We waited for vaccines, for boosters and for lockdowns to be lifted. Major life events were postponed or — worse — missed. But the hope was that life would resume on the other side of the pandemic and we would make up for lost time. Those fortunate enough to weather the pandemic with their savings intact dreamed of having a wedding, traveling or continuing their education.

Now the stock market is tumbling, the price of necessities is spiking and there is talk of an impending recession. The return to normal has been put off again as the economy becomes the new uncertainty and limitation to contend with, and the cause of another bout of collective anxiety. Pandemic anxiety centered around health and isolation. Work and school schedules were profoundly altered. But economic anxiety can be even further reaching and can trigger a scarcity mindset that has profound psychological consequences.

When people operate out of a scarcity mindset, they attach negative feelings, such as deprivation and longing, to their inability to acquire something. Particularly during economic downturns, it can become all-consuming and trigger what is known as tunnel vision. A common example is dieting. People tend to obsess more about food when they are counting calories than when they are eating when hungry and stopping when full. When we focus on what we don’t have, it diminishes the pleasure we get from what we do have, be that time or money.

As one of my patients, who is in her 70s, said, “I already lost two years of the few I have left during the pandemic, and I don’t have too many more stock market cycles left either. Now I’m worried that I won’t have money left to visit my grandchildren after paying my bills.” Even though her children keep reminding her she actually has enough money to visit them, she no longer feels comfortable spending her money to do so. 

For younger people, there is an increased sense that dreams are slipping away. Housing costs and student debt are crippling their ability to lead the lives they imagined. One 30-year-old man in my practice is anxiously looking for a new job, hoping to land something before a recession sets in. “If I am going to advance my career, I need to do it now. I’m afraid of getting caught in the ‘last hired, first fired’ cycle. People say that it’s a good time to jump ship, but I’m not so sure.” He and many others in his generation are making painful adjustments to their expectations as the world keeps changing beneath their feet. In this environment, it’s hard to feel secure — a staple of mental well-being.