Without making political judgements....I think it is safe to say that the U.K. has been shaken to it`s core within the last few weeks.
It shows how fragile the whole infra structure is and how easily outside forces can influence political and economic outcomes which result in a crisis.
The country will cope and rise again, it has suffered financial instability and depression before, plus two world wars and an epidemic of Spanish Flu at the beginning of the 1900s.
Perhaps the difference this time is that the world is much more affluent and is built on credit. Houses, cars and major items are purchased by borrowing and paying back over a period of time.
A large part of a salary is taken up by monthly payments, so when these rise it becomes harder to make the remaining money stretch to cover everything else. This is particularly relevant when it comes to mortgages.
This financial worry causes stress as many items which were enjoyed by family may have to be cut back or curtailed altogether, which doesn`t always go down well especially with younger members.
Added to that, whilst we have been indulging ourselves in our throw away culture, we have paid little attention to the planet on which we live and depend.
The destruction to the planet is enormous and whilst economies can recover, without some major help the planet cannot.
There is no easy solution. We have a created a society where we expect everything to be labour saving and readily available.
Our homes are full of machines which do everything for us and as technology progresses artificial intelligence and robotic machines are set to play an increasing role in daily life.
Driverless cars are being tested, more and more transactions which required a bit of effort, can be done online.
Where does that leave us as humans trying to deal with a changing and expensive world?
It should lead us to hunkering down and coping until the storm passes.
The problem is that due to our lifestyles, we don`t know how to hunker down.
We can`t heat our homes because we have done away with fires for heating and cooking, and of course they contribute to the carbon problem, so finding an alternative to oil and gas is difficult. It means layering up more clothes and being careful with heating.
Many people simply don`t know how to budget in order to trim the weekly shop as so used to buying ready made and processed food, or eating out.
Everyone`s life seems to revolve around social media for communication which all adds up to another monthly payment.
Add all these things together and more stress is produced.
Where there is stress there are mental health problems.
Anxiety and depression are the obvious ones and most common, and it`s easy to see why.
Alcohol and drug misuse may be the result of trying to hide away from a problem or as a result of low self esteem.
Mental health professionals are very thin on the ground and supply to meet demand is woefully inadequate.
What can the average person do to weather the storm?
Be realistic about what is going on in your life.
You may be one of the fortunate ones who doesn`t need to worry much about financial matters. In which case lucky you.
Other situations will vary greatly. The one thing to try and avoid is falling into debt. Many people will, during this cost of living crisis, but it is important to do something proactive about it.
Make contact with one of the many debt help agencies such as Citizens Advice. The worst thing to do is ignore it.
Make sure you are having a good overhaul on your general spending and make savings where you can.
This includes treats for children. They can survive without them or at least cut down on them. Its amazing how a cash strapped mother will automatically buy a toy for her toddler as if its the child`s right to have it.
As I have often mentioned in other blogs, a trip to a green space out of doors can work wonders.
Ideally somewhere with trees and a bit of nature, but even just a walk round a local park is better than nothing.
The very colour green is relaxing. Trees, shrubs and grass are all living things which give off energy. If you allow it to, you can feel the energy calming you down and lifting your spirits.
The same can be said for water and bird song.
There are many videos on YouTube if you subscribe to it, which are very effective in assisting relaxation and promoting sleep.
Also on YouTube can be found many meditations to combat stress, together with yoga and tai chi lessons. I particularly like tai chi as it is very calming but energizing at the same time and is also very gentle with no lifting or over stretching.
Taking charge of our own mental and physical health is something which we can do a lot more of.
We want to eat proper food, keep warm and keep healthy. It is up to us to find ways to do that. These are the most important things in order to move forward.
The other things which have been cut back can remain like that until things improve.
It will mean many changes to daily life, but changes which may make a great deal of difference to how we view the world and interact with our families and others.
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