Hours at work are cut, employees laid off. The factory closes.
The 401(k) has half the value it did a year ago.
”
Overdue
”
and
”
late fee
”
are appearing in red letters on bills. Arguments with the spouse
are more frequent.
Jennifer L. Boen – The News-Sentinel
Hours at work are cut, employees laid off. The factory closes. The 401(k) has half the value it did a year ago. “Overdue” and “late fee” are appearing in red letters on bills. Arguments with the spouse are more frequent.
“There’s a general pessimism going on with people. Whether or not you’ve lost your job, it affects the whole family,” said Scott McAlister, a counselor and director of the Bowen Center office, a Warsaw, Ind.-based community mental health center.
An overwhelming feeling of despair over financial loss is believed to be what led Indiana investment banker Marcus Schrenker, 38, to fake his own death after a planned plane crash in Alabama last month. When he was found later in Florida, bleeding profusely from self-inflicted wounds to his wrist, he uttered to federal authorities the word “die,” according to multiple media reports.
But positive, productive coping measures can be found.
Brian Souers, 28, knows the sense of insecurity more than 262,000 unemployed Hoosier workers have. That figure is the most recent unemployment number from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Fort Wayne, Ind., father of a 7-year-old son, who was laid off in late December from his job at a wireless phone company, said he is taking a different approach than a “crash and burn” attitude.
“My family has always been very financially responsible, so I’ve always tried to be prepared for something like this. I planned ahead. My bills are paid,” at least for now, he said.
Being proactive is key, said Gloria Whitcraft, director of counseling and pregnancy and adoption services for Lutheran Social Services of Indiana.
She is also seeing an increase in people stressed by the economy. Already-strained marriages and pre-recession bouts of depression or anxiety are worsened. This is the time families should sit down together and prioritize, she said.
“Tell your children, ‘We’re going to get through this as a team.’ Look at your budget. Eliminate anything that isn’t necessary – not bare bones. People still need to have fun in their life. But children today are very demanding. Kids want cell phones, video games, movies.” Find free or low-cost family activities such as trips to the library or concerts at local universities and churches.
Brian and his son, Braden, are doing just that. After Braden’s Xbox game broke this week, they got out board games. The duo enjoy kicking around a soccer ball as often as possible, and Brian, who plays guitar in his church worship band, is spending more time strumming these days, to his own enjoyment and Braden’s.
To stay optimistic, “stay away from people who are downers, people who are negative,” McAlister advised. People should tap into their strengths, he said, noting a therapist’s goal is to pull out the person’s strengths “and pull out hope.”
Rather than being frustrated during this winter’s ice and snowstorms, Souers saw bad weather as opportunity to spend more time with Braden, noting, “A full-time paying job as a dad would be the sweetest job in the whole world,” he said. As that is not an option, each day he gets to the work of finding work.
In addition to applying online for jobs, “I’ve been walking around, showing up in person and leaving my resumes. I’ve had a couple of interviews that way. The most frustrating part is on the career Internet sites there are tons of leads but once you’ve applied online, you really don’t have any way to follow up.” Still, he said, “You have to stay positive, stay proactive. When you start taking self-pity, then you do interviews with no confidence.”
For mental health providers, the challenge is that that people are calling for help but have no insurance, no money.
“That’s the Catch-22. They’re under so much stress. Their marriage is starting to feel the strain, but agencies are feeling the economic downturn too,” Whitcraft said.
Community groups, as well as some private providers, charge on a sliding fee scale, but Whitcraft said even then, the cost is prohibitive for some.
“This is really a community-wide issue,” Whitcraft said. “We all need to band together, to look at ways to support one another. If you isolate yourself, things only get worse.”
MINIMIZING STRESS DURING THE DOWNTURN
Keep a positive attitude.
Accept the events you cannot control.
Be assertive, not aggressive.
Learn and practice relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, tai chi or biofeedback.
Exercise regularly; eat nutritious, well-balanced meals.
Learn time-management strategies; procrastination increases stress.
Say no to requests that will only add to your stress.
Make time for hobbies and interests.
Get enough rest and sleep; stressful events affect the immune system.
Examine your values and live by them.
Sell yourself to yourself, reminding yourself of what you do well.
Take a micro vacation: close your eyes; breathe normally through your nose; as you focus on breathing, say a calming word or phrase to yourself such as “peaceful” or “I am safe” as you see in your mind’s eye a peaceful scene; continue for five to 10 minutes.
Practice deep breathing: focus on a spot below the navel; breathe into that spot and slowly fill your abdomen with air; exhale slowly as if you are deflating a balloon. Every long, slow breath out will help you feel increasingly relaxed.
Source: The Cleveland Clinic. For other stress-reducing tips, visit www.my.clevelandclinic.org/ healthy – living/Stress – Management .
WHEN TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
You want to sleep all the time or can’t sleep.
You are using alcohol of other addictive substances to ease your pain.
You have deep feelings of hopelessness.
You want to strike out physically or verbally at family members or friends.
The anger you feel continues to build.
You have suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming yourself.
You “cocoon” yourself in your home.
You have lost interest in your personal appearance.
You have no appetite or want to eat all the time.
Your anxious feelings interfere with normal activities.
Sources: Gloria Whitcraft, Lutheran Social Services; Scott McAlister, Bowen Center.
For a self-check on depression symptoms, visit www.depression-screening.org . For information on depression and anxiety, visit Mental Health America at www.nmha.org, or if you are in emotional stress and need someone to talk to, call Mental Health America’s crisis line at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).
