I’ve had a toothache for a little over a month. Each day, the pain first appears as a dull throbbing, building to a level that rivals childbirth unless I down a few ibuprofens at the first sign of distress.

The toothache has become a real distraction when it comes to carrying out my day-to-day job duties. To make matters worse, our offices are currently being remodeled, and every bang of a hammer or whirl of a drill seems only to intensify the pain.

Although a scheduled root canal should resolve the problem very soon, the situation makes me think of another current distraction in nearly everyone’s life — one that cannot be fixed so easily: the lousy economy. These might be heady times for private label, but not every retailer in the food, drug and mass merchandise space is riding high.

Even folks who haven’t experienced a job loss, temporary layoff or salary cut likely know someone who has — often within their own families. Couple that reality with worries over rising prices and declines in housing values and 401k accounts, and you’ve got the potential for a fairly significant distraction.

But we all still have to do our jobs.

Some of us already have cut back on non-essentials in an attempt to pad our savings or just get by. But most of us, I’m willing to bet, could use a few additional coping mechanisms to help quiet the recessionary distraction.

In its “Getting through Economic Tough Times” online guide, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers a few coping tips. Although the guide is written to help address serious concerns such as suicide or substance abuse, these common-sense action items apply to virtually any person who’s struggling to carry on under the burden of the recessionary distraction.

First, the guide advises trying to keep things in perspective — by recognizing the good aspects of life and retaining hope for the future. It also recommends strengthening connections with family and friends who can provide important emotional support, and engaging in activities such as physical exercise, sports or hobbies that relieve stress and anxiety.

Lianne Bridges, a founding partner of the Bridges Horizon marketing consulting firm, offers additional advice in her Jan. 4 article, “The 5 Stages of Coping with the Recession — Shock, Assessment, Plan, Support, Rebuild” (published on www.marketinghive.wordpress.com). Bridges urges people, first of all, to hang on to hope. She also advises everyone to take a “critical and realistic assessment” of their situation; to develop a roadmap of where they want to be and compare it to where they are today; to tap into support networks; and, if they do take a hit, “to take time to recover and rebuild.”