Guard Against Scarcity Scares

I’m embarrassed to report that I had an emotional meltdown a few days ago.

I was working on an article about how to remain calm when a computer gremlin visited. Suddenly my email would not send messages.

Before we go on, there’s something you should know about me: I am not a computer person. That’s why over the years, I developed go-to resources for dealing with computer issues.

Last week, though, these resources were not available. The Apple store is closed. I could not visit my gurus.

And I melted down. (The irony about melting down while writing an article about staying calm is not lost to me.)

Suddenly this computer problem felt like a life-and-death crisis. I’m a physician, and intellectually I know the difference between email problems and medical emergencies.

Still, this felt like life and death.

I was experiencing a “scarcity scare.” I was panicking because I did not have the resources I normally turn to.

What I needed was resourcefulness to think about different solutions.

However, my reaction to the problem kept me from accessing the resourcefulness that would lead to a solution.

The Anatomy of a Scarcity Scare

Here’s what happened. 

Think of the brain as a three-storey house. 

• The “reptile brain” is like the basement. It’s where we go for refuge in the face of survival threats. This is the part of the brain activated in the fight-or-flight response. 
• The feeling brain is like the main floor. This is where we spend the most time.
• The thinking brain is like the second storey. This is where our resourcefulness is housed.

Just as you can only be on one storey of your house in any moment, so, too, you can only be in one place in your brain. The kinds of thoughts and reactions are very different in these three parts of your brain. 

When I was writing the article about staying calm, I was in my thinking brain.

When I realized my computer was not sending emails, I went fleeing to the basement where my thoughts were, “This is a HUGE problem I cannot solve. And I’m all alone. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?” 

I stayed in a state of panic for a while before I finally said to myself, “Hey, you’re in the basement. You need to get yourself upstairs to the thinking brain and access your resourcefulness. So, take a deep breath, put this in perspective and make a list of five ways you can solve this problem.” 

Within moments i came up with many ways I could get my email working.

How to Guard Against Scarcity Scares

In this moment in time, we’re facing core survival issues: threats to both our health and the financial resources to sustain life. 

We are also at a moment of time in which the resources we turned in the past are not longer available.

You do not have control about the things that come your way. You do, however, have control over your response. 

Here are three tips to guard against scarcity scares so you can access your resourcefulness.

1. Identify your triggers for scarcity scares. 

Once you know what triggers your scarcity scares, you can either avoid them or prepare for them.

My biggest trigger is facing the empty paper goods isle at the grocery store. Now I simply avoid them. Just this week I was in the checkout line and I said to the clerk, “I know the answer is most likely no, but do you have any toilet paper?” Much to my surprise at 11 AM on a Wednesday, they did!

What are your scarcity scare triggers? Maybe it's the sight of bills or the sound of kids arguing or the smell of something burning on the stove. 

2. Raise the threshold for scarcity scares. 

The recovery community knows how to decrease the risk of relapse: think HALT. Avoid being hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Your physiology matters, too. 

• Eat a diet that keeps your blood glucose even. Stay hydrated. 
• Manage anger in a healthy way. Exercise works for me.
• Use technology to stay connected to others in this time of physical distancing. If touch is your love language and you live alone, pet a neighbor’s dog!
• Make sure to regularly recharge your body, mind and spirit. Get good sleep. Take breaks from work. Engage in activities that nourish your spirit, whether it’s meditation, prayer or walks in nature,

3. Count your blessings

We are bombarded by messages of scarcity. You can focus on all that you have.

Celebrate the things that are going right. Here are a few ideas:

• Adopt a gratitude ritual. I think about three things for which I’m grateful before I go to sleep.
• Celebrate the wins. Notice when things are getting better. There WAS toilet paper at the grocery store!
• Give to others. Acts of kindness go a long way. Ask your neighbors if you can pick anything up at the store. Be there for others who are experiencing scarcity scares. Support the businesses in your community that are closed right now. Get take-out food and tip generously. Consider prepaying for your next haircut or personal training or manicure.

You WILL Find Yourself in the Basement

You will experience scarcity scares. It’s part of the human condition. 

Your goal is to quickly recognize you’re in the basement, and remind yourself that you need to get to your resourcefulness in the second floor.

Hey, my computer is fixed. You are now reading the article I was working on when I melted down. Life goes on.

We NEED You

We are all in this together. Each of us is an essential worker who will contribute to our recovery. That ’s why avoiding scarcity scares may well be the most important action we take. 

Thank you for all of your contributions.

Stay safe and stay strong!

? 2020. Vicki Rackner MD. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line:

Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.