As a recession looms on the horizon, many people understandably are worried about their finances and job security. While these concerns are not unfounded, constant worry and stress about things that might go wrong take a toll on a person’s mental and physical well-being.
That was the situation my patient M. found herself in when she came to me several years ago for psychotherapy. She was terrified of being fired and teetering toward depression. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost my job,” she lamented in one of her first sessions with me. “Who’s going to hire a 55-year-old?”
As a psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy, a treatment approach that aims to change thinking patterns, my job was to guide M. in challenging the thoughts that stoked her fears and fueled her stress. These thoughts were shaping her reality, but there was scant evidence to support them. As we explored the stories her mind was telling her — my boss hates me; I’m going to get fired — she realized they were more likely fiction than fact. Cognitive techniques gave M. a different perspective on her work situation and provided a lot of stress relief. Over the following weeks her mood began to brighten.
