#38- How Property Managers Can Better Manage Anxiety with Licensed Therapist, Clifton Fuller
Have you felt anxious recently?
Have you felt anxiety reaching new levels where you almost feel crushed by your anxiety?
Or maybe you're someone that has struggled with anxiety throughout the years but over the last few month you felt it peaking, maybe to where it's impeding how you're functioning.
If you answered YES to any of those questions, I just first of all want to say that you are definitely not alone.
In talking to friends, colleagues, coworkers, so many are dealing with anxiety. And it's no wonder, right? We don't even have to state the obvious of what kind of a year 2020 has been.
As a property manager, life has had to continue. Not only are we grappling with the fears and anxieties that have come within our own families, but we're every day bombarded with the problems of residents living at our communities.
Will there be rent money for people to pay?
Can we collect?
Can we deal with residents being increasingly agitated?
How will we retain our team and keep them motivated month after month?
For property managers, leasing agents, assistant managers, executive level, the pressure is high. Many feel crippled by their anxiety, and they feel like what they're doing on a daily basis just isn't enough.
You might agree with all of this, but be thinking, “Why is a marketing company focusing on anxiety in multifamily”?
We are definitely a marketing company and podcast, but it's hard to focus on marketing or on any part of your career, or really on any part of your life if you're having a hard time functioning because anxiety is weighing you down
I wanted to bring our industry reliable resources that could speak on the subject but also from the perspective of multifamily housing. And I found the perfect person.
Meet Clifton Fuller, Licensed Therapist and Multifamily Owner and Operator.
Clifton Fuller has extensive experience as a family, marriage, and individual therapist (since 1985), as well as experience in in-patient (hospital) settings. He is unique as he is licensed in three areas (Marriage & Family Therapy, Professional Counselor, Clinical Social Worker), while other therapists are typically licensed in only one area. He brings expertise from these three very different fields of thought (psychology, social work, and communication, of which the marriage and family field evolved). His educational background and experience provide a skilled perspective to assist his clients in quickly identifying and addressing simple or highly complex issues.
Watch the Interview or Read Below:
Question: What is your tie to multifamily?
My wife and I are IROPs, CAMs, and I have a CAPS certification. We have owned multifamily properties, and we're heavily invested in many multifamily properties now. We had a property in Blanco, Texas, and we won the award for IROP property of the year in 2018. We have a lot of experience in this field. We found our association with the National Apartment Association, the Texas Apartment Association, and the Austin and San Antonio Apartment Associations have been really helpful at helping people deal with the problems that they face in multifamily. There is a support system for all of us who are in this industry and have concerns.
Question: In working with many clients in the housing industry, the conversation around anxiety seems to be really prevalent right now. What we see and what I hear, even just in my circle, is it seems that anxiety is on the rise. What do you think is causing this increase in anxiety?
Clifton Fuller: Anxiety's a natural response to change in our surroundings. If those changes are challenging, our body's response to challenge is, sadly, to release an enzyme called cortisol. Cortisol changes the way our body functions. And it changes literally every part of our body. It dilates your eyes so that you have a wider field of vision. It increases your breathing. It increases your heart rate. It dumps acid into your stomach so that you can utilize whatever resources are there. It actually pulls the blood from your hands and feet into the internal organs so that you can operate better.
One of the major things it does is it tightens all the muscles in our body so we can either fight or run. We call that the fight-or-flight response. That's a really good response if a saber-toothed tiger's trying to tear your arm off, but it's not a very good response if the government makes sweeping changes in your lives, forces you to not go to work, forces you to stay at home with your children and they can't go to school, and forces a lot of economic distress on property owners and their tenants.
Question: It sounds like that anxiety is just a natural response, our body's way of almost protecting itself from what's happening in our surroundings. When does it turn into a real problem for people?
Clifton Fuller: The problem comes from the fact that there are so many challenges right now. Most of us fall into patterns. We all find patterns in our lives that seem to work, and we feel very comfortable with those patterns. We like things being pretty much the same. In most of our businesses, we do things that we've relied on for a long time. If those things stop working, we get really uncomfortable. We love to plan. One of the major situations that relieves anxiety is to have a plan and to have an idea about what's going to happen next. In those situations where those things don't work anymore, we get really, really anxious, and it can overwhelm our ability to function.
Although a physical response to anxiety is natural, it's not very helpful. We will feel so tense and it tends to make people think a lot and worry a lot. Those anxieties can be so intrusive as thoughts about what's going to happen next, what am I going to do, when is this going to be over that we think so much about all our challenges that we don't become very effective at addressing those challenges. It can paralyze us.
Question: What would you say are some other symptoms of anxiety disorder that people can be on the lookout for?
Clifton Fuller: Anxiety disorder means that the anxiety symptoms have become so great that it's difficult to function in your life. It's difficult to go to work and get your job done. It's difficult to go home and relate to the stressors. They are always there because they're amplified.
A few other symptoms:
Agitation
Muscle aches and pains
Headaches
Sleep interference
Chest pounding
Difficulty breathing
Lack of ability to function at home or at work
Question: What are the things that people can do to reduce anxiety?
Clifton Fuller: Here are a few:
Understand that this is a biological and physical response, but it is not a helpful response. Anything you can do with fear, you can do without fear. You can leave a burning building because it's smart. You don't have to leave a burning building in a panic.
All of the tools that we have to address anxiety have to do with relaxation, and there's a way to trick your body into relaxing. The best way is to control your breathing. Meditation, yoga, all these forms of relaxation really start with controlling your breath. It is the one physical function that you can control easily.
Be mindful of your body's response. Everyone has heard that term mindfulness - being mindful of how you're responding. If you'll take a deep breath and you'll exhale slowly and naturally, then it will tell your body to stand down. It will tell your body to quit being so scared. If you will relax the muscles in your body and just let the stress drain away.
Exercise is particularly effective in helping people who are anxious. It gets rid of the tension stored in your big muscles in your arms and legs, it helps you breathe deeply and it will ultimately lead to a sense of relaxation and well-being. As you exercise your body will release two neurotransmitters that will help you feel better. One is serotonin, which is an antidepressant, and the other is dopamine, which is the feel-good chemical. I recommend that all of the people who are in an anxious situation to exercise as much as they can. And not to go run a marathon, but just moderate exercise, about 30 minutes a day, will help you an awful lot.
Question: What can we do to help our residents that are dealing with anxiety caused by COVID-19?
Clifton Fuller: Find resources for the people that are around us. There are food drives, government grants, and other resources to help the people living at our communities. Focus on what we can do for other people by sharing information and resources regularly.
