Results tagged “unemployment” from Ψ Dare To Dream...

Very sad and difficult times for people in this economy. Those who are still working are waiting for the next lay-off notice. Small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Worse yet the unemployed are at their wits end. Virtually everyone I see in my practice these days are seeking treatment directly or indirectly because of the economy.

Another hidden part of the drama is that the unemployment rate no longer includes those whose unemployment insurance has lapsed and they no longer register at the unemployment office as looking for work. Some reports say another 400,000 have stopped looking for work. 15.7 million Americans are out of work. The number is expected to rise until mid-2010 to 11 percent or about another 1.5 million.

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"More than half of the nation's unemployed workers have borrowed money from friends or relatives since losing their jobs. An equal number have cut back on doctor visits or medical treatments because they are out of work.

Almost half have suffered from depression or anxiety . About 4 in 10 parents have noticed behavioral changes in their children that they attribute to their difficulties in finding work.

Joblessness has wreaked financial and emotional havoc on the lives of many of those out of work, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll of unemployed adults, causing major life changes, mental health issues and trouble maintaining even basic necessities.

[..]Roughly half of the respondents described the recession as a hardship that had caused fundamental changes in their lives. Generally, those who have been out of work longer reported experiencing more acute financial and emotional effects.

[..]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. Seven in 10 rated their family's financial situation as fairly bad or very bad.

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 the adults surveyed admitted to feeling embarrassed or ashamed most of the time or sometimes as a result of being out of work. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the traditional image of men as breadwinners, men were significantly more likely than women to report feeling ashamed most of the time.

There was a pervasive sense from the poll that the American dream had been upended for many. Nearly half of those polled said they felt in danger of falling out of their social class, with those out of work six months or more feeling especially vulnerable. Working-class respondents felt at risk in the greatest numbers.

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. More than half characterized the cost of basic medical care as a hardship.

Many in the ranks of the unemployed appear to be rethinking their career and life choices. Just over 40 percent said they had moved or considered moving to another part of the state or country where there were more jobs. More than two-thirds of respondents had considered changing their career or field, and 44 percent of those surveyed had pursued job retraining or other educational opportunities.

[..]The poll also shed light on the formal and informal safety nets that the jobless have relied upon. More than half said they were receiving or had received unemployment benefits. But 61 percent of those receiving benefits said the amount was not enough to cover basic necessities.

Meanwhile, a fifth said they had received food from a nonprofit organization or religious institution. Among those with a working spouse, half said their spouse had taken on additional hours or another job to help make ends meet.

Even those who have stayed employed have not escaped the recession's bite. According to a New York Times/CBS News nationwide poll conducted at the same time as the poll of unemployed adults, about 3 in 10 people said that in the past year, as a result of bad economic conditions, their pay had been cut.

In terms of casting blame for the high unemployment rate, 26 percent of unemployed adults cited former President George W. Bush ; 12 percent pointed the finger at banks; 8 percent highlighted jobs going overseas and the same number blamed politicians. Only 3 percent blamed President Obama .

Those out of work were split, however, on the president's handling of job creation, with 47 percent expressing approval and 44 percent disapproval.

Unemployed Americans are divided over what the future holds for the job market: 39 percent anticipate improvement, 36 percent expect it will stay the same, and 22 percent say it will get worse. "

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"People say the economy is pushing them to the edge -- and some are contemplating going over. Widespread financial stress has long been linked to an increase in suicides. Job loss is at the heart of it, kick-starting a "chain of adversity" that feels too heavy for some to bear. [..] Most people, he said, won't crumble in times like these. "This may well get them down, but they'll weather it." For the chronically depressed, however, or those prone to suicidal thoughts: "This could be the tipping point."

Christy Letsom runs a crisis hot line in downtown Norfolk that collects calls from across the region. Volume there holds steady at around 55 calls a day, but when compared with the same time last year, logs show a 113 percent increase in the number of people who say they're anxious about money or employment. Most of those callers are between 30 and 50 years old. Men and women are dialing equally. Many are worried not so much for themselves, but for someone else they fear is at risk. Few have called a hot line before. "These folks are hard-working people who have never experienced the kind of crisis they're in right now," Letsom said. "They're simply overwhelmed."
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At the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, calls spiked by more than a third last year -- to 568,437, up from 412,768 in 2007.
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More than 12 million Americans already are out of work, and according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, 4 million homeowners are at least one month behind on their house payments. A record 1.5 million homes are in foreclosure.
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It's critical, experts say, to keep perspective. Hard times have come and gone before. "We'll get through this," Nunnally said, "and come out better for it." In the meantime, Letsom said, people should stop blaming themselves. "We really all kind of overextended ourselves," she said. "Jobs were great, we all thought the economy was great, and that just hasn't turned out to be the reality." Other people can be the best medicine, Nunnally said: "Talk to each other. It reminds you that you're not alone.""

This is sage advice. It's important to remember that money and jobs are a means to an end, we use money to make a better place to live for ourselves and our family. Even without income, we have each other. It becomes critically important to stay connected, even strengthen our connections in these trying times. And its timely for those of us still fortunate to be employed to build new and stronger ties with others. After loss, it's not the time to be making new connections when our judgment is impaired by desperation.