The recession is over, according to several recent reports citing evidence from government and financial experts, and researchers and investors, too. Even some manufacturing companies are encouraging their stakeholders to believe that “the worst is over,” or will be so soon.

Perhaps it's true. Technically, there are factors for measuring when a recession begins and ends, so we ought to be able to define its duration. The National Bureau of Economic Research generally gets the assignment to measure these things. It tracks the rate of economic growth or decline across the economy, in terms of real GDP (gross domestic product), real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale retail sales. So, the recession may persist in some sectors but not others, or some regions but not overall. Clear enough?

Of course it's not clear, because while “recession” may no longer define conditions in a particular financial study, it may describe the conditions in your business or industry, or even in your mind. As long as most of us are worrying about the recession, the recession continues. To that extent, the recession is less about the data that defines it than it is about the attitudes and policies of the people enduring it. In some sense, the recession is all in our heads.

On one side are the tense and anxious people who insist that someone (e.g., government officials, financial executives) must take the responsibility for getting the economy out of recession. Opposite them are the frustrated and outraged people demanding that government officials, elected representatives, and corporate executives (among others), stick to their assigned duties, fulfill their own responsibilities, and respect the independence and intelligence of everyone else. One side insists, “Someone must do something!” The other side demands, “Back off! You've already done too much damage!”

These are two sides of a longstanding social divide, and now the recession is the subject on which we argue. Each side is helping to keep the recession alive, at least partly so that it can argue for its policy message. The policy choices are important to addressing the recession's impact, but they won't “overcome” the recession until individuals get beyond it.

For any of us, the first obstacle to getting out of the recession is our fixation on all that's been lost in the past 12 months, all the changes we've been forced to accept, and all the revelations of what (and who) has gone so shockingly wrong. What happened in 2008 was much more than a financial reversal: it was the realization that many of the social and commercial institutions we've relied on for so long need repair and restoration.

Because we cannot change the past, we need to change our sense of the present. The debate that consumes us, the one that prolongs the recession, is about how we approach our future. That's why the conflict between “Do something!” and “Enough already!” matters so much.

One seeks comprehensive solutions to problems, while the other seeks a multilateral approach. One promises to give everyone an equal share of the outcome, while the other encourages everyone to seek his or her own reward. One aims to direct resources, manage outputs, and define rewards. The other encourages individuals to innovate, take chances, and explore possibilities. If you need help making a choice between these two approaches, you've probably already made the wrong one.

The recession will be over when no one is talking about it, worrying about it, or striving to overcome its impact, and when we can face the future with hopeful anticipation. If you're waiting for a signal to do that, it will be a long wait.