7 Tips

>>Job losses, rising debt, falling stock market, global recession, federal bailouts. The steady stream of bad news is enough to shake even the most confident and undermine the most optimistic among us. Christine Holmes, licensed mental health counselor and the director of Substance Abuse and Specialty Services at David Lawrence Center, has seen an uptick in the number of people with financial problems struggling to find hope in the economic gloom. The stress is leading to clinical depression in some people and causing others to feel depressed. We asked her for some tips to help people stay optimistic and productive when the outlook seems grim.

1. Remember that old adage, “Misery loves company.” Minimize the amount of time that you commiserate with other people. Focus on what you can be grateful for, what things are going well, and be around people who allow you to vent, but who want to talk about solutions and support and the positives in your life.

2. Vent, as long as it’s time- and energy-limited. When people don’t put caps on how much time they’re going to focus on the negative aspects, it can become all they talk about.

3. Don’t sit idle. Continue to fill your life with meaningful activity, and don’t give up on social activities because you think you can’t afford them. Volunteer. Take advantage of free or low-cost social activities, whether it’s a special event at the park or checking out free movies at the library.

4. Maintain good eating and exercise habits. One of the tricky little things the human brain can do during times of high stress is convince us that we should relax more and do self-indulgent things. Whether it’s caused by financial limitations or crisis, people start not eating as healthy or exercising. It’s cheap to eat badly. As people become more financially constrained, it’s important that they don’t develop bad eating habits.