Parenting Pointers: Economy and Mental Health

Emmy Award Winning Media Psychiatrist and Author Carole Lieberman, M.D., studies the effects of entertainment news media on today’s society and analyzes the problems of pop culture of today’s headlines from the topic of relationships, marriage/divorce, celebrity scandals, entertainment news/media, terrorism,  and trials.

Host of her own weekly internet radio show Dr. Carole’s Couch, on voiceamerica.com, in which she analyzes the psychological impact of world events and gives insight to help people live happier and healthier lives. I had a chance to interview her regarding ways that we can minimize the stress of the nation's economic turmoil in our personal lives.

1) The economy has been in the public focus for a long time. How  does that affect us mentally? We have been on a financial roller-coaster, first hearing about going over the Fiscal Cliff and now with Sequestration. This has made us feel anxious, depressed and helpless.

2) How can someone minimize the effects of worrying about finances  and the economy, while still be appropriately concerned? We need to understand how a lot of the words used to discuss the country's financial crisis have been emotional triggers that have pushed our buttons. For example, President Obama saying that sequestration will "inflict pain," frightens us. We don't want to feel pain.

3) If we're stressed about money and the economy, are there tangible steps we can take? We can take steps to control our own personal finances - with budgeting and saving for a rainy day. And we can divert our focus from material goods to appreciating nature, family, friends and so on. We can also volunteer to help people who are in poorer circumstances and then count our own blessings.

4) As a teacher, I'm particularly interested in the way current events affect my profession. How do you see the current financial climate affecting education, and what can we do about it? This is a great opportunity for teachers to educate their students about how to budget, how to save for a rainy day, and so on. The students will now see the practical importance of learning these things, rather than their looking at it as just another subject to memorize.