Stocks have officially entered bear market territory—here’s what that means and what you should do

The months-long slide for the S&P 500 index has officially thrown stocks far enough off of their all-time highs to be considered a bear market.

Since the beginning of 2022, the S&P 500 index is down nearly 21% as of Monday afternoon, with companies like Amazon and Google parent Alphabet leading the way with their 39% and 27% respective drops. Elon Musk’s Tesla has also lost 45% of its market value since January — shaving more than $500 billion off of its market cap.

The problem has been exacerbated by inflation and global uncertainty, with experts predicting that a recession could be around the corner.

Here’s what you need to know about bear markets, and what you should do when you find yourself in one.