From Breakdown To Breakthrough

Don ' t push me ' cause I ' m close to the edge
I ' m trying not to lose my head
uh uh huh huh huh
It ' s like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under.
— "The Message," Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five

A lot of people are feeling that life is increasingly stressful as our world seems to be spiraling out of control. We watch helplessly as our retirement funds and stock portfolios melt down in slow motion almost every day, death by a thousand cuts. "Do I sell everything and cut my losses or wait for a rebound? What if I'm wrong? Who can I trust?"

Home foreclosures are surging. Few experiences in life are more humiliating than losing your home, not being able to adequately provide for your family, and trying to explain why to your child who doesn't understand, or to your spouse, who does.

And it's not just the economy that's melting down. Afghanistan meltdown: the Taliban is resurgent. Middle East meltdown: Iraq still can't seem to govern itself. Nuclear meltdown: Iran continues to develop nuclear technology. Global warming meltdown: the polar ice cap is melting even faster than predicted. Even Iceland is melting down.

How can we avoid an emotional meltdown? Fortunately, while we can't always change what's going on in the world, there is a lot we can do about how it affects us.

Several studies have shown that your perception of stress is more important than what is objectively occurring in your life. And you have a lot more choice about how stressed you feel than you may realize. When you practice some simple stress-management techniques on a regular basis, you can be in the same situation, but you can react in more constructive and healthful ways. As a patient once said to me after learning meditation and yoga, "Well, the situation didn't change, but I did."