How to Cope with the Stress of Current Events

Last week, InHerSight surveyed more than 500 women about current events, asking them to share which of the following four factors causes the most stress:

• Economic uncertainty: Concerns about inflation, job security, or financial stability
• Political climate: Anxiety related to political instability, elections, or policy changes
• Health and safety: Stress due to ongoing health concerns, such as public health crises or safety issues
• Social issues: Worries about social justice, equality, or community challenges

Economic uncertainty came in first at 43 percent, but perhaps more compellingly, we received a number of follow-up emails indicating an oversight in our poll. To quote one respondent, “I cannot even pick one. It feels impossible, just like existing in this world right now.”

Clearly, an “all of the above” option was needed—and so is some TLC.

Whether we like to admit it or not, everything that happens outside the workplace impacts us on the job. Like you, I’m experiencing this in real time and finding it impossible to silence what I can consider to be my innate humanness. So instead, I’ve decided to lean way into being a human being in an effort to navigate the ongoing drama on the world’s stage.

For me, that means assessing my needs scientifically (I’m so serious right now) and approaching my stress and mental health from a variety of different angles.?

In psychology, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From bottom (the most basic level) to the top that’s:?

• Physiological needs: food, water, warmth, rest
• Safety needs: security, safety
• Belongingness and love needs: intimate relationships, friends
• Esteem needs: prestige and feelings of accomplishment?
• Self-actualization needs: achieving one’s full potential

When we think of comfort or coping mechanisms, we often fixate on the physiological—the ice cream after a breakup, the Netflix binge after a long work week. That’s all fine and good. But there’s so much more we can tap into if we involve the other tiers, even if just in tiny ways. That might look something like this:

• Physiological needs: I’m reserving time to cook myself at least one good meal that isn’t eaten on the go or while multitasking every day. Food is the basis for everything I do, so it is the priority.
• Safety needs: I’ve created a routine—even just a nightly skincare-meditation-phone off routine—to add predictability into my life. Predictability makes me feel safe.
• Belongingness and love needs: For this tier, my favorite question to ask is, How can I think beyond myself? So I’m actively cultivating my community. I’m calling my best friend to listen to her talk about her day, and I’m attending and volunteering at community events that remind me I’m a part of something bigger. And most importantly, I’m practicing saying, “I feel the same way” when someone I know voices angst over current events.?
• Esteem needs: We love an ego moment. I’m keeping a list of tasks accomplished in my planner so I can see my wins throughout the week. Some weeks, the list is granular: laundry folded, dishes done, donated clothes finally out of my trunk. It’s the little things.
• Self-actualization needs: Creativity, morality, acceptance—these things all fall into this small-but-mighty category, so it’s always a work in progress. I’m testing a variety of tactics to keep this tier satisfied: journaling to reflect on situations and feelings need a new view, participating in more tactile creative projects to take my mind off the internet, and keeping a list of resonant affirmations or short quotes on my phone to remind me of my values and what feels right.

It goes without saying that this approach doesn’t fix the world’s problems. Life is messy and expensive—especially now. But I’m hopeful that in approaching stressors from new directions we’ll all find moments of mindfulness and connection.?

What about you? How are you coping with the chaos?

Beth