Economic Recession Affecting Overall Health

Anna Kryzack of Ravenswood once had a full-time job as a librarian at the Chicago Art Institute. Her full-time job has been reduced to only 20 hours a week. She has taken a big pay cut and has lost benefits.

She spends most of her spare time now looking for a second job to earn money so she can pay the rent on her apartment.

Kryzack, 24, said she’s optimistic about the economy turning around. For three months, Kryzack has been looking for a job that will fit into her schedule.


“It’s just really annoying and tiring,” said Kryzack. “I’m just never really sure when I’m actually going to work and every job interview I’ve been on asks me to work hours I can’t."

Kryzack’s situation is not unusual. Unemployment in Chicago is at 9 percent, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, and, like Kyrzack, many unemployed residents feel depressed and anxious about their financial stability and future.

Since the beginning of the recession, the number of unemployed Americans has increased by 694,000 to 13.2 million, making the national unemployment rate 8.5 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the top two categories of unemployed Americans are teenagers (21.7 percent unemployment rate) and African Americans (13.3 percent unemployment rate).

A survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2008 on the views of residents within metropolitan Chicago found that the stress levels of Chicagoans are the same as the rest of the nation. In the survey, 66 percent of those surveyed reported having a high stress level.

The report said Chicagoans are more likely to drink alcohol as a way to manage stress. They are more likely to mention low salaries and say that work interferes with their personal or family time. They also said the lack of job security creates stress at work, the survey found.

APA member and Chicago-based psychologist Nancy Molitor said it is important for people to manage their stress relating to money and the economy.

“It’s tempting to turn to bad habits, but stress and health are so strongly linked that it’s important for people to take care of themselves,” said Molitor. “Engaging in unhealthy behaviors usually makes things worse and then distracts you from making the necessary changes in your financial situation that could ultimately make life better.”

Molitor said people need to identify what causes stress and make a plan to manage it, examine priorities, talk about worries, and recognize how to deal with stress related to money and substitute healthy for unhealthy ways to manage stress. Opening up to others about problems or finding simple solutions to stress like taking a short walk, meditating or talking things out with friends or family can all help reduce stress levels, she added.

Another cause of stress is the belief that the recession will be long term. Many economists and experts like former U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow have said the recession could last two years.

A spokesman for President Barack Obama's administration said it is working toward creating more jobs in the next two years and predicts the jobs will be in a range of industries from clean energy to health care. Ninety percent of the jobs will be in the private sector, according to the “Employment Numbers by State” document from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As past recessions in United States during the last century have an average length of two years, most economists have said the recession will end sometime in 2010.