Consumers and businesses are only just starting to feel the impact of the current global turmoil. The squeeze is coming through fuel, interest rates, and now food and groceries. That alone is enough to put pressure on household budgets and business margins. But there’s something deeper going on.
Beyond the cost of living, there’s a growing psychological weight. People are trying to navigate a constant stream of bad news, and it’s starting to show. It’s not just that prices are rising. It’s that the backdrop feels less stable, less predictable. Conversations that once sat on the fringe now feel mainstream. World War III. AI taking jobs. What the future even looks like.
So, what do you do when things feel like this?
You start by controlling what you can control. That sounds simple, but it’s not easy, because the modern world is designed to pull your attention in the opposite direction.
Noise is everywhere. Not just the news, but the endless stream of content competing for your focus. What used to be “sex sells” has evolved into outrage and fear. These platforms are engineered to provoke emotional responses, because the stronger the reaction, the longer you stay. Once you understand that, it becomes easier to step back from it. Turn off notifications, reduce the firehose of daily information, and protect your attention. Block out the noise and decide deliberately what you feed your mind.
From there, come back to the basics. The things that are almost too obvious to take seriously, but matter more than anything else. Eat well, move your body, sleep properly, and stay hydrated. There’s nothing revolutionary in that, but during periods like this, the basics become your foundation. Most people let them slip at exactly the wrong time. You don’t need to be obsessive about these things. Just doing them better makes a huge difference.
The same principle applies financially. Don’t wait for a recession to be declared before you act like conditions are tightening. By the time it shows up in the data, behaviour has already changed. Spending slows, risk appetite fades, and businesses start to delay hiring and investment. That shift doesn’t just reflect a slowdown. It helps create it. From an individual perspective, it’s far better to prepare early while you still have flexibility than to react late when options are limited.
What makes all of this harder is uncertainty. People can handle bad outcomes. What they struggle with is not knowing what the outcome will be. Uncertainty lingers. It drains energy and creates anxiety that has nowhere to go. In many cases, it feels worse than the thing you’re actually worried about. Recognising that doesn’t remove the uncertainty, but it changes how you sit with it. You stop trying to eliminate it and start learning how to operate within it.
Perspective matters here as well. Things are rarely as bad as they feel in the moment, and they’re rarely as good as they seem at the top. There’s value in remembering that, especially when emotions are running high or you feel overwhelmed. I’ve been reading Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, and it’s a powerful reminder that even in the worst imaginable conditions, your response remains within your control.
Finally, don’t forget to actually live and have fun. When things feel uncertain, people tend to narrow their world. Work, family, responsibilities, it’s easy to go into survival mode. The things that bring enjoyment are often the first to go. So, be deliberate in making sure you schedule time for fun and life's simple pleasures. For me, it’s an espresso to start the day and thirty minutes of reading at night. It’s not much, but I really enjoy that process each day.
In times like this, small anchors matter more than you think. You can’t control global events or financial markets. You can’t control how this plays out. But you can control how you respond. Over time, that’s what separates those who drift from those who move forward.
General Disclaimer: This information is of a general nature only and may not be relevant to your particular circumstances. The circumstances of each investor are different, and you should seek advice from an investment adviser who can consider if the strategies and products are right for you. Historical performance is often not a reliable indicator of future performance. You should not rely solely on historical performance to make investment decisions.