Under Too Much Stress: No Job & Not Enough Money

For some people going through hard times after losing their jobs or when having enough money to pay the bills,

It could be very annoying to hear advice from others in a better position about how not to allow stress to get the best of them.

Things as stay positive,

Do some yoga,

Exercise,

And meditate and practice mindfulness every day are part of those well-intended suggestions.

Many years ago,

When I was going through a tough financial situation and not yet walking the path of wellbeing,

I used to wonder how would these people behave in a situation like that?

Would they be able to endure with the serenity and positivity they suggest despite all their efforts,

The fact of not having enough money to supply their needs and the ones from those under their care?

Feeling that all doors seem to close and windows seem not to be opening,

Would they keep calm and grounded?

At that time,

I thought that it was very easy to give advice from a position of comfort or when having the right conditions.

But then I always reached the conclusion that in reality whether they are able to follow their own advice or not was irrelevant,

As the important thing here is how people,

You or me,

Deal with those heavy times when facing them.

And to be fair,

The truth is that behind these suggestions there is a lot of wisdom.

Not only philosophical or spiritual wisdom,

But actually scientific wisdom.

Let's explore this briefly.

According to models of stress,

Stress is produced when an individual is confronted with a threatening situation in which he feels not competent enough to deal with it.

This means we experience stress because we feel overwhelmed by a certain situation while perceiving that we have not enough control or resources to make things better.

Although we feel almost immediately strong emotions,

Our response involves our cognitive,

Psychological and behavioral systems.

It is believed that the initial response to stress is adaptive in nature,

And this response allows the brain to learn from the situation,

Facilitating certain cognitive functions,

Such as memory and decision-making.

And it is widely known that prolonged exposure to stress can be very damaging for our psychological and physical health.

Neuroimaging studies have shown that brain regions involved in cognitive control,

Such as the prefrontal cortex,

And areas part of the limbic system,

Such as the hippocampus and the amygdala,

Which are essential in emotion regulation,

Seem to be greatly affected by the effect of stress.

This is key here because both of these processes,

Cognitive control and emotion regulation,

Are very important when dealing with stress.

These brain areas are needed to activate coping strategies such as re-appraisal,

In which we re-evaluate the situation and classify it as less threatening than it really is.

In this way,

We reduce our negative emotional experience.

Another strategy is to directly minimize our stress symptoms by consciously attempting to reduce our physiological and emotional responses.

Furthermore,

During extended stress episodes,

Our cognitive flexibility is compromised,

Limiting our capacity to find solutions in an efficient way.

But what does it mean in practical matters?

This means that when we allow ourselves to be carried away by the despair and thoughts and feelings of hopelessness derived from a stressful situation,

We might be making things more difficult for us because this attitude will most likely increase the detrimental effect that stress is having over us,

Further limiting our capacity to modulate our emotional expressions and cognitive control.

Then it is here where the advice to meditate and be mindful comes handy.

Practicing meditation our brain modifies,

Similar to getting any other skill such as learning to ride a bike.

This is the famous brain plasticity that many mindfulness teachers talk about.

But due to the nature of meditation itself,

It has a direct impact in parts of our brain that are affected during stress.

Research has shown that the practice of meditation improves cognitive functioning and reduces stress levels,

Probably because we learn to regulate our attention and our emotions.

Learning to regulate our attention,

We gain a skill in which we are able to detach from thoughts related to the stressful situation,

And when we are able to regulate our emotions,

We are able to consciously reduce the negative psychological and physiological experience.

Of course,

This doesn't happen in one day,

But even new meditators benefit from meditating,

Experiencing physiological relaxation,

And changes in the way they process emotional information that leads to reduction of emotional discomfort when under stress.

Along the same lines,

Mindfulness practice has shown to reduce stress levels,

Enhance attention and cognitive function,

As well as increase positive states of mind and positive moods.

Clearly,

This information can be applied to any stressful situation.

However,

It is important to notice that when going through strong financial difficulties,

Which is a major stressor,

Other types of stress,

Such as daily stress and chronic stress,

Are also affected.

But what can we do in these cases?

The practice of equanimity is a good ally during these hard periods.

Equanimity is the ability to remain calm during any situation or experience we have,

Regardless of it being positive or negative.

Of course,

It is especially useful when we are going through negative times in our lives.

When we develop this quality,

We gain resilience and our levels of well-being improve.

So let's practice.

I recommend to repeat this practice or a similar one during several days.

So let's start.

Sit comfortably with your back straight,

Shoulder relaxed,

Keeping a dignified posture and your chest open.

Carefully tuck your chin.

Close your eyes if that is good for you,

Otherwise find a spot on the floor to focus on.

Feel your body.

Notice your posture.

Become aware of your breath.

Take three slow and deep relaxing breaths.

Continue breathing normally but at all times remain close to your breath.

Now,

Bring to mind the stressful situation you are experiencing and while doing so allow it to be there,

Avoiding judgments and elaborations.

When we feel stress,

It affects all aspects of our being,

Our body,

Our mind and our emotions.

Let's take care of each of them individually.

With the situation in mind,

Pay attention to how it manifests in your body.

Do you feel tension or discomfort in any part of your body,

Perhaps your neck or your head or your chest or your throat?

Now,

Let's bring some space to these areas.

Take one slow and deep breath.

Visualize,

Feel or imagine fresh air coming in and opening space.

You can say,

Breathing in,

I open space to calm my body.

Hold the air for a moment,

Then slowly lay the air out,

Feeling how the body relaxes.

You can say,

Breathing out,

I let go all tension.

You can imagine the tension leaving your body.

At the end of the exhalation,

Make a short pause and rest in it.

Repeat this two more times.

Make the practice powerful,

Really imagining and feeling how the air creates space when coming in and releases tension when going out.

You can say,

Breathing in,

I let go all tension.

Continue breathing in a calm way,

All the time connected to your breath.

Now let's pay attention to our mind.

Take one slow and deep breath.

Visualize,

Feel or imagine how the air coming in brings space and slows down all those painful thoughts and ideas.

You can say,

Breathing in,

I create space and my thoughts slow down.

Hold your breath at the end of the exhalation and then slowly slowly breathe out.

Visualize,

Feel or imagine that all negativity starts to dissipate when the air is leaving the body.

You can say,

Breathing out,

I let go all negativity.

At the end of the exhalation,

Make a short pause and rest in the serenity of this pause.

Repeat this two more times,

Always connected to your breath,

Allowing serenity to come to your mind and negativity to be released.

You can say,

Breathing in,

I let go all tension.

Continue breathing in a calm way and let's focus on the heart,

The center of your emotions,

Connect with them.

These emotions want to help you,

But unfortunately this is not happening.

Gently allow them to relax.

Take one slow and deep breath.

Visualize,

Feel or imagine the air coming in,

Opening heart space.

Feel how all those emotions start to soften.

You can say,

Breathing in,

I create space and revitalize my heart.

Hold your breath for a short moment,

Slowly breathe out,

Visualize,

Feel or imagine that the intensity of those difficult emotions start to decrease,

These difficult emotions start to dissolve.

You can say,

Breathing out,

I allow my heart to relax.

At the end of the exhalation,

Make a short pause and rest in the openness of this pause.

Repeat these two more times,

Staying always connected to your breath.

Take care.

Now,

For a moment,

Feel your body,

Mind and heart as a whole.

Rest in this experience.

And stay as long as you wish or until the bell rings.