I’m a mother of four. My husband and I make a decent wage, but we’re not considered upper class. I’m a small business owner (now employing only myself). As a business owner and mother who balances our own family budget and has handled a few financial “depressions” of our own, this is my suggested stimulus package.

1) Find something good in your life right now and give thanks for it. You will feel better when you do. Do it again tomorrow.
2) If you’re currently employed, tell your employer you are thankful for your job and work a little harder today to help your employer stay in business
3) If you’re recently unemployed, call your ex-employer and tell him or her that you are thankful for the job you had.
4) If you’re an employer, bring your employees together and explain how you will all work together to get through this. They will respect you for it, and they may work a little harder in order to help.
5) Go outside and breathe in some fresh air.
6) Get out of the house and go for a walk in an area you haven’t walked before.
7) Say your prayers in whatever way works for you and your God.
Remind President Obama that although we may need this stimulus package passed, scaring us does NOT help consumer confidence, or any kind of confidence for that matter. Honesty is all fine and good, but when your kid has a big gash on his head, you don’t scream “OH MY GOD, YOU HAVE A HUGE GASH ON YOUR HEAD!” you calmly say, “Come here honey,” and then you put some pressure on it and take him for stitches. Both are honest, but can you imagine the difference in the “stimulation” you create by the words and actions you choose?
9) Turn off the news for 2 weeks. You not watching the news won’t affect the economy and if you feel better after two weeks, leave it off. You can still check the weather without hearing about the bad economy.
10) Demonstrate courage. Pretend to be strong because courage begets courage and fear begets fear. I know people who have millions of dollars and they’re spending less these days in fear that things will get worse. Keep seeking employment. Keep dreaming. Keep moving forward, even when it seems impossible.
11) Convince the media, that they need to HELP consumer confidence. All this bad news is feeding the problem—and the fact that we have access to it so quickly isn’t helping.

They call economic bad times the same thing they call mental health bad times—depression. There’s a reason for that. And the things that save your mental health are the same things that will help you now. Surround yourself with good things. Stay away from the things that bring you down. Pump up your friends up. Pump up your kids. Give people the confidence to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. Cheer up the neighbor. Learn something new. Keep your hands busy—even if it means volunteering. Make a positive difference. It’s not easy, but it will spread and come back to you.