With thousands of people facing redundancy, the housing sector in turmoil and the pound losing value against other major currencies, one would expect a fair share of adverse psychological reactions from people under these circumstances. In every newspaper or magazine that we pick up, there are articles referring to the current “credit crunch”.



In an article by Julia Kollewe in the Guardian on Thursday 23rd October 2008 titled Fear is the new mindset in the irrational world of finance, it appeared as if the assumption that people will have adverse psychological reactions to the current situation might be true. The article stated that Dr Alden Cass, a clinical psychologist who counsels Wall Street bankers reported an increase in the number of new clients he had seen over the previous month and it seemed as if a sense of powerlessness, leading to depression and drug taking, was overcoming stock traders and investors.

Furthermore, the fear over job security and general uncertainty over what lay ahead compounded the situation even further. In the light of thousands of bankers losing their jobs as major firms merge or, in the case of Lehman Brothers, collapse and other major banks still reportedly poised to axe more workers, one could argue that there is good reason for people to feel powerless, depressed, anxious and worried. Although I have also been seeing similar signs and symptoms in some of the City workers with whom I have been working over the past couple of months, it would be grossly inaccurate to assume that everybody would react in the same way under these circumstances.

Reaction to adversity

It is important to remember that, as psychologists and psychiatrists, we only see the small number of people who actually seek treatment and it would therefore not be fair to generalise these to the entire population. It is also possible that a number of people who might be suffering from depression, stress and anxiety symptoms are not seeking treatment due to various reasons. Some people might, however, not have any of these symptoms, nor would they develop them under these difficult circumstances.

The questions we therefore need to answer are:

1.  What are the signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety related problems that people experience in the midst of this current economic climate?

2.  Why is everybody not reacting in the same way to this current economic climate and can we actually change our reactions to these adverse events?  

What are the signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression?

It is important to identify if you are actually experiencing any mood or anxiety related problems in the light of the current economic climate and the pressure created by it. Prolonged untreated symptoms could later escalate to more problems that could be more difficult to deal with. The sooner people can identify if they have any of these symptoms, the sooner they can start addressing the origin of the problem.

Therefore if you feel wound-up, tense, or restless, easily becoming fatigued or worn-out, have concentration problems, constant high levels of irritability, excessive worrying, significant tension in your muscles and have difficulty with sleep, it might be an indication that stress and anxiety is getting the better of you.

Furthermore if you experience symptoms such as a depressed mood most of the day, you have markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities, had significant weight loss or weight gain, have psychomotor agitation, fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, as well as a diminished ability to think/ concentrate or indecisiveness most of the time, it might be an indication that you could be suffering from depression.

Same situation, different reaction?

It is important to look at possible reasons why everybody is not reacting the same way in this current economic climate. One of the main reasons for the different reactions we see is that people’s perception of their abilities to control their environment and themselves determine their stress and anxiety response. Hence, if a person believes he can cope in a particular situation, he will tend to strive to achieve his goals with positive expectations of success or at least a less severe negative outcome. Having positive expectations will invariably mean that you will be more confident and therefore more likely to focus on the relevant information at the right time.

Although we can unfortunately not choose what will happen to us in life, we can choose how we will respond. We can respond in a positive or negative manner – it is a choice that we have. Our interpretation of a situation, rather than the situation itself, will therefore determine the intensity of the emotions that we will experience. Being overly emotional is hardly ever conducive to making rational decisions. Thus, by controlling our thoughts and the way we think about situations, we will have a direct influence over the emotions that we experience in the situation. This, in turn, will help us make better and more rational decisions to practically deal with the difficult situation.

Positive Thinking v Rational Thinking

The counter-argument is often that positive thinking is like “painting over the cracks” and that it is not resolving the problem (i.e. the current economic climate). But the focus should not be on positive thinking – it should be on rational thinking. Rational thinking tells us that despite going through a crisis, we can still find ways of dealing with the crisis, even when it is sometimes very difficult to do. Perhaps no one was more aware of the importance of choice in a crisis situation than the Austrian Psychiatrist, Viktor E. Frankl, who died on 2nd September 1997. As a survivor of Auschwitz, he had to face unimaginable horrors, yet he realised that "Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms to choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way." He chose to cope, survive, and overcome. He chose to reject fear, despair, and anxiety. We can choose to do the same, regardless of our circumstances.

The choices we make…

The fact that many people believe that they are the product of their circumstances often reinforce their reluctance to take responsibility and change the thoughts and behaviour patterns that created the uncomfortable emotions in the first place. Neurologically we have been wired to respond to threatening situations (physical or emotional) with a fight-or-flight response. It is therefore not our natural tendency to stop and think about our way of thinking. Furthermore, our fight-or-flight response results in narrowing down our thought-action repertoires. We thus do not only have limited thinking abilities when we are in this frame of mind, but people will also not change their thought or behaviour patterns unless they find a good reason to do so. Most people will unfortunately never find a good reason to change, unless they are made aware of these facts.

This is where professionals such as psychologists and psychiatrists can be of assistance. As psychologists, our aim is to raise people’s awareness of these facts, whether it is through therapy, presentations or through writing relevant articles and reading material. Once people are aware of it, they can make decisions about it – and choose to change. If people have the ability to identify and analyse their unhelpful beliefs and distorted perceptions, they can change their lives for the better.

Thus, if we can change, we can improve. If we can improve, we can become more motivated. If we are motivated we will be happier. Happy people are productive people - both in business and in their personal lives.

For most people it is often difficult to identify potential psychological obstacles and even more difficult to start a process of change. Contacting a relevant professional may help people to fast track this process and begin with the change necessary to emotionally and physically survive the credit crunch. If you therefore experience any of the symptoms indicated above, try to get in contact with a qualified professional to discuss the matter further. Stop these symptoms before they snowball into bigger problems – after all, prevention is better than cure.

Your personality type

Quick online assessments are usually at best just an indication of certain traits etc. and should be interpreted very carefully. If these tests are not being objectively interpreted by a trained professional, you should only use it as a rough indicator of the outcomes stated by the specific assessment instrument.

People usually like to do these types of assessments where they can get instant feedback. I have not done all of the assessments indicated below, nor do I endorse these tests, but I found some of it interesting and it is the typical short versions that people do like to fill out online. For serious matters, I recommend that you should contact a trained professional if you need valid and reliable psychometric assessments and interpretations to be done.

Take a look at the following sites:

1.    Jung Typology Test
www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm

Upon completion, you will obtain online:

• Your type formula according to Carl Jung and Isabel Myers-Briggs typology along with the strengths of the preferences
  
  
• The description of your personality type
  
  
• The list of occupations and educational institutions where you can get relevant degree or training, most suitable for your personality type - Jung Career Indicator
  
  
• You can also use the type formula and strength of the preferences to assess online compatibility with your mate in the Jung Marriage Test and Demo of the Marriage Test

 2.    Your Personality
www.yourpersonality.net/

Obligation and entitlement

In this brief test about your perceived rights and duties as a member of society, you will take a personality test, a measure of your behaviors at work, and answer some demographic questions. Feedback about your responses and how they compare to those of other people. This test takes about 10 minutes.

• Your attachment hierarchy
  This web survey is designed to assess your attachment hierarcy -- the network of important people in your life. When completed, the web page will illustrate your attachment hierarchy. This survey takes about 5 minutes to complete.
  
  
• Attachment, personality, and the perception of emotion
  This interactive quiz is designed to assess your attachment style in different relationships as well as the way in which you perceive emotional cues. The quiz takes approximately 6 to 10 minutes to complete.
  
  
• Religion, spirituality, & personality
  Whether you consider yourself to be religious, spiritual, or neither, take this quiz to find out more about your beliefs! At the end, you'll be presented with personalized feedback on your responses and how they compare to other people's. This quiz takes about 15 minutes.
  
  
• Birth order and romantic relationships
  In this brief survey, you will answer questions about the relationship you have with your mother and significant other. This survey should take 5-8 minutes to complete.
  
  
• Relationship structures
  This interactive survey is designed to help you learn more about the way you mentally represent important people in your life. You'll be asked to list 4 people who have played an important role in your life (good or bad), and answer some simple questions about your relationship with these people. When you are finished, the program will analyze your responses and provide you with a summary of your attachment style with these different people. This study takes about 5 to 10 minutes to complete.
  
  
• What do you regret in life?
  This interactive survey is about the regrets you have had in life - things you wish you had or had not done. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes to complete. When completed, the web page will automatically summarize the data for all participants and summarize some of the life regrets that people report in different domains of life.
  
  
• Close Relationships Questionnaire [Attachment Style Questionnaire]
  This interactive survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is designed to measure your "attachment style" - the way you relate to others in the context of intimate relationships. When completed, the site will reveal your attachment style, and provide a brief summary of what is known about your attachment style on the basis of contemporary scientific research.

 3.    Free personality test: MMDI (Mental Muscle Diagram Indicator)
www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mmdi-re/mmdi-re.htm
 

4.    Trans4Mind – personality questionnaire
www.trans4mind.com/personality/