Cheerful through the crisis?

Psychological skills for dealing with crises

Like so often, it is useful to take a look at philosophy to understand the psychology of a crisis: Things in themselves are neither good nor bad, it is our thinking that makes them so ... this is something that the stoic Epictetus knew and understood. Modern thinkers from the school of radical constructivism came to the same conclusion through scientific research in the areas of communication, system theory and information theory: our brain is an organ that imbues everything with meaning!

Things per se do not have any meaning. The world is blank. And modern studies about the brain have shown: In our nervous system, neutral, digital raw data is generated through the sense organs and forwarded to the brain. Here, they are classified and arranged in the light of past experiences and blended together to form a coherent simulation of the world, which we ultimately experience as real and outside of ourselves. The rules that govern this process of construction are categories and concepts that we have not taken from the environment, but imposed on it. We, in short, are the crisis.

The meaning of events is queried from the brain by human consciousness and used to structure and evaluate the world. We know, a blank order book, or an empty appointment calendar can be indicators of their owner’s inability to make himself understood. This is why this fear of emptiness has been a powerful driver to our motivation to work. But this anxiety is gone now. Phew! The books are empty, and what’s most comforting about this is that nothing can be done about it! It wasn’t me: it was the crisis! Let’s relax.

How long have we sensed that things could not go on at this frenzied pace, with this constant acceleration? We put the pedal to the metal and wreathed and moaned. Time pressure! Hostages of a work life. Oh, if only we could get some time, just once! Pay proper attention to the children. Catch up with old friends. Tidy and sort out the files. Read a book. And have time for ourselves. For wellness. For tranquillity. And voilá, Ladies and Gentlemen: You have the time now! It’s a slow down. Lean back, reflect quietly. Now, you are allowed to. And now, you should!

Why it is impossible to avoid crises

It may be comforting to know that our economic system, which has spiraled into a crisis, is evidently a dissipative structure. Dissipative structures, according to Ilya Prigogine, the Nobel laureate for Chemistry in 1977, are systems that are not in equilibrium, but are open and exchange energy with the environment. As a result, they can reach higher states. But every rise also means breaking away from the existing structure. The development of such a system is not steady, but erratic. Extended phases of relative stability and progress are followed inevitably by a system collapse, by crisis. And from the ensuing chaos evolves the new, higher order.

These are laws of nature that govern us, not our own dysfunction. And the breakdown, the crisis, is part of these laws: It's not a bug – it's a feature! So let yourself be thrown off balance cheerfully, and enjoy the ride. Non-linear dynamic systems such as our economic system, as described by chaos theory, go into unpredictable states every now and then, precipitating crises. That’s their nature.

It doesn’t make sense to look for the “culprits”, even though the question of responsibility still begs clarification. The system is definitely more than the sum of its components: if a couple of dozen Wall Street acrobats had not succumbed to the temptation of securitizing credits as assets, others would have done so instead. This, however, does not redeem the individual of his responsibility, nor does it relieve us all collectively, as participants and accomplices in the system.

Is this crisis the system’s punishment for our greed?

According to classical theology, greed is one of the seven cardinal sins of man, next to extravagance, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy and sloth. As a bad trait of character, it paves the way to one of the deadly sins: adultery, murder and lapse in faith (apostasy). Called avaritia in Latin, this term also refers to avarice. Greed and avarice are considered to be sibling vices. And the classical definition here no longer fits the cliché of the most hated profession these days, that of “bankers”. These, unlike the serious “bankiers” of the past, certainly count as greedy, but definitely not as miserly, but – quite to the contrary – as extravagant, at least where personal luxury is concerned. Here, greed seems more like the sibling vice of gluttony than of avarice.

Where would our economic system be without greed? The national economy could probably do well without avarice, which stands in the way of investment and consumption, but we can hardly do without greed. The desire to earn more and more, to possess more and more, and hence be valued more, is definitely one of the most important drivers of progress, more significant than comfort.

Collective stress reduction

There are certain things that are more important to human beings than material possessions. One thing that can motivate us positively and which we need not necessarily feel afraid of losing in times of crisis is the company of others. Our need for recognition and respect is anchored so deeply and strongly at the neurobiological level that one of the most respected German brain researcher and neurobiologist, Prof. Wolfgang Bauer, commented: The core of all motivation is to find or give recognition, esteem, attention or affection among other human beings. (...) the struggle to be seen as a person is much stronger than what is generally referred to as the instinct to preserve oneself. (Bauer, J. 2006, S. 37)

There is nothing more effective in reducing anxiety and grief than the company of other people. Grief shared is grief halved. It might help to find words to describe the bitter thoughts that are innermost in us and share them with others, who might have gone through similar experiences. But often, even singing together, complaining, dancing, trekking or any other synchronized movement can also help in creating a certain resonance.  

A positive emotional resonance, created through the company of others, activates our deepest sense of security and can have an amazing healing effect in times of crisis.

The value of negative thinking

In a crisis, it is not positive thinking that is called for, but, in accordance with the situation, one needs to think negatively. The order of the day is not just the pleasant emotions such as optimism, placidity or contentment, but the truly negative ones such as anxiety, doubt or grief. For all of these are, if nothing else, appropriate!

Anxiety makes people alert. And who can claim that alertness is not useful during an upheaval? If the old patterns are no longer relevant, our brain does not have much to learn from the past: rather, it will benefit more from an opening into the present, from being alert and tuned into the present. Anxiety is primarily a physical reaction that definitely makes us feel uncomfortable, but provides a vast amount of additional energy at the same time. Anxiety is not good counsel, but necessity is the mother of all inventions!

The benefits of sleepless nights

A person troubled by existential angst gets no sleep at night. Consciousness is a measure adopted by the brain, which is used whenever there are no established networks present, and new ones need to be woven into place. Consciousness creates these links at the highest level. During a good night’s sleep, knowledge is definitely consolidated by invoking the most diverse fragments in dreams, but the overall context, which only consciousness is capable of creating, is absent when a person sleeps and hence it cannot be processed. If the brain is keeping us awake, there is certainly a good reason for it. It is therefore not a good idea to fight against it and insist on going to sleep at all costs. A person who is unable to sleep ought to ponder over things; that is precisely the purpose of sleeplessness. And the best way is to get up, sit down at a desk and note down everything that is bothering him. Keep the following in mind while doing so:

Confront the catastrophe in your mind

Develop worst-case scenarios and ask yourself what could happen in the worst case and what effects this could have. Think of the unthinkable. Put the catastrophe on paper. Push out all thoughts of hope, and imagine that the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. And then put aside the pen and paper and go for a walk. Go out into the cool morning air. Alone. When everyone else is still asleep.

Crisis as opportunity?

A crisis may turn out to be a turning point, a purging and liberation from unnecessary ballast, looking back at it in hindsight, but while one is struggling in its midst, it is one thing for sure: critical. And a critical situation is tricky, in the first place, and secondly unpleasant. Only those inclined to profiteering would be interested in propagating the instability. Normally, a crisis is an inexorable state. It represents a transition, an intermediate stage. Hence, all crises lead one to hope that things might get better afterwards. Better than things were at the peak of the crisis. But better in comparison with the situation at its start as well? Whether an improvement has occurred or not also depends on the extent of damages caused by the crisis. Some crises are unstoppable and snowball into catastrophes, or complete breakdown.

Everything crisis?

There are no other topics of conversation as rewarding as crises. Negative emotions somehow are more important to human beings than positive ones. Disaster always holds a certain fascination. It acts as an emotional flytrap. By trying hard to defend ourselves against it, we are clinging to it firmly. Like some form of ugliness or an accident, which shocks us but still compels us to look on.

Imagine a crisis in full swing, and no one is interested! We are not going to let this frenzied talk of a crisis get to us. After all, the economy is made up of psychology, that is, out of nothing more than air, vanity and empty talk and words: everyone knows that. It is made of communication. Of words. The word crisis, which is known since the 16th century, is derived from the Greek word Krísis (lat. crisis) and literally means “decision“ or “decisive turning point”.  The crisis is thus the zone in which something undergoes a change. In medical parlance, this refers to the high point and turning point of a disease.

Recognize angst and endure it; maybe even use it?

One of the main effects of the secretions of the stress hormone cortisole at the synaptic junctions when experiencing anxiety is that already established nerve connections are dissolved and neural networks can be reorganized. (Hüther, G. 2000) Where relearning is involved, when it comes to leaving behind the past, angst is indispensable. Angst and stress serve as triggers for self-organizing, adaptive processes in all nervous systems for establishing new circuits.

We do not like angst because it precipitates a genuine crisis in us. But it can liberate us by bringing about solutions and making it possible to let go. An inner purging process, and a concomitant realignment on a higher plane, in a more evolved state, can help us in coming out of the crisis stronger than before. In this case, adversity is turned into a virtue, creating the need for a change. We need crises for such transformations! They bring about healing.

Strategies for feeling better in difficult times

1. Nurture relationships
   Our relationships with other people are a factor that influences our sense of well-being in the most enduring manner. Even physical ailments and pain are easier to bear when there are others to support us. Care and attention are the strongest of medicines. The time we give to nurturing good relations or to reviving relations that have gone wrong is the best investment, from a psychological point of view.
2. Fitness, movement and sex
   We feel our emotions and experience our moods through our body. Changes in the chemistry of the body have an immediate impact on the state of mind. Even small physical exertions like climbing stairs or walking reduce the levels of stress hormones (adrenalin, cortisole) in the blood and we begin to feel more balanced. Good sex can effectively combine two goals: intense experience of an important relation plus releasing the “feel good” hormones (endorphin, oxytocin, phenethylamine).
3. Action instead of idleness
   At times when one is down and out, little successes often go a long way. There is no permanent sense of well being in the “comfort zone“. People, like good engines, like to be driven. Get yourself to do something that is not quite so easy. Raise the bar a little and set yourself a goal that is not easy to attain. These are suitable strategies when you are feeling low. This includes cleaning shoes, clearing out the cellar and a course at the fitness studio, as much as the long overdue visit to the dentist and health check up.
4. Concentrated perception
   Angst is born out of negative expectations, from thoughts of a threatening future. Grief arises out of painful recollections, out of thoughts about the irretrievably lost past. But the past and the future exist only in our imagination. They are not real. The only thing that exists is the present. To arrive at this present, and to focus on what is here and now, free from all expectations, liberates a person from all psychological suffering – for the moment at least. This state is often called meditation, especially if it is reached while sitting still. If, on the contrary, one is engaged in action and involved completely in his or her activities, to the extent that one forgets everything else, then one is said to be in the flow.
5. Influencing negative emotions
   The middle part of our brains, which generates emotions and moods, is influenced by those parts of our brain, located behind the forehead, that control action. It is possible to get a certain amount of control over these emotional processes through practice. The path is called mindfulness. In times of crisis it is very important to be fully aware of all emotions and feelings and to observe them, how they come into existence and pass. The important thing is not to oppose one’s own feelings in anyway, however unpleasant these may be, and to perceive and acknowledge how everything is in a constant flux.
6. Develop a sense of gratitude
   Especially in troubled times, it can be enormously liberating to contemplate, or ideally, write down all the things in this life for which we can be grateful. Gratitude is not an emotion, but an inner attitude. Thinking consciously of all things that have gone well and developing a sense of gratitude especially towards people who are or were benevolent to us, is a direct way of feeling better, especially in critical times. A “thanksgiving visit” to an old teacher, for instance, is known to have a positive impact on the visitor’s mood for up to three months.
7. Make sure there is change
   If the brain is processing new impressions, new nerve connections are created. This releases the neurotransmitter called dopamine, which gives an immediate feeling of well being and motivation. Learning is fun! Learning more means more fun! Incorporating small changes even in daily processes that follow a set routine can bring about direct positive effects on the way you feel. Try it out!
8. Freedom is more important than gratification
   Human beings are not very good at assessing the impacts of changes in the circumstances of their life on their mental state. We believe we will be happier if our wishes are fulfilled. But we get used to altered circumstances very quickly – regardless of whether the change was for the better or worse. The degree of freedom in defining the way we spend our lives, however, has a much more direct and enduring influence on our sense of well being than any material possession can have in the long run.
9. Value-oriented and virtue-based action
   The most important and astonishing product of our 100 billion-cell computer that is our brain, is our human conscience. Our ability to recognize who we are and to see ourselves as beings existing in time allows us to think strategically and act deliberately. Integrity as an enduring source of self esteem comes into existence if what one does is in tune with what one thinks is right. If there are inherent contradictions and conflicts here, our mental peace will be jeopardized. Conversely, a feeling of deep peace is possible even in prison, if the person is convinced that his actions were morally correct.
10. Take stock of the situation: in writing
    When Robinson Crusoe realized his situation and felt like despairing endlessly over the prospects, he hit upon the idea of opening a huge account, using a stick on the sand. He called one column “Positive: What I still have”, the other bore the heading “Negative: What I’m lacking”. And in the first column, he entered: “I am still alive”. To this he added “fresh water”, “fruits” and a couple of other points as well. And the deep doubts that had plagued him earlier vanished, or so the author would have us believe.
11. Social engagement
    Giving is not only beatific, it also makes you feel more blissful than taking. Doing something that transcends the rat race that one is caught in can have a profound liberating effect. The activity of our mirror neurons makes us resonate with the recipient, in the best case. Joy shared is joy doubled. Both the anticipatory pleasure as well as the joys of retrospection have an effect on the doer, too. Altruism is simply a better form of egoism.

Literature

• Bauer, Joachim: Prinzip Menschlichkeit: Warum wir von Natur aus kooperieren. Hoffmann & Campe, 2006
• Damasio, Antonio R.: Ich fühle, also bin ich: Die Entschlüsselung des Bewusstseins. Ullstein, 2002
• Goleman, Daniel: Emotionale Führung. Econ, 2002
• Hüther, Gerald: Biologie der Angst: Wie aus Stress Gefühle werden. Vandenhoek, 2000
• LeBon, Gustave: Psychologie der Massen (erstmals erschienen 1895). Kröger, 1982
• Rizzolatti, G. & Sinigaglia, C.: Empathie und Spiegelneurone: Die biologische Basis des Mitgefühls, unseld, 2008
• Roth, Gerhard: Das Gehirn und seine Wirklichkeit: Kognitive Neurobiologie und ihre philosophischen Konsequenzen. Suhrkamp, 1997