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Recession Depression Money and Mental Health

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Page 1: Recession depression

Recession Depression Money and Mental Health

Page 2: Recession depression

Recession Depression •  Recession depression is a new form of depression that is

linked to the current financial state of the world.   With a recession, the uncertainty of job security and financial security

can cause an increased level of stress, anxiety and depression related symptoms.

  The current economic recession has left many American workers feeling chronically fearful, anxious and stressed about their jobs and financial futures. Constant stress, however, can wear you down, leaving you prone to depression.

  Foreclosures, substance abuse, family battles and – worst of all – widespread depression that some experts say has reached startling proportions since the recession.

  According to nearly all published lists of depression causes, stress related change in the life is in the top three causes of depression. The recession is a stress related life change.

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Recession Depression: The Event •  Like many other forms of depression, recession depression is linked

to an external event. The feelings are often relaxed or intensified by changes in that event.

•  Having a new baby, for instance, can cause a deeper depression when the time for the baby's arrival approaches than when the baby was first announced.

•  With a recession that ebbs and flows down a different path hourly, the strain on the mental state can be difficult to control.

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Dire Statistics •  With an estimated three-quarters of the 14 million unemployed

Americans out of work for more than six months and fully half out of work for more than two years, many jobless Americans are falling into despair as repeated attempts to find work come up short.

•  About 9 percent of Americans were defined as clinically depressed in data released last year 2011 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, compared to an estimated 6.6 percent in data collected in 2001 and 2002.

•  According to 2011 data collected mental illness costs society about $193 billion a year in lost earnings from absenteeism

•  According to the latest research from Financial Literacy Partners, employees spend an average of 20 hours per month financially distracted on-the-job, costing employers $7,000 per-employee/per-year in lost productivity

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The Environment: Unemployment •  As President Obama and Republican leaders argue over the best

way to reduce 9.1 percent unemployment and revive a near-flatlining economy, less attention has been paid to the widespread emotional and psychological damage caused by long-term unemployment — and the drain it has on government resources and workforce productivity.

•  Many of these unemployed Americans cannot afford to seek professional help because they lost their employee provided health insurance with their jobs. At the same time, federal, state and local governments have cut back on spending for mental health clinics and outreach in response to budget crises spawned by the bad economy.

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Study: Long Term Unemployed •  A recently released, comprehensive study of the long-term unemployed by

Rutgers University’s John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development found that 32 percent were experiencing a good deal of stress and another 47 percent said they had some stress associated with their joblessness. Moreover, at least 11 percent reported seeking professional help for depression in the past year.   One in two of the respondents in the two-year national study said they

have avoided friends and associates, largely out of a sense of shame and embarrassment — a self-imposed isolation that hurt their ability to network to find employment.

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The Environment: Mental Health It could get even worse if Medicaid funding of mental health services is put on the chopping block as a congressional “” super committee” hunts for spending cuts to help reduce the federal budget deficit. Medicaid is the main source of funding of public mental health services for young people and adults, accounting for nearly half of state mental health budgets according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The nation faces “a silent mental health epidemic,” according to Carl Van Horn, a professor of public policy and economics at Rutgers and head of the Heldrich Center. Losing a job is more than just a financial crisis for people,” Van Horn said. “It creates numerous other damage, stress, anxiety, substance abuse, fights and conflicts in the family and feelings of embarrassment and depression.”

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Typical Scenarios •  You’re 45, 50 years old, you’ve worked hard for the past 25 years,

and all of the sudden you’re on the street, or your friends disappear like unemployment is a disease they can catch,” said Joel Sarfati, the executive director of 40Plus of Greater Washington, an organization that brings together unemployed middle aged professionals for job training, resume building and much needed moral support. “As this thing gets more drawn out, we see more and more people fall into a deep funk or dark place.”

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Case Scenario: Family Business

One case in point is Mark, a 62-year-old printing professional and private business owner says he hasn’t slept through the night once since the printing company he inherited from his father 40 years ago

  Five months later, Mark continues to look for work at a printing company but accepts that he may never find another job in the industry he has worked in for nearly 40 years. “It’s sad. It’s unnerving, and I’m not quite sure how to handle everything,” he said.

  Mark had always been the breadwinner in his family, his wife has not worked in 20 years his dwindling savings account helps them keep up with their mortgage and health-care payments, with little left over at the end of each month. In addition he has two kids in college.

  He has applied for retail sales associate jobs at places such as Best Buy and Sears, but he hasn’t heard back. “I realize now that it’s a reality that no matter what I do, I won’t have what I had before and will have to take a tremendous pay cut if I’m lucky enough to get any job, and that’s depressing. . . . I’ve never felt that way before.”

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Case Scenario: High Paid Executive

A 55-year-old former Internet technology executive named Jeff was financial service company lost his $300,000-a-year job three years ago. He said he wasn’t worried at first because he was confident he could land a contract to tie him over until he found another full-time job. However, he began to panic when nothing came through. The economy kept flattening and the competition for the few available jobs grew fierce. “It was very, very bumpy,” he recalled recently. “There were some very depressing periods in there. I’ve never felt such a feeling of hopelessness. You think you did something wrong – it’s my fault. You’re going to live in a dumpster.”

  He sold their yacht and second home in Naples.   His wife is in denial and continues to lead a lifestyle they can no longer afford. She continues is embarrassed, cannot tell her friends at the country club what is happening and continues to drum up high credit card balances.   Jeff and his wife are constantly arguing and have spoken of separation

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Case Scenario: Tatjana

The organization has helped Tatjana, a market research professional who was laid off two years ago, to position herself for a career shift from the private sector to the nonprofit development world working with wildlife and environmental causes. The 40Plus group a recruitment support organization, has also helped to mend her wounded psyche after a grueling year-and-a-half of job hunting reaped more rejection than she was prepared to handle.

Employers told me I was ‘overqualified,’ meaning I was too old,” said the 52-year-old. “But I’m too young to retire, I’m ready to work, yet I’m being treated like I’m over the hill. That was extremely jarring and very demoralizing, and for a while there, I was definitely skirting depression.”

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Study: Suicide and Business Cycles The overall suicide rate rises and falls in connection with the economy, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released in 2011 by the American Journal of Public Health. The study, “Impact of Business Cycles on the U.S. Suicide Rates, 1928–2011″ is the first to examine the relationships between age-specific suicide rates and business cycles.

o This study found the strongest association between business cycles and suicide among men in prime working ages, 25-64 years old.

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Suicide and Business Cycles •  Recession depression is not something to handle without

some sort of intervention either from a family member, loved one or professional.

•  The average suicide rate is 10 people per 100,000 a year. In 1929, that number rose to 14 suicides per 100,000 people. The number rose again in 1933, the heart of the Great Depression, to 17 suicides per 100,000 people in 2011.

•  While many doctors believe suicide is linked to a mental condition present before the time of stress, the recent increase in suicides highlights the effect of recession depression.

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Recession Depression Triggers   Evidence identifies employment status as the most

important predictor of psychological distress. Unemployment was associated with an increased risk of suicide and death from undetermined causes.

 United States statistics link suicidal behaviour with areas of disadvantage.

  Low education, personality characteristics, use of sleeping pills or tranquilizers, and serious or long-lasting illness tended to strengthen the association between unemployment and early mortality.

  The National Suicide Research Foundation (2008) draws attention to the association of unemployment with a two to three–fold increased risk of suicide among men.

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Men- Vulnerable Population •  Difficulties in communicating problems is most evident

among all men (employed and unemployed). •  Men are less likely than women to engage in

preventative measures in relation to their mental health •  Interviews and Focus Groups with Men indicated:

–  Impact of unemployment on self confidence –  Mainstream services; negative experiences and

further impacts on self-esteem

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A New Reality •  No one person can change the current financial strength of a

country. The recession will continue until the United States and many westernized countries dig out of the financial hole.

•  Individuals may need to accept a new reality around their living and work situation

•  Our beliefs about working hard and moving ahead are no longer applicable.

•  Rediscover core values and began to place relationships and experiences above material things.

•  People are moving from scared to prepared: Changing their spending and saving habits

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Recession Depression: Financial Stress •  Whenever dealing with recession depression it is important to talk

with someone about the feelings they are currently dealing with. •  The effect of financial stress can be one of the most difficult to deal

with alone •  ‘Psychologists and therapists can help people focus on the more

positive aspects of life and finances and work through the problems contributing to the recession depression.

•  When someone is suffering from recession depression, the only change that will help is a change to the current financial situation at home and an increase in the feeling of job security.

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Be Aware of Symptoms According to University of Alabama at Birmingham Associate Professor Josh Klapow, Ph.D. you can support your clients by first recognizing symptoms:

A chronic feeling of helplessness.   This is due to the realization that our beliefs about working hard and

moving ahead are no longer applicable. A sense of shame.

  We may believe we should have known what was coming and better prepare ourselves for it.

  For those of us who lost jobs and savings, the sense of shame stems from not being able to support ourselves and our families; having to rely on family and friends for help; having to sell our homes, downsize and change our life styles.

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Be Aware of Symptoms   A feeling of betrayal. This is similar to what children feel when their

parents, rather than taking care of them as they should, making them feel safe and protected, betray and hurt them. As those children, we feel unprotected, no longer trusting our "leaders" to have our best interests at heart. Consequently, we are scared and alone.

  A declining self-confidence. Even though we may know there isn't much we could have done differently, we may tend to teake things personally.

  A loss of self-identity. For most adults, our jobs and professions are the main sources of identity. We are what we do - electricians, plumbers, farmers, teachers - and when we can no longer do that, we feel like fish out of water.

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Somatic Problems •  Evidence demonstrates links between unemployment

and poor physical health.

 Any one of the following cluster of symptoms/diagnoses may lead to somatic problems such as insomnia, digestive problems, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, back problems, Shingles, Prostatitis, chronic headaches, lack of energy and inability to concentrate and make decisions.

  Higher mortality in the case of pre- existing illness or disability.

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Mental/Emotional Impact

•  In addition to depression and suicide as earlier noted, marital dissolution, addictive behaviours including alcohol misuse and cybersex addiction may surface

 Social supports and a more even distribution of wealth may be greater contributors to good health.

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Therapy Options: Combat Depression in Hard Economic Times

•  There is a range of options available to combat depression during these hard economic times.

•  Determine whether the depressed individual is suitable for psychological, or "talking," therapies.

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Medication Therapy

•  People with depression have what's called a negative cognitive filter, which distorts all of their thoughts and perception of reality.

  Essentially, all the negatives are magnified and there is an exaggerated sense of low self-worth, whereas positives are ignored or twisted into negatives.

  As such, individuals may benefit from antidepressant medications, prior to psychological therapies and counseling, to remove this cognitive filter.

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Counseling The simplest form of treatment is counseling. • This involves education about depression, as well as the recession. • It is important to emphasize that recessions have happened in the past, and they tend to recover, thus providing hope for the future. • Education on depression should emphasize that depression can be treated. • Advice can also be sought in conjunction with a financial advisor or other expert as well. • 

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Counseling/Problem Solving Counseling may also involve some problem-solving.

For example, if the client is struggling to payoff a large debt because of the economic downturn, then the therapist and client work together to:

(1) Define the problem - how much is the debt? (2) Devise ways to solve the problem - could he/she cutback in other areas? Should another loan be taken out? (3) Test each of the solutions (4) Review the outcomes of each solution (5) Continue steps 2 - 5 until a solution is reached

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Cognitive Behavior Therapy-CBT •  The next level of therapy, and the mainstay of depression treatment, is

cognitive behavior therapy (CBT).

•  This is more intense than counseling, involving 2 to 3 sessions per week for a few months, and involves a well-trained therapist, usually a psychiatrist. CBT starts off similarly to counseling, with education.

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Suggested Interventions Interventions to reduce stress, rebuild hope and foster a feeling of being more in control

1. Take charge/action, set goals and work at achieving them   Taking good care of one’s physical and *mental health.   Taking a good look at our diet /decide what we need to change to make it healthier.   Set up an exercise regime and stick to it   Work in the garden   Fix a problem ignored   Reconnect with a friend you were too busy to stay in touch with.   Whatever one chooses to do, the focus should be on a feeling a sense of

achievement and purpose by keeping busy and productive.

* Worry - falls into two categories: "unproductive" and "productive." Unproductive worry is worry about things that you cannot control. Productive worry, on the other hand, is worry about what you can control. Use productive worry to motivate and take action to improve a situation rather than dwelling on what can't change.

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Suggested Interventions

2. Stay focused on the present and avoid looking too far into the future. –  We project into the future how we feel in the present. –  Live in the moment –  When we are not in a good place, the future looks much more ominous and

scary, so what's the point of looking at it?

3. Set limits on media intake.   The media thrives on bad news. It keeps eyes on the TV screen and boosts

ratings. It also contributes to stress level /affects one’s outlook on the world.   Change channels if watching something intensive or anxiety provoking

especially as it gets closer to bedtime. Watch something positive and uplifting.   A good night's sleep is important in keeping one depression-free and functioning

at best.

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Suggested Interventions 6.  Avoid looking at the past.

  What was is gone.   Thinking about it will make us sad or mad, and we may already be sad or mad.

7.  Reorganize our priorities and eliminate that which one can do without, focusing primarily on what is relevant.

8.  Create good emotional connections.   It’s easier to get through tough times with someone by our side than doing it all

alone.

9.  Practice gratitude.   There is always something to give thanks for, even when it seems like the world

is falling apart around you. Do you still have a roof over your head? Your health? Enough food to eat?

  Look for something, no matter how small, that you can express your gratitude for. Feelings of gratitude can have a powerful effect on your mood

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Suggested Interventions

10.  Take Care of Yourself   Take time to take care of all aspects, mind, body and soul. Practice good self-

care and relieve stress   Do a relaxing breathing exercise   Don't be afraid to ask for emotional support from friends and family. If you are not

ready to take this step, however, Internet forums are a great way get support anonymously.

  Practice good sleep habits. Adequate rest is important in controlling stress and preventing depression.

Wellness Helps Conquer Recession Depression

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Suggested Interventions

11. Be kind to yourself. 11.  Rather than beating yourself up over your perceived shortcomings,

acknowledge that you are doing the best you can and forgive yourself.

12. Avoid dwelling on the negative. 11.  Our thoughts are powerful. 12.  We can actually talk ourselves into feeling depressed, simply by choosing to

focus on the negative. 13. Become aware of your negative thoughts and redirect your thinking in a more

positive direction. 13. Thank yourself for taking steps to improve your situation

  No matter big or small those steps may be   As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu famously said, "A journey of a thousand

miles begins with a single step."

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Recommendations

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References