Hi, everybody. I’m Mike Staver. This is Mondays with Mike, a weekly video series where I answer questions from people just like you. Here’s this week’s question.
“Do you think the mental and emotional issues were experiencing are likely to be permanent?”
I don’t know. Are you talking about you or your family, you and your significant other? I don’t know really know this question. I’m assuming you mean in the culture.
At the time of this filming, Delta variant’s on the run. I’m filming it here in our studio. Mask mandates are back in a lot of places. Yes, the mental and emotional issues we’re experiencing are likely permanent. I’m going to assume you mean culturally. In the countries in general, in the world in general, do I think they’ll be permanent? Let me put it this way. I believe there are certain sociological and psychological factors that have, in fact, shifted, that will not shift back.
Do I think the level of agitation, irritation, and frustration is going to continue? No, I don’t think it’s permanent. We saw, when vaccines happened and when we were relatively peaceful as a nation, we saw the things kind of go back, but I will tell you, that I do think people’s sensitivity to stress, sensitivity to frustration, it’s going to be with us for a while. I believe that we as a nation and we as individuals are going to have to start figuring out how we can be more effective and better at managing the internal torque, distortion, and frustration that we experience.
There are certain things that are permanent. I believe the belief that we don’t have to go to an office to be productive is a permanent shift. I believe that mistrust of media is getting worse and worse, and is going to be permanent. I think certain mistrust of elements of the information that we get about things that affect our lives– I mean affect our lives, not like traffic, but affect our life, like ability to survive. I think trusting information is going to take a long time to come back.
What do you do in those situations? What do you do to handle those situations? Here’s what you do. You do the best you can with the information you have in front of you at that particular moment. I listen to a guy, and I think you should listen to him too, ZDoggMD. I listen to him on locals. I’m a supportive of him, supporter of his. He is a Berkeley-trained, Stanford internist who does a fantastic podcast video series regularly. I think he’s balanced, I think he’s smart, and I think he’s really helping us think through what life needs to look like, and also has really good information.
As you know, those of you who have been chronic or subscribers to this show, no, I don’t watch the news. I don’t put any of that garbage in my head. I only put in my head the good news network information that’s going to be supportive and edifying. I don’t check the stock market constantly. I don’t look at my retirement account all the time because I feel the pressure as well. I want to keep it from becoming chronic and make it acute. The way that I do that is making sure that I’m putting stuff in that is the highest and best. Doesn’t mean I never get stressed, but it can be challenging.
Some things, I believe, will be permanent. I will tell you this. The less you know how to cope with, the more permanent and chronic things become.
Hope that’s helpful.
Do you have a burning question for Mike to answer on another episode of Mondays with Mike? Submit the form below!
