If you are reading this, you have probably looked at the stock market lately or maybe your 401k. No matter your political perspective, when your savings are down, it is easy to feel anxious. Couple that with layoffs, rising costs, unpredictable markets, and the feeling of a murky future and you might start asking friends for tips about how to stay mentally strong during financial uncertainty.
You’re not alone and it’s not just about money. Financial instability often triggers deeper fears about identity, safety, and control. It’s important to understand these emotional undercurrents if you’re going to navigate them skillfully.
Let’s first acknowledge that those feelings of uncertainty are real and there have been many times like this in history – and each one is unique. If we aren’t careful the sleepless nights, anxiety that won’t quit, short tempers, can lead to relationships stretched thin.
This is where emotional hygiene becomes as essential as financial planning. Learning to manage your mind during downturns is just as important as managing your money.
Why Economic Uncertainty Feels So Overwhelming
The reality is when markets have big unexpected shifts, it increases cortisol/stress and why shouldn’t it? Maybe you are close to buying a house or nearing retirement and changes like this can have repercussions for those plans.
It’s not just financial goals at stake, it’s your sense of progress, safety, and stability. Recognizing that your brain is responding to threat can help you shift from panic to problem-solving.
Simple advice from a therapist (and this is advice from a therapist, not a financial planner or broker).
What Not to Do When Facing Financial Stress
Don’t Freak Out – Accept the Market’s Nature
Even if you are a risky investor, I think you have to try and accept that you are where you are and take a breath. Maybe you call someone that you trust who can support you in this time. Whatever the case, just know that markets go up and down. Sometimes there are bad days, years, or even decades, but you can’t predict all of this. What you can do is accept your risk tolerance and the high’s and low’s that come with that. Everyone’s thresholds are different. I have a friend who I swear goes into his broker with a sheet of paper and it has a moon and bitcoin on it and then he walks out of the room. He’s definitely on the risk end of his investment strategy. There are others that prefer a broad based global ETF portfolio to help mitigate risk in any one market. You have to do what feels right and no matter what happens, know that it’s extremely rare for any investor to perfectly time the market. Heck, even the quants at high speed trading firms who discuss sting theory in their off time are getting beaten up right now. So, take a breath. Take care of yourself. Know that there will be peaks and valleys and that will create opportunities in the future. If the uncertainty we have experienced so far is making you anxious, pay attention to that and discuss options with your broker to help mitigate that. If you do it on your own, consider a more diversified strategy that helps you feel less anxious. If you’re feeling like your emotions are overriding your logic, that’s a good sign to pause, not to act. Emotions are data—but they shouldn’t be the sole driver of your decisions.
Don’t Spiral Into “What Ifs”
Economic uncertainty triggers our survival brain and it’s easy to have those anxious thoughts build momentum as we start catastrophizing. Honestly, this never helps. I remember in 2008 when the few stocks I had got whacked and I my anxious brain started an avalanche of thoughts about all the ways this might change things for me. It didn’t help and the key is to notice when you’re forecasting doom and pause before going down the rabbit hole. I went for a run, called a buddy who is an investing genius, and decided on a plan to try and make some decisions based on logic and fact. I stopped focusing on where I was and started focusing on where I was heading. That shift, from fear-based to purpose-driven thinking, was everything.
Don’t Isolate—Shame Grows in Silence
As a therapist, by biggest worry is when shame builds up around anything and people isolate. This is a toxic gumbo and it can create much higher risk scenarios for people as dark thoughts tend to grow in isolation. Talk to someone you trust even if it’s just to say, “This is hard.” Reach out to whatever your community is or could be. Jason Isaac’s character in Wild Lotus shows a glimpse of what how isolating dark thoughts can be when we are in a tough place – but these feelings can change in time.
Isolation can make anxiety worse and lead to shame spirals. Reach out—to friends, to mentors, to professionals. The simple act of saying “I’m stressed about money” can help release some of its grip on you. Vulnerability isn’t weakness; it’s a human necessity during hard times.
Don’t Try to Control What You Can’t
I had dinner with a friend recently about this and he’s honestly one of the smartest people I know. He’s one of those academics types with a PhD from Stanford and can easily converse about quantum field theory or black hole thermodynamics & Hawking radiation. I asked him about his investing strategy figuring it would be complex and yet his advice follows my line of thinking. We waste energy trying to predict markets, political outcomes, or inflation trends. Instead he focuses his energy where it actually has impact: healthy-ish habits, his mindset, his relationships, and his next moves in life. Ask yourself: Where does my energy actually make a difference? Then invest in that.
Therapist-Recommended Tools for Staying Grounded
Name What You’re Feeling
I remember looking at my retirement in 2008 and feeling overwhelmed and shut down. What helped was to do an emotional self check. I remember saying to myself, “I’m feeling scared because I don’t know what the future looks like and this was unexpected.” As simple as that statement was, it was grounding. It helped the overwhelm to have less power. Labeling emotions has been shown to reduce their intensity. When you name it, you tame it and this is based on neuroscience.
Practice Grounding in the Present
Practice some simple mindful grounding. Feel your feet on the floor. Breathe into your belly. Look around and name five things you can see. These small practices interrupt the anxiety cycle. I know it seems silly, but it can help. If doing this in your room doesn’t feel right, then go in nature and do it. Try the “5-4-3-2-1” method: name 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste. This classic grounding technique helps re-anchor you to the present moment.
Create a Small, Manageable Plan
Start with a plan for today, or the next 5 days. What can you do this week that supports stability? Cook at home? Check in with your budget? Go for a run? Apply for one job? Schedule a therapy session? Concrete steps reduce abstract stress. I started with writing this out on my white board (and yes, of course a therapist has a white board in their home). It’s not about solving everything. It’s about proving to your nervous system that you’re capable of action.
Stay Connected to Your Support System
Economic struggle can be dehumanizing. Connection re-humanizes. That doesn’t always mean talking about the hard stuff. Sometimes it’s a walk with a friend, a shared laugh, or being around people who get it. Do whatever feels right for you. Connection is the antidote to shame, stress, and isolation. Let people in.
Author: William Schroeder, LPC – William is a co-owner of Just Mind Counseling and an avid finance and global news nerd. Financial Times, Economist, and WSJ are some of his favorite reads.
