September - 2001 - issue > Cover

If the economic downturn has made you jittery, the following suggestions may help you regain your mental balance:

1. Introspection – Knowing what drives you is essential to knowing who you are. “Understanding yourself, your vulnerabilities, from where the pain comes, and separating the pain that comes from actual economic loss, from just loss of inflated self esteem is important,” says Dr. Prakash N. Desai, professor of psychiatry at University of Illinois at Chicago. Finding whether inner worth comes from earning “X amount of dollars at Y kind of a job” or something more permanent provides a deeper self-knowledge.

2. Seeking Support – Turning inward is the first step toward confronting pain. Being open about it and talking freely about the pain thereafter can bring equanimity. Dr. Desai suggests seeking support – be it personal, from spouse, family or friends; or professional from counselors and psychiatrists. Without such support people often turn to alcohol, drugs and risky sexual behavior. These may provide temporary relief, but can be very destructive in the long run. Dr. Desai says the stigma of seeking professional help in the Indian community is acute and reducing that is crucial.

3. Positive Attitude – While maintaining a positive attitude may seem inconceivable when your portfolio has been ravaged, or the seemingly distant possibility of having to go back to India becomes an alarming reality, it’s all a matter of whether, as Dr. Desai puts it, “the glass is half full or half empty.” The trick is to concentrate on what may be gained by returning to the old country and making a virtue out of a necessity. A little capital can go a long way in India and, in Dr. Desai’s opinion, the Indian IT field is “still virgin.” On the other hand, the economic downturn may be a reality check for many to review their career choices.

4. Physical Exercise – A positive attitude needs to be complemented by a healthy body working out is another way of reducing stress. Besides jogging or going to the gym, Dr. Desai encourages meditation and yoga as a way of channeling one’s pent up energies.

Dr. Desai does not believe that the Indian diaspora will suffer any kind of racial prejudice because of competition for jobs with the majority community. “I don’t think we are going to go back to the New Jersey ‘dot busters’ period, 25-30 years ago,” he says. Mainstream America, he asserts, has developed a sense of respect for Indians because of the latter’s “spectacular success” and amazing adaptability. There is no overwhelming language barrier thwarting interaction between the two cultures, compared with other Asian communities. In clothing and other accoutrements too, Indians are not that different.

More importantly, the current immigrant community is radically different from the ones that preceded it. “Previous immigrant communities were manual laborers, which was a low rung in and of itself,” Dr. Desai says. “They might suffer spectacular losses, but Indian immigrants now are not at a low rung to begin with.”