By Peiying Peng & Liz Zed

Recession has been here for a while, are you worried? If you are, you are definitely not alone. News everywhere has been talking about this for months.

Financial Times today has an article contemplating the shape of the US economic downturn. There are three shapes proposed: a V shape, a fast, short decline and followed by rapid return to normalcy. A U shape, a prolonged slowing down of the economy. And a L shape, the worst kind, with economic downturn lasts for years.

Regardless of the shape, be it V, U, or L, one thing is common, the recession is here. Some people get into a downward spiral thinking. The recession is here, the job market is going down, the housing market is crashing, I will be out of a job, there are mountains of bills, I will be homeless….

Alright, that might be a bit exaggerated, but you get the picture.

How to fend off the chicken little thinking?

§ Don’t read newspaper

§ Don’t watch news

§ Don’t hang around your chicken little friends

§ Don’t panic

§ Do use your head.

Newspaper still contain information you need, just don’t follow what everybody is saying without do some of your own thinking first. For example, in an article (also today) titled “Bleak houses in search of equilibrium,” the word “decline” appeared too often to count. However, there are graphs next to the article you can read. One of the graph show the US house prices. Yes, the house prices are showing a downward curve, but if you take in the whole graph, which shows house prices from 2000 to 2008, you can see that the downturn is minor compare with the whole upturn. And that’s just one of the examples. Open your newspaper and see if you can find more examples.

§ Do focus on the positives

This can be done through daily meditation, dairy on your attitude of gratitude, and create a positive mantra you can repeat to yourself frequently throughout the day.

§ Do hang out with your positive, upbeat friends, and seek out a mentor

You are influenced by your environment be it positive or negative. Create a positive one.

§ Do Relax

Haven’t you been through all this before? Have you forgotten how things pan out regardless what the media say, and regardless of the chicken little? Don’t forget to breathe. People who have jobs will have jobs, people who create wealth will create wealth, people who complain about their circumstances will complain about their circumstances. That is certain.

And for the economic downturn? There is a fear that US will be like Japan in the 1990s. Japan was in recession in the 90s, but shops are still open, people are working, and those Japanese tourists still were in their neat groups snapping pictures everywhere. There were people in deep trouble, no doubt. I ask you, which side are you on? You want to be in the poor side, you will, you want to be in the rich side, you will, and you just want to hold on to your job, you will also. Fortify your mental defense, and you will succeed regardless of the circumstances.

For more tips on how to fortify your mental defense, check out self-hypnosis at mymoneydoctors.com.