The mind, body and economy

We will remember how at times we grabbed every opportunity to make that extra dollar. We made the money, more than any other year before, but the ever increasing high cost of living hit us right back in our faces.
This was not just a challenge to Zimbabweans, but within the past year the entire world felt the effects of a global financial crisis.  Inflation reached double digits and tens of thousands across the globe lost their jobs and homes.
Living in this “Oil Age” meant that the scarcity of fuel caused its value to soar, which in turn triggered an increase in prices of the most basic commodities such as rice, sugar and bread. It also caused transport fares to shoot up to an all time high.
Financial instability, or just the uncertainty of what was coming ahead of us tomorrow, brought with it frustration, anxiety and fear. We all probably said or did the wrong things that hurt the people who are most dear to us, just because we were a bit under the weather for most of the year.
Most of us probably skipped meals, sitting there and trying to search for solutions. Our children were out of school because our teachers were out of school. Our bills were so expensive yet we can count the days we had electricity and municipal water.
We shall not mention more of what was not right about 2008, but we will assure that as much as the world is going through an extremely long tunnel right now, eventually we will see a glimpse of something that looks like a light.
What we all need to understand right now is that constantly complaining will not take us anywhere. Understand that this is a world crisis. Experts believe that a financial crisis has happened with regular intervals throughout the last century, it happened again in the year 2008, and probably will happen in the future in much the same way.
There is no fundamental differences between such crisis in our time and the past ones, except perhaps that they occur faster and more frequently, but fortunately also heal faster.
Avoid cracking up. Frustrations build up if not dealt with, and this affects us mentally and physically. A lot of people will confirm how their outlook and health has deteriorated over time due to stress and anxiety. Try the following stress busters followed by tips on how to handle your finances and beat the crisis as an individual.

Stress Busters
(1) Have a Moment of Silence: Our high-tech world is surrounded by a lot of noise from pagers, cell-phones, television and radio and a lot of other gadgets. These gadgets have a long term effect on our minds because eventually we feel we can not do without them and it creates some form of artificial dependence. Learn to do without the gadgets and stay away from the noise.  
l Stop searching for “news”. Andrew Weil, a medical doctor, recommends taking a voluntary “news blackout” on a regular basis — stop reading the newspaper and watching television for one day, a week or longer. A constant supply of “bad news” isn’t healthy for our bodies. Information overload brings down our memory so try taking a break from the info-stream.
l Pursue your passion. Do whatever you love or anything you have a passion for. Paint, cycle, swim, go mountain climbing. Physical movement is important, it opens the chest, lifts your mood, curbs food cravings and lowers blood pressure. You will also sleep better at night.
l Have faith. Don’t sit there thinking you have lost all your chances of being someone. Have faith because faith gives you hope for tomorrow. It gives you peace of mind.
l Get touchy. Doing so on a regular basis can help to lower your heart rate and blood pressure and promote muscle relaxation and emotional release. Get someone to give you a full body massage. Get everything else off your mind and enjoy the feeling of touch.
l Cry it all out.   Yes, crying is therapeutic. According to a Dr Sinatra, “Crying is one of the most cleansing experiences you can go through. Here’s why: Deep sobs open the chest and diaphragm, releasing pent-up energy. This helps to free your heart of muscular tension.
A good cry also enhances oxygen delivery to the cells and stimulates release of specific neurochemicals in the brain that promote relaxation.”
l Laugh. Rent the funniest flicks and feel like a kid again. Laugh out loud and don’t pay attention to who is watching. Laughter still is the very best medicine.
l Let’s do our exercises. You have been planning this for a while so just do it. Join the gym and work those muscles to relieve stress and look good at the same time.

Handling financial
crisis as an
individual
l Keep track of your spending habits and learn to budget. Others will argue that it is impossible for them to budget in our economy because they do not earn enough for them to work out anything. Do not feel like you have no control over your income but try making the most sensible plan with the little that you earn.
l Create an emergency fund. Things like accidents and other emergencies just happen without us planning for them. Create a fund that can bail you out of such situations.
l Invest in yourself and your family. As much as it might seem a bit tedious at first, it eventually has its long term benefits, especially if you invest in your family’s education or if you start up or develop a family business. Investing in your own education increases your chances of getting that promotion at work or getting a job that actually pays you better.
Remember to take each day as it comes and enjoy living your life.

l For comments or questions and/or if you would like to be added on to our database, contact: missk@zol.co.zw