Psychological Impact of Protracted Unemployment As the economic
recession drags on a heavy toll is being taken on the
psychological well being of those who lost their jobs and cannot
find a new one. Arthur H. Goldsmith, PhD, Professor of Economics
at Washington and Lee University, warns of the devastating, and
possibly permanent, psychological effects of joblessness.
According to Goldsmith, during the first stage of unemployment
people manage to retain optimism that they will find another
job. In this case, those who lost their jobs at the start of the
economic down turn, were aware that they were not alone among
those who were no longer working. They were able to blame their
fate on the fact that many companies went out of business or
down sized. In other words, external factors were responsible
for their unemployment. However, as the recession deepens,
people become increasing hopeless about their future. A sense of
hopelessness and helplessness breeds depression, anxiety,
insomnia, lowered self esteem, alc