Hitting Both the Ceiling and the Floor
By Pat Racimora on December 16, 2009 at 12:30 PM in Current Affairs
When asked to think of health-related difficulties, our minds tend to fixate on conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, broken bones, and the “Big C.” We tend to ignore emotional problems, and yet they are among the fastest accelerating health conditions (as well as health costs).
How much of a role does the current state of the economy play in the fast-rising incidence of depression and anxiety?
As an illustrator, I see depression and anxiety as the two sides of the same coin. Depression makes people fragile, like a sheet of glass on the verge of shattering with just one more stressor. Anxiety is sharper, redder, with more anger turned outward. When it breaks open, others had better get out of the way.
According to a recent poll described in the New York Times, almost half of those who are jobless are suffering from depression or anxiety. Half have borrowed money from friends or family to keep going. Many feel shamed and embarrassed. And more:
With unemployment driving foreclosures nationwide, a quarter of those polled said they had either lost their home or been threatened with foreclosure or eviction for not paying their mortgage or rent…About a quarter have received food stamps. More than half said they had cut back on both luxuries and necessities in their spending.
But the impact on their lives was not limited to the difficulty in paying bills. Almost half said unemployment had led to more conflicts or arguments with family members and friends; 55 percent have suffered from insomnia.
Nearly half of respondents said they did not have health insurance, with the vast majority citing job loss as a reason, a notable finding given the tug of war in Congress over a health care overhaul. The poll offered a glimpse of the potential ripple effect of having no coverage.
Unemployment also breaks the spirit of Americans who pride themselves on being independent. And most certainly mental anguish is exacerbated by watching those wealthy individuals who are largely responsible getting millions in bonuses.
Obama’s recent harsh words towards Wall Street and Bankers are only words so far. I doubt his poll ratings will do anything but spiral downward until more and more people again have a job to get up in the morning and go to.
by Ronald Scott
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