Survivng Unemployment

The loss of a job is an incredibly stressful event. It is reckoned to be one of the three most stressful events we can endure during our lives, the other two being loss of home and loss of relationship. We suddenly find ourselves without money, the means to socialise. Our self esteem takes a huge blow and we begin to feel isolated from friends and family. In fact, a growing number of studies suggest unemployment can lead to a host of serious mental and physical illnesses. For all the talk about on-the-job safety these days, perhaps it's time to think about the opposite problem: off-the-job safety.

The loss of a job can induce grief, uncertainty and self doubt. It can also lead to a breakdown in mental health. A 1995 study of 897 married couples conducted by researchers at the University of Western Ontario in Canada found that depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other mental health problems often went hand-in-hand with unemployment.

For instance, men who had lost jobs within the last four years were three times more likely than employed men to have recently abused alcohol. Likewise, women who had were unemployed were three times more likely than other women to have suffered prolonged bouts of depression. Over 30 percent of all subjects with a history of job loss had also suffered a serious mental health problem, compared with 19 percent of people in employment.

For some people, the turmoil of unemployment is too much to take. A study of more than 500,000 people in Great Britain found that people who said they were unemployed in a 1981 census were almost three times more likely than employed people to commit suicide in the next 10 years. Job loss seems to result in serious erosion in people's sense of control and self-esteem, so it is no wonder that unemployment affects people so deeply.

Certainly, the impact of job loss goes far beyond mental health. Extreme stress can make a person vulnerable to a wide range of illnesses, from headaches to heart attacks. Indeed, many studies suggest that people who have been unemployed suffer more than their share of heart disease and strokes. And in a landmark study published in the 1970s, researchers estimated that every 1 percent rise in unemployment rates in the United States leads to 6,000 extra deaths every year.

With support from friends and, perhaps, help from a psychiatrist or other counsellor, anyone can beat the crisis of unemployment. The worst thing people can do is isolate themselves and continually think about the loss of their job.

• Try to keep to a regular routine. Losing a job can be devastating, so it's important to keep your life as varied as possible while you're looking for work.
• Let the unemployed person and other family members express their feelings, including frustration, anger, and despair. Don't advise people to snap out of it. This denies the seriousness of someones feelings.
• Be flexible. Roles within the family will probably shift during this period. Try to be supportive.
• Take good care of yourself. Try to eat balanced meals, walk a lot, work in the garden, go dancing, and engage in sporting or other relaxing activities. This might also be a good time to look into doing yoga or learning relaxation techniques, including meditation.
• Build network of contacts. The local church, synagogue, mosque, community centre, and other religious organisations and support groups in the community may be good places to look for help and support.
• Get help if you are or feel depressed. Sometimes things get so difficult and out of control that you need to get professional help. In particular, you should seek outside help if you're depressed (for more than three weeks, if you feel numb, empty-hearted, or tired all the time; have sleep problems; cry all the time; can't concentrate; or don't feel like eating). See a doctor right away if you have these symptoms; depression is an illness that can and should be treated. If money is an issue, there are some agencies that offer counselling at little or no cost.

You should seek professional help if;

• You ever hit your spouse
• Consider suicide
• Think of separating because of unemployment problems
• Feel overwhelmed by bills
• Routinely have more than a few drinks a night
• Feel that you have no control over your life
• Feel that you are worthless
• Feel that your family or everybody would be better off without you

You should seek help if;

• You drink in the morning or become abusive or threaten violence while drinking
• Find yourself constantly criticising or berating members of your family
• Feel as though you can't cope
• Notice your child is in trouble with police

Finally, you should seek professional help if;

• You feel you have no one to talk to
• You experience panic attacks, or
• You begin to lie to people about what's happened or what you're doing

For more information on Caring for your Mental Health Contact Cork Mental Health Foundation