Lee 1 For most individuals, basic life requirements are met through employment.

In today's society unemployment has risen well above ten percent in the past decade. It is known that unemployment effects families financially however, what isn't brought up as often is the psychological effects that coincide with unemployment. !nemployment e"ceeding si" months is designated as long term unemployment # $ottle 1%. Long term unemployment has been related to negative psychological effects such as depression, an"iety, and low sub&ective well'being. !nemployment has been on the rise for many years, skyrocketing above 1() in *ctober of +((,. -he rise of unemployment was triggered by companies having to make budget cuts and layoff workers due to lack of income or revenue. .ith /merica's debt only growing larger, it is becoming harder and harder to pay employees, or better yet, hire more employees that willingly work for a lower income. !nemployment rates are at an all time high with Latinos at 10.1), .hites at ,.1), and 2lacks at 11.3) #spssi.org 4%. 5ot having work could limit chances for feelings of achievement, satisfaction, and increase guilt #Linn, 6andifer, and 6tein 3%. 7alf of unemployed /mericans find work within five weeks however, people are still being fired8laid off during this time #9oldsmith :%. !nemployment affects the country as a whole, because if businesses are not making money, then they cannot continue to run, which leaves people without &obs. -herefore, this affects the people that are unemployed, because they have no money besides a simple unemployment check to pay bills, ta"es, or provide for their families. -hen money for retirement, vacation, or college decreases leaving the unemployed with a sense of failure #6chwart; <%. -he government is also losing more money having to pay for unemployment for the large amount of people that are without &obs and unable to survive maintaining a healthy and safe lifestyle. !nemployment does come with its fair share of financial problems, but unemployment often tends to have an even larger number of psychological, mental, and physical issues. =ob loss is associated with high rates of mental and physical problems, increase in mortality rates, harmful

Lee + changes in family, and well'being #4%. 6ome mental issues that typically effect the unemployed are an"iety, depression, decrease in self'esteem, and somati;ation #3%. Individuals that were diagnosed with these illnesses were usually linked with higher levels of psychiatric issues #3%. 6tudies completed in >ansas $ity show that depressive symptoms and stressful events were more obvious after economic fluctuations #3%. /lthough these mental issues may seem fairly minor, they have harmful impacts on individuals that are unemployed. ?epending on how long ones stage of unemployment lasts, which could range from five weeks to two or more years, depicts how severe the issues become. If these mental issues affect one for such a long period of time, they become chronic and last even if re' employed #:%. !nemployment is also a catalyst for harmful physical effects on the body such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, weight loss8gain, and muscle pain #:%. *nce these symptoms overtake the body it is hard to vanquish them even if hired again. -he outlook people have on their unemployment and thoughts on why they became unemployed play a big role in what ways they could be affected psychologically. ?r. /rthur 7. 9oldsmith says, @In the first phase of unemployment, people have a benign ignorance and think it will turn out fine, that they are not going to be emotionally damaged by this, because they'll &ust go out and get a &obA#:%. /fter individuals begin to reali;e they very well may not find work again they tend to think of someone to blame. Beople who blamed being laid off on the down turn of the economy remained optimistic #<%. In 9oldsmith's research he displays two different types of people, internal locus and e"ternal locus #:%. 7aving an internal locus view on the situation means that one believes they influence what happens to themselves, and they are the one to blame for their unemployment #:%. C"ternal locus people tend to believe that they have very little control over what happens to them, and the problems they are presented with #:%. -he longer an individual is unemployed the more e"ternally focused and helpless they become #:%. .hen people begin to question themselves about their unemployment they worry, which leads to erosion of their self'esteem.

Lee 0 .hen unemployment strikes, the mental effects that follow can be very harmful and damaging. -o say that one has mental effects following a traumatic event such as unemployment means that one has disorders relating to the mind. 6ome mental disorders that tend to correspond with unemployment are an"iety, depression, somati;ation, shock8disbelief, irritability, anger, sadness, fear, feelings of worthlessness, and loss of self'esteem #helpcenter.stanford.edu 1%. -hese symptoms begin to show up within the first three months of unemployment #:%. .ork does more than meet physical and financial needs. For many people it satisfies creative urges, promotes self'esteem, self'reali;ation, and provides a path for achievement #3%. .hen one loses work and enters a stage of inactivity it strips them of these opportunities and begins the stage of psychological disorders. /n"iety is often the first phase most people e"perience, because they begin to stress and worry about finding work again. .hen reality sets in and the unemployed reali;e how hard it is to get another &ob, they become depressed and have a fear of not finding work again #1%. Desearch by -he 6ociety for the Bsychological 6tudy of 6ocial Issues #6B66I% shows that mothers who were depressed punished their children more frequently than non' depressed mothers #4%. -he 6B66I also states, @Desearch dating back to the 9reat ?epression found that men who e"perienced substantial financial loss become more irritable, tense, and e"plosiveA #4%. .hen parental behavior changes due to &ob loss it triggers adolescents bad behavior as well #4%. -his, therefore, causes more psychological issues within the family. !nemployment can have a rather dissonant physical effect on individuals that e"perience &ob loss. Fatigue, headaches, weight fluctuations, sleep disturbances, nausea, and muscle pain are all e"amples of unemployment affecting people physically #1%. -he physical issues above are all results of the mental side effects of unemployment beginning to take their physical toll on the body and not &ust the mind. 6tudies completed in >ansas $ity show that unemployed individuals have more visits to the doctor, take more medications, and stay in bed sick more often than those that are employed #3%. ?r. Eargaret .. Linn, one of the many doctors involved in the studies done in >ansas $ity, states the

Lee : following results @...unemployment produces adverse psychological symptoms and that the utili;ation of health services when they are available are increased substantiallyA #3%. /s the recession deepens, physical affects have the tendency to become worse, leading some to resort to drug and alcohol abuse, and even domestic violence #<%. -he physical affects of unemployment can be &ust as damaging as the mental effects if not paid attention too. 6upport from friends and family is always a helpful thing no matter what kind of situation you are faced with. -he work that was done in >ansas $ity implies that people with a higher self'esteem had more support from friends and family members #3%. 7aving an advocate for success in your life when going through a traumatic event such as unemployment is crucial to recovery, movement towards finding work again, and becoming a healthy individual. .hen people have high levels of moral support they find work faster than others #3%. ?epending on how you became unemployed, factors into what kind of support you would receive from your family and friends. -hose that were fired felt little to no support because their actions caused them to become unemployed therefore, no sympathy could be felt for them #3%. 5umerous people who had little support were diagnosed with deeper psychological symptoms such as somati;ation, *$?, sensitivity, and chronic depression #3%. Cven though an increased number of doctor visits and medications taken were present in people without work, this data increased tremendously in people where support and encouragement was absent #3%. Eany people without support felt as if their lives had changed dramatically #almost as if they had become alienated%, and they lost the satisfaction of life #3%. -he severity of your mental issues is not the only component that determines what level of support you receive. -he location of where you live or were employed depicts what kind of support you would have #3%. -hose living in rural areas showed a higher level of support then those who resided in urban areas #3%. If there is no support available one should consider support groups or therapy to help them move along and better themselves #1%. ?r. $ottle, from 6tanford !niversity, says that unemployment is a very traumatic event and is hard to cope with especially with

Lee 1 the economic downturn that is taking place in this world today #1%. .hen one becomes unemployed they suddenly have alot of free time and time for their mind to think about their unemployment #1%. -he first step one should take when coping with the abundant amount of time they have on their hands is to stay occupied, keep busy and try not to think about their unemployment #1%. -he research done in >ansas $ity shows that men coped with &obless stress better than others #3%. $oping with the &obless stress builds skills of human motivation, and makes you reali;e that you're not helpless and you can change #Feather +%. .hen coping, you should try to find employment as soon as possible to reduce harmful psychological symptoms #1%. If one is not able to cope by themselves, and support is absent, they should consider further professional help #<%. -ypically one would think once they became employed again everything would simply &ust get better. /lthough re'employment is a great thing after long periods of inactivity in the &ob force, people &ust simply arenFt the same person after they e"perience unemployment. 5orman -. Feather observed that after unemployment people have changed belief values and aspects of self concept after dealing with &ob loss #+%. ?r. Fryer states that, @only :3) reported their lives had returned to normal following re'employment #Fryer 0%.A .hen people become re'employed the ma&ority of them find work in areas that they feel inferior, which is classified as underemployment #0%. -he current national underemployment rate is about 13.() #4%. -hose usually re'employed with lower paying &obs felt more stress and lower self'esteem levels then what they did when they were unemployed #0%. Cven if employed again psychological effects that accompany unemployment still linger and become long lasting, but the symptoms did show some decrease compared to those of the unemployed #3%. Interviews are opportunities to learn more about unemployment and how it truly affects people in their lifestyles. In an interview with my aunt ?iana Doland who worked at the same company for over ten years and was recently laid off she e"plained to me how it felt, and how it affected her and her family. ?iana works as a pharmaceutical sales representative in 7igh Boint, 5orth $arolina, the first

Lee < company she worked with she had been with for over 1( years until she was recently laid off due to budget cuts #Doland ,%. Doland states this, @It sucks. It truly is horrible. /fter youFve been with a company for so long it's almost as if you have to learn a new language when trying to find a new &obA #,%. /s we continued the interview I asked her if she dealt with any of the symptoms that normally accompanied unemployment. @*f course, itFs only natural to feel lost and helpless, which soon leads to depression and an"iety. 2ut I tried for the life of me not to let it affect my children and husband, because I knew if they could sense my worry and fear of not finding work it could affect them &ust like it affected meA #Doland 1(%. Doland is married and has two kids that are si" and nine. In research done it is said that mothers who were depressed often punished their children more than non'depressed mothers #4%. .hen Doland was asked if she felt as if this research was relevant to her case she replied, @/bsolutely not. Ges, IFm sure I was moody or irritable more than I usually was but it never made me want to punish my family and take it out on them #,%.A Doland is now employed again as a pharmaceutical sales representative, but not for such a large company as before, when questioned about support from friends and family her reply was, @Ey family was wonderful they helped out a lot more around the house as I searched for a new &ob and got back up on my feet. Ey friends were mostly from my old &ob, so I rarely talked to them, but the ones I did knew I would be &ust fine because they were there for me. .ithout them I probably wouldnFt have been able to recover as quickly as I didA #,%. -he new company Doland is employed at doesnFt give her the same benefits and salary as her old &ob, but she says, @It works &ust fine for nowA #,%.2eing a pharmaceutical sales representative requires lots of travel and is time consuming. .hen Doland was asked if her new salary changed anything around her home with vacations, or her kids needs, she replied, @Ges, we did have to cut back a great amount because even though the travel for my work is all inclusive, my kids were used to getting more and doing so much more and they werenFt able to do so anymore. It hurts me to see them like that, but you have to do what's bestA #,%. =ust because Doland got right back up on her feet doesnFt mean that is the

Lee 3 case for everyone, but she gives this advice to those who do become unemployed @6tay strong and donFt give up because you will find a new &ob if you're looking hard enough. I did and so can you, with the support of family and friendsA #,%. In conclusion, unemployment can have a ma&or impact on the psychological state of mind of individuals. It has been proven that unemployment affects the body, not only mentally but physically as well. It is now apparent that long term unemployment is linked to psychological issues such as depression, an"iety, and low sub&ective well'being. !nemployment will always be a problem in years to come, as well as the physical and mental issues that coincide. .hich therefore means that psychological issues such as depression will always be present in the future.

Lee 4 .orks $ited 1. $ottle, -homas =. Hardest Times: The Trauma of Long Term Unemployment. .estport, $-H Braeger, +((1. Brint. +. Feather, 5orman -. The Psychological Impact of Unemployment. 5ew GorkH 6pringer'Ierlag, 1,,(. Brint. 0. Fryer, ?avid. J-he =obs Letter 5o.+:.J Jobsletter.org. -he =obs Letter, , 6ept. 1,,1. .eb. 1< *ct. +(1+. KhttpH88www.&obsletter.org.n;8&bl(+:((.htmL. :. 9oldsmith, /rthur 7. J.ashington and Lee !niversity.J Professor's Research arns of Psychological !ffects of Unemployment ::. .ashington and Lee !niversity, +3 *ct. +((4. .eb. 11 *ct. +(1+. KhttpH88www.wlu.edu8"+<<3<."mlL. 1. J$oping with the Cmotional Impact of a Layoff.J Helpcenter.stanford.edu. 6tanford !niversity Faculty and 6taff 7elp $enter, 0 Eay +((,. .eb. 1< *ct. +(1+. KhttpH88helpcenter.stanford.edu8resources8managinglayoff.htmlL. <. 6chwart;, /llan. JBsychological Impact or Brotracted !nemployment.J "entalhelp.net. Eental 7ealth, ?epression, /n"iety, .ellness, Family M Delationship Issues, 6e"ual ?isorders M /?7? Eedications, 11 =uly +(1(. .eb. 1< *ct. +(1+. KhttpH88www.mentalhelp.net8poc8viewNdoc.phpOtypePdocL. 3. Linn, Eargaret .., Dichard 6andifer, and 6hayna 6tein. JCffects of !nemployment on Eental and Bhysical 7ealth.J #cbi.nlm.nih.go$. /merican Bublic 7ealth /ssociation, Eay 1,41. .eb. 11 *ct. +(1+. KhttpH88www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov8pmc8articles8BE$1<:<+438pdf8am&ph((+41' ((1<.pdfL. 4. J-he Bsychological $onsequences of !nemployment.J %pssi.org. 6ociety for the Bsychological 6tudy of 6ocial Issues, *ct. +((,. .eb. 1< *ct. +(1+. KhttpH88www.spssi.org8inde".cfmO fuseactionPpage.viewpageL. ,. Doland, ?iana. Bersonal Interview. 1+ *ctober +(1+

-he Bsychological Cffects of !nemployment Lindsey Lee 7onors Cnglish III $rystal ?e2ose ?ecember 14, +(1+