Losing a job for a short period of time can generally cause some stress and depression, but picking up a new job can alleviate these mental issues in most cases. In long-term unemployment, psychological problems can linger and the only real solution in sight seems to be getting a new job.
However, in this economy, finding a job quickly after the initial unemployment stage is not always easy. This leaves the predicament of an increased likelihood of mental and physical health problems that are more long-lasting (in the case of a long-term unemployment).
In my last article, I mentioned one woman who was emotionally resilient, so even before she found a new job she bounced back to her original emotional state. However, even for short-term unemployment there could be longer and more serious mental and physical problems than this woman experienced. It seems more likely that long-term unemployment would produce these longer and more serious problems.
According to a U.S. News article from Oct. 2009, “5 million workers were out of work for six months or more in August.” The article continued to talk about the effect on mental health, which includes physical, psychological and spiritual effects.
Thomas Cottle, a sociologist mentioned in the article, said these effects can even extend the jobless period, since a person may be incapacitated and not functioning correctly in the above ways. Those who cannot function normally are generally not capable of looking for a job or succeeding in obtaining a job, or are severely limited in these areas. This is because stress, depression, anxiety and other mental problems can cause psychological and physical difficulties.
Depression, decreased self-esteem and identity crises are some common side effects of long-term unemployment, according to the article. Stress is also an effect to consider and all of these effects of long-term unemployment can affect family members of the unemployed person.
In a more recent article in the New York Times from Feb. 20, 6.3 million Americans are said to have been unemployed for six months or longer. This is “the largest number since the government began keeping track in 1948.”
It has been found in several studies that unemployment increases mortality rates, besides physical and mental problems. According to one study, people who are employed feel that they contribute to society and have a higher sense of self-esteem.
The principal investigator for the study, M. Harvey Brenner, said, “When that is taken away, people become susceptible to depression, cardiovascular disease, AIDS and many other illnesses that increase mortality."
Stress from long-term unemployment could even be a factor in developing a mental illness, like obsessive compulsive disorder or severe depression, if the anxiety is harmful enough to the person. However, this is generally when a person is already pre-disposed to a mental illness. Also, the person could become unemployed because they developed a mental disorder and couldn't function properly, several articles suggested.
An interesting factor to consider is that those who have mental and physical problems to begin with are worse off than other people who are unemployed. In a study in London, it was found that “unemployment among people with long-term mental health problems increased from 80 percent in 1990 to 92 percent in 1999, and the unemployment rates among those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia increased from 88 percent in 1990 to 96 percent in 1999.”
Those with long-term mental problems also had an increased unemployment rate while there was a decreasing general unemployment rate.
Overall, there needs to be more help and awareness for those who are suffering physically and psychologically due to long-term unemployment. It needs to be understood that physical and mental problems are often linked, and many times ill mental health can lead to many physical problems. For people who are unemployed and suffering, it would be best to look at their mental health status first and try to help them cope so they can be more able to find a job eventually.
There also needs to be more help for those who have a mental illness to prepare for finding a job. People with mental illnesses should have easier access to treatment, because without it, they could be stuck in a vicious cycle of not being able to get a job because of their deteriorated mental state.
Resources:
http://www.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2009/10/01/how-the-long-term-unemployed-can-find-work.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/business/economy/21unemployed.html
http://pb.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/26/8/295
http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=3156
https://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/feb16/mathers/mathers.html
http://www.healthyplace.com/anxiety-panic/ocd-center/risk-factors-and-causes-of-ocd/menu-id-60/
http://ocd.about.com/od/causes/a/ocd_riskfactors.htm
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1374&context=gladnetcollect
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/28/1/95.pdf