249 Not giving in to fear

Teri Merrill Guest Column:

Not giving in to fear

Did my financial advisor just call me a reptile? 

My husband and I were recently on a call with our financial adviser, Viktor. As with any American who has funds in the stock market, we are rattled by what’s happening to our hard-earned investments. Viktor was calmly telling us to settle down and not respond with the reptilian part of our brain. He encouraged us to act based on facts, not fear.

It was an hour-long conversation that admittedly didn’t start out well on our end. Viktor was right: we were responding to global events with hysteria, as we watched our retirement fund plummet in value just months before my husband's retirement date. Prior to calling him, our private conversation focused on how much cash we should have on hand and where to put it, should world events cause a further market tumult.

Thankfully, Viktor reassured us that we weren’t highly invested in equities, that our long-term plan, started more than a decade ago, to buy various bonds was working to insulate us somewhat from drastic market dips. He noted too that while things may get worse before they improve, there would be an end to the financial roller coaster, though no one can say when exactly that will be.

It took his calm reason to overcome our emotional fear response, but my goodness, it worked. And that dear reader, is the message we all need in the face of this global pandemic. Maybe you need a friend or advisor to calm your fears and talk you off the hysteria ledge? Find that person and let them use reason to help you see that the world has been through past disruptions, including two World Wars, and though we may feel emotional, financial and possibly even physical pain during these frightening times, this too shall pass.

We can’t give in to our fears. Instead, current events demand that we be calm and rational and find ways to help those in greater need. Today, I’ll be handing out food to school students who are sheltering in place but rely on school lunches for their nutritional needs. Tomorrow, I’m bringing groceries to my elderly friend. Each day will bring new opportunities to help out.

There’s much work to do and positive activity is always a great form of therapy. I didn't think our phone call regarding our finances would end up in a discussion about parts of the brain, but thank you, Viktor, for encouraging us to use our neocortex to control the fears emanating from our basal ganglia, or reptilian brain.

Teri