It seems quite a while ago that the “Credit Crunch” sent us spiralling into a recession, one which is proving rather stubborn to get out of. For many people recession can contribute to a number of mental health issues, the most common being anxiety and depression, triggered by the worry of uncertainty relating typically to job security and cash flow.
Recession can put us under a lot of stress
Recession pressures
Unfortunately just the word ‘recession’ contributes to any financial problems; this is partly due to our own thoughts and feelings. When we hear ‘recession’ we automatically become anxious regarding money. Recession evokes uncertainty in our minds, and though we deal with many uncertainties on a daily basis, such as “is the train going to be on time today?”, we generally don’t react well to long term uncertainty, especially about significant events such as “is my job secure?”, “will I be able to continue to pay the mortgage?”, “am I going to be able to provide for my family?”. When the level of uncertainty in our lives is increased, we can experience an immediate threat to our well being, which can trigger negative stress responses (such as anxiety, frustration, anger and depression.)
In a recession all these negative stress responses can be seen right across the economy of a country. Those who are self employed become worried that businesses will hold off on employing them for a particular project; businesses are worried about consumers holding back on their spending; and consumers are worried about job security. All that negativity results in consumers holding onto their money, spending less, businesses revenue decreasing and therefore not employing other businesses / contractors to carry out work or projects for them. So all of the fears have become true, largely because of what people are thinking.
Breaking the cycle
Our state of mind dictates how we feel, so modifying our very own state of mind has massive impacts on how we actually feel about any challenges we may face. Epictitus, stoic philosopher, neatly summarises this principle of emotional responsibility by saying “People are not disturbed by events but by the view they hold about them”. This is a poignant observation when applied to our state of mind about recession at both a micro and macro-economic level.
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy provides us with many skills and techniques that equip us to change our state of mind and ultimately how we feel, so we can handle any recession worries, and continue to move forward in our lives. If we let ourselves think the world will end because we may potentially lose our job, then we will be in a state of anxiety about our jobs. If though, we remember that the world is still turning, that supermarkets are still stocking food and the sun will rise tomorrow, then we are able to feel concerned rather than anxious or panicked about potential adversities. Being in a state of concern helps us deal with these issues and move on but being in a state of anxiety leaves you stuck.
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy
In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBH), we say that unhealthy beliefs are at the heart of our emotional problems and behavioural thinking problems. They simply don’t help us achieve our aims and goals, rather they leave us vulnerable to self sabotage, become irrationally angry, depressed and block us from actually finding solutions to our problems.
An example is you may believe “I absolutely should not have been made redundant. I have been though, and it’s now the end of the world. It’s unbearable and proves I’m useless”. This type of belief is common with people suffering with depression following redundancy. In this state of mind, it becomes very difficult to think clearly or to think of possible solutions, it is even more difficult to actually motivate one’ self.
With Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy you have access to tools to that help you change that depressive and negative mindset. Using our redundancy example, think about this alternative: “I really would have loved not to be made redundant, but I have, and I accept that I have. This isn’t the end of the world though, I’m still alive and my worth does not depend on whether I am employed there or not”. This type of belief enables you to feel emotionally sad, but enables you to move on, think of a solution and motivate yourself to move forward.
People who suffer with depression as a result of financial worries can seek counselling to help them. Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBH) counselling builds on the proven techniques of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and teaches how to change the way we think, to move from a negative belief system and mindset, to a more positive one, enabling us to think clearly, address our problems and overcome depression and stop it from re-occurring.
If you are interested in learning CBH to help with counselling, then visit www.ccbh.org.uk
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