a Dec. 20, 2006 article by MSNBC writer Jane Weaver reported, moderate amounts of stress can be an essential component of effectiveness and productivity:
When the brain perceives physical or psychological stress, it starts pumping the chemicals cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine into the body. Instantly, the heart beats faster, blood pressure increases, senses sharpen, a rise in blood glucose invigorates us and we're ready to rock. Or leap away from the car.
"Stress is a burst of energy," says psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Tan of Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "It’s our body telling us what we need to do." …
"Think about your daily life – when do you get things done?" asks Janet DiPietro, a developmental psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. "When you have a deadline, when you have to perform. You want some stress to help you do your best."
However, too much unmanaged stress can prompt people to engage in a laundry list of unhealthy behaviors, including the following:
- Smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol
- Using illicit drugs or misusing/abusing prescription medications
- Overeating, or engaging in disordered or emotional eating
- Failing to get adequate amounts of regular exercise
- Experiencing insomnia (the inability to fall asleep) or hypersomnia (sleeping too much)
- Withdrawing from family, friends, and other sources of support
According to the American Psychological Association’s 2008 Stress in America survey, 20 percent of survey respondents reported drinking alcohol in response to stress, and 16 percent said they turned to tobacco to ease their rattled nerves. Eighty percent of those who were surveyed said that the struggling economy has contributed to fears about their families’ well-being – fears that, in turn, led to behaviors such as drinking and smoking.
A Dec. 15, 2008 article on the Health website, writer Amanda MacMillan noted that these worries are not exclusive to the APA survey respondents:
Another recent survey by BettyConfidential.com found that women are concerned about issues like "affording groceries and other staples like gas," "losing what took so long to acquire," and "things getting worse in the country and it affecting me." One respondent wrote, "I don’t sleep more than four hours a night. I get headaches. I worry that my kids can’t go to college and my doctor now has me on anti-anxiety meds. (Thankfully, they are cheap!)"
It’s not just U.S. citizens who are affected by the global crisis, either: British website NetDoctor.co.uk found that one-fifth of U.K. residents surveyed are regularly getting fewer than five hours of sleep a night, and one-fourth wake up more than three times a night. Two-thirds of those reporting insomnia cited money and work as sources of their sleep troubles.
Obviously, individuals with a history of drug abuse, alcoholism, disordered eating, or other related conditions need to be especially aware of the ways in which stress is affecting their lives.
What is of primary importance to remember, though, is that while it is impossible to live a life that is free from stresses and pressures, it is well within our control to determine how we respond to negative events and experiences.
More than two years before the effects of the current recession were beginning to be felt by thousands of individuals and families, blogger Heather Long advised couples to embrace a philosophy of open communication when it comes to money matters. Writing on the family.com website, Long offered the following four tips to help reduce financial stress:
- Be frank in discussing how you and your families handled money when you were growing up. It's important for both of you to understand where the other is coming from.
- Discuss honestly how that history and past experience may influence your spending and saving decisions.
- Discuss your long- and short-term goals with your spouse or partner.
- Discuss where you each envision being 20 years from now.
Though these pieces of advice weren’t necessarily offered with the thought of a financial crisis in mind, the fundamentals that Long expressed (honest communication; an evaluation of past practices, present realities, and future goals; and a willingness to look at finances from another’s perspective) can go a long way toward easing stresses and lessening the likelihood that financial pressures will revive the ghosts of addictive behaviors.
In her article on the How Stuff Works website, staff writer Jane McGrath advises that financial stress can be minimized through an integrated effort that incorporates both process and philosophy. McGrath’s five main points (with added comments) are as follows:
- Make a realistic budget – and stick to it. In addition to providing yourself with a financial roadmap for the week, month, or year, making a budget offers the added benefit of allowing you to exert at least a modicum of control over your economic health. Yes, unexpected expenditures will arise, and your income won’t always match your expectations. But making a budget will remind you that you can take an active role in your financial future, and that that future won’t always be as bleak as it may appear at the moment.
- Differentiate between your needs and your wants – Food, water, clothing, and shelter are “must-haves.” A plasma-screen television and the latest installment of Grand Theft Auto aren’t. Eliminating unnecessary items from your monthly expenditures can inject some healthy breathing room into your family budget.
- Pay down your debt – Every dollar you subtract from what you owe your creditors is one step closer to economic security and financial freedom. Even when dollars are tight, do whatever you can to pay down your debts. An improved credit score, and the comfort of never again being hassled by collection agency phone calls, will do wonders for your stress-elimination effort.
- Ask for assistance – If you need credit counseling, some extra time to pay a bill, or other financial assistance, ask for it. If you need help controlling your unhealthy urges, ask for it. If you’re just having trouble seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, and need a friendly ear to listen, ask for it. Professional counseling and therapy services and trusted friends and family members are there to help you – but they may not know there’s a problem until you tell them.
- Remember that money isn’t everything – Though this sounds like something that only someone who isn’t worrying about where the next meal is coming from could say, the truth is that not everything of value can be quantified by dollars and cents. The comfort of friends, the guiding words of a religious leader, and the rejuvenating effects of a long walk in the park are among those exquisite experiences in the category of “things money can’t buy.”
Financial stress is never easy, and will not be overcome merely through the power of positive thinking. But your ability to manage your stress, and remain free of the addictive behaviors that previously plagued your life, will provide you with the energy, positive attitude, and mental clarity that will allow you to rise above these temporary challenges and continue your pursuit of your greatest potential.
