MEO had the pleasure to Chit chat with Dr. Najla Najib Psychologist and founder of Inside Out Counseling to uncover to our readers the effect of the economic crisis on the mental health and how to prevent the critical psychological drawbacks that could result in from facing various financial stressors.
There is no doubt that living under pressure due to financial obligations that must be met, while the whole world is passing through an economic crisis is sure a red flag that rings a bell that our psychological health is at risk.
Dr. Najib explains that researches conducted by WHO, warns from several psychological instabilities that could happen due to facing financial stressors, this include depression and other negative psychological drawbacks.
“In fact people suffer from various difficult conditions during economic crisis, the most common one is unemployment, many employees get laid off due to unmet financial obligations that face several cooperates and companies; and in fact this put an increased workload over other employees that get assigned more work, which also put them under pressure. Unfortunately men are the ones who get affected the most!, especially in underdeveloped countries, because they are constantly under pressure to financially sustain themselves and their families, which make them more prone to poor psychological health and depression. Unemployment as well, can lead to depression, and in fact suffering from depression, can minimize the chances to be reemployed. As well, it affects, how the person deal with his family members, and for sure it could affect the quality of relationship between the man and his wife and lead to child neglect or abuse.”
“As for the ones who are still employed, they might experience a certain level of anxiety and insecurity, due to chronic stress that is present along with the presence of financial stressors; and it is important to note that chronic stress increases the level of cortisol in the body, which can decrease the level of immunity. They might also, start to look for a second job to secure themselves financially, which put a heavy work load on many people; they might not be fond of what they have chosen as their second job, however, the luxury of choice is guaranteed.”
All these sudden changes can lead to unhealthy coping strategy, like consuming alcohol or drugs, which will definitely lead to a poor quality of life. Talking about less privileged social levels, the caregiver, can sometimes experience suicidal thoughts, when he finds himself in debts and can’t sustain his family; and this by its turn can affect the psychological well-being of the children. She says.
Usually it is difficult to quantify the relationship between tough financial conditions and its effect on the psychological health; however, researchers explains that the human ‘s affective well-being get disturbed. Many people experience various negative emotions, like feeling unhappy or feeling bored. As well, they might experience a certain level of insecurity or inadequacy due feeling threatened to lose their jobs! which can result in a feeling of low self-esteem. Some experience as well, a lack of autonomy, meaning, changes in plans is likely to happen at any point, for instance not being able make the things that they used to do, like taking a vacation, or being able to buy what is needed. Related to work environment, many might experience a lack of ambition and inability to set goals, during economic crisis.
“As well the presence of such stressors make the person, more edgy and easily triggered from changes that take place around him/her.”
“The good news is that the presence of such stressors, kind of forced people to believe in the importance of mental health, especially in Arab societies; where mental health was neglected for many years.” She notes
The question is how can we enjoy a relatively good mental health during the economic crisis, and having the tools to cope with such a turbulent life condition?
Working on yourself, being resilient and having a plan to work on your priorities are definitely a key. The other good news is that our minds are pretty complex, if we take the example of the primitive human being, we will see that the mind was always trained how to find food, how to find a shelter, how to protect the self from many threats. So really the mind is used to face such complicated life circumstances, this is how the mind was made and trained. With the advanced technologies, and the luxurious style of life our minds became lazy. So really, when the mind is faced with a new encounter to think about, it actually goes back to its main role which is thinking how to overcome a life challenge! And this is pretty healthy for the mind. To face a new problem and to have the resilience to overcome it, is what it takes to put your mind back on track! Because when you are out of your comfort zone, you start to think, and act upon making a plan B, says Najib.
However, not all people have this luxury because many have bills to be paid and obligations to be met, so if someone has lost his/her job, at this point the person might suffer from depression; he/she ought to seek a support circle, first from people around them or from professionals especially with the presence of suicidal thoughts; and main governmental hospitals, like Ain Shems hospital, and some NGO’s should have clinics for psychological support presented as a health service with reasonable prices. She explains
Having a balanced life, is also another advice, you ought to do something for yourself that makes you feel happy and more at ease, like, spending an hour daily doing something that you love or a hobby you like ; this help to minimize anxiety. Another good advice, is to try to minimize the time spent on social media! Social media has a lot of negativity; actually, you put more pressure on yourself by closely following news on social media. Najib concludes.
Finally you really, can’t fall apart during an economic crisis, and feel trapped in your worries and fears; you can actually switch the coin and see how you can benefit from such a crisis. Many people have become actually stronger and even richer following previous economic crises. Think about having a second job, or taking a new course to open more work opportunities might give some light at the end of the tunnel. Try to rethink about a project that you wish to accomplish, set a plan for it. We also need to remind ourselves that the moment we are living is not eternal, yes it is difficult, but we must try to live in the “here and now” and not except that the future is going to be a disaster!
