When Sandra Fowler lost her job as a hotel manager in March, she thought of the many homeless people sleeping on the streets of Tucson, Arizona, and feared that she would soon be among them.
“I could see myself mentally on the street, ” says Fowler, 58.“ That kind of anxiety is what kept me up at night … I was planning to be homeless because I didn’t know how this was going to go. ”
It took Fowler eight months to find a job at a shipping and packaging store that replaced his previous $ 42,000 salary with a part-time job that pays $ 12 an hour. Your salary is barely enough to keep a roof over your head and not enough to put food on the table steadily.
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“Every day I have to go to work and smile at strangers when I’m literally collapsing because my finances are totally out of balance,” says Fowler. “Mentally, it will take me a while to get back to a place where I feel financially secure, where i know i’ll be fine. ”
COVID-19 mental cost
The physical number of COVID-19 is large, with more than 484,000 dead and more than 27 million infected in the United States, but among the millions of Americans who lost jobs during the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, or who saw their hours and wages cut, the tribute to mental health is also widespread.
According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, 70% of those who are unemployed say that being unemployed makes them more stressed. More than five in ten said they were dealing with more mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression. And 81% said they felt adrift, fought more with loved ones or had other emotional problems since they lost their jobs.
“Not only is unemployment putting people in a more vulnerable financial situation, but our research also found that it is having a negative impact on their emotional well-being,” said Kim Parker, director of social trends research at Pew and co-author of the report .
Partly because what we do affects how we see ourselves.
“Unemployment at any time comes at a significant price because employment is linked to identity and self-esteem, ” says Robin Smith, a psychologist who is advising patients who are struggling with the pandemic. But during COVID-19, it was particularly stressful” because we are witnessing more than just job losses. We are having a long and real experience of catastrophic loss. ”
First shock, then depression
Whether Americans are employed or not, symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as substance use and suicidal thoughts, increased during the pandemic, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
At first, Fowler says that she was numb.
“In the first few months, I think I was just in shock, ” says Fowler,” but my anxiety level probably went up 50%. And I went through a period of depression. I’m working, but I’m always worried about the next month … I’ve been stealing Peter to pay Paul. ”
This was not what she thought she would be going through at this point in her life.
“I’ve been alone since I was 19,” says Fowler, “so for me, at this point … having to ask people to buy groceries or just help me pay a bill, that’s not what I’m used to. ”
Fowler entered into payment agreements with his credit card companies that froze his accounts because of his loss of income. “I had to borrow money from the family to feed me,” she says. “I had to use food pantries. It is not a matter of pride. It is a matter of living. ”
No work insurance, no therapy
And Fowler says she walks the tightrope, wants to work harder, while worrying about the fact that each hour too much could jeopardize the unemployment insurance she needs to survive.
She would like therapy, but lost health insurance when she was fired from full-time employment. She was also isolated during the health crisis. She moved to Tucson with her now ex-husband, and most of her family lives in Michigan.
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To calm his nerves, Fowler goes for walks, prays and tries to maintain the hope that he will eventually be able to find another job in the hospitality industry “to get back to what I know and what I’m good at. ”
Anger, then joy
Kelly Newman quit her job as a family law attorney in July. She and her wife, Rachel, were dealing with the care and remote education of their six children with work and suffering from tension.
“The past year has been extremely challenging mentally and emotionally, ” said Newman, 46.
Now, while his wife, a teacher, teaches his students in the dining room, Newman takes his children to the nursery and school, which they attend in person at least part of the week.
The family is surviving on the money it receives for the four youngest children the Newmans are in the process of adopting, as well as with the help of a federal food and meal program that the school district distributes to local children.
“We are surviving, ” said Newman, adding that they got rid of the cable and currently owe about $ 3,000 on the electricity bill. “We are just paying as much as we can at a time. We cut everything. ”
Newman’s mental health dropped dramatically during the first half of the pandemic. After his doctor prescribed antidepressants and the family moved to a larger home, Newman said he felt better for a short time.
Unable to get out of bed at Christmas
Then, with the bills continuing to pile up, she found herself unable to get out of bed on Christmas Day.
“I was angry and lost touch with the people I cared about, ” says Newman about his deteriorating mental health.“ (I) said things to people that I shouldn’t have said because my filter was gone. ”
She is doing yoga in a studio that usually allows her to participate for free. And in recent weeks, Newman said he started taking a new drug that is helping his mood.
“I’m finally feeling stable in the sense that I don’t have that imminent fear that the next shoe will fall,” says Newman. She was stuffing back notes into a drawer, but recently “I was able to look at the stack and make some very difficult calls. … I’m just at the height of feeling physically fit and fit. ”
While examining her accounts, Kelly found a gift certificate. She took care of a manicure and pedicure.
“A little something like that, I wouldn’t have the energy or desire (to do) … six months ago, ” she says. But for the first time in a long time, she says,” I feel joy. ”
This article was originally published in USA TODAY: Mental health: COVID-19 unemployment leaves emotional and financial suffering