Losing a job or being unable to find one quickly is a stressful factor for many people. What to do if a person cannot find a job and becomes depressed?
Depression due to lack of work can affect almost anyone. A person is weighed down by the burden of piled-up problems, the awareness of uselessness and loneliness. In this state, people often withdraw into seclusion, stop communicating, and develop an inferiority complex.
By oppressing oneself from the inside, a person loses the ability to communicate, creatively solve problems, and stress resistance. But these and some other qualities of an employee are primarily important for employers. As a result, it becomes impossible to find the desired job, which further depresses the potential employee.
A depressive state due to lack of work does not need to be triggered; it is fraught with the danger of losing the meaning of life, goals, guidelines and plans for the future.
A person who is acutely depressed due to lack of work is close to thoughts of ending his life; he loses the willpower to find permanent employment. In this case, the best solution would be to consult a psychologist or psychotherapist who will help to understand the person’s internal problems and will contribute to the resumption of social contacts and job search.
Self-isolation: the EU single market is cracked
12892
Mikhail Kiselev
Millions of layoffs per week in the EU alone. The wave of layoffs in European countries turned out to be so spontaneous that officials and various analysts prefer to round off the numbers, speaking of the ensuing crisis as “unseen before.” This is the formulation of the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva.
“We are seeing unemployment rates in both the US and Europe rising to double digits. Given the difficulties forecast for the US and Europe, there is a level of risk not seen since the Great Depression,” Peter Hooper, head of global research at Deutsche Bank AG, told Bloomberg Television.
Rising unemployment is putting pressure on governments and central banks to either compensate laid-off workers or convince employers to keep jobs until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
General characteristics of depression
To understand the problem of the influence of the disease on the employment process and develop effective ways to counteract it, you must first understand the causes and nature of the state of depression.
Depression is a mental disorder that manifests itself in a decrease in mood and a person’s loss of the ability to enjoy life. In psychology, the disease is called an affective disorder. It is progressive but reversible. There are several stages of depression:
- light;
- average;
- heavy;
- chronic.
Signs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRCU2ZDw22A
The main manifestations of depression are the following:
- Bad mood without objective reasons for a long time (more than 14 days).
- Decreased self-esteem.
- Negative attitude towards yourself, others, your future.
- Inappropriate feelings of guilt, fear, pessimism.
- Loss of interest in life, habitual activities that no longer bring pleasure.
- Decreased concentration.
- Sleep and appetite disorders.
- Oils about the meaninglessness of life, suicide, hopelessness.
- Loss of strength over a long period of time (from one month).
The severe stage of depression is characterized by a “triad” of manifestations:
- decadent mood;
- slowing down of mental reactions and processes;
- motor retardation.
Development mechanism
The development of depressive disorders can be caused by a variety of dramatic experiences and negative events:
- death of a loved one;
- a sharp change in the usual way of life, loss of the usual social status;
- development of certain physical diseases;
- side effects of medications;
- excessive loads of stressful situations on the brain;
- severe psychological trauma in childhood;
- alcohol or drug addiction;
- lack of heat and light.
The main reason for the development of affective disorder also includes the problem of job loss.
Treatment options
Depression is a global problem. In the modern world, this disorder is the most common. Mental depression seriously affects your ability to work and your health.
Treatment of depression is carried out in several ways:
- Medication. Prescribing a course of antidepressants - drugs that affect the intensity of hormone production that improve mood and well-being.
- Psychotherapy is a treatment system based on the impact on the psyche.
- Social therapy – integration of a person into social relationships, restoration of connections, inclusion in full interaction.
- Physical exercise. Loads allow you to activate physiological processes, including the production of “positive” hormones.
- Music therapy, art therapy, dance therapy.
- Occupational therapy.
- Aromatherapy.
- Light therapy.
The success of treatment depends on accurate diagnosis of the causes of the disease. The use of specific treatments depends on the severity of the depression. The most common way to counteract the disease is by taking medications. This method is used at all stages.
For mild and moderate disorders, psychotherapy and social therapy are effective. In severe stages, other methods are tried. To increase effectiveness, mixed courses of treatment are used - medications plus psychotherapy.
Army of the unemployed
JPMorgan Chase & Co. predicts an increase in unemployment in the Eurozone by 2.7%, to 8.3% by the middle of this year. Bloomberg believes that in the US the situation will be much more dramatic than in the EU or Japan, where there are stricter traditions of retaining staff.
But in Europe, too, the forecasts are depressingly impressive: according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in the last week of March and the first week of April in the UK alone, two million people applied for social benefits. Growth immediately tenfold. At the same time, 27% of enterprises announced staff reductions in the first weeks of downtime.
In Austria, unemployment jumped to 12%, the highest since the end of World War II.
The European Union is predicted to have an era of internal trade wars Coronavirus
Why does depression occur when you have problems finding a job?
When the nature of the illness is clear, it becomes easier to understand the problem of the mutual influence of employment and depression. It is worth analyzing the nature of the disorder during the job search process, identifying the main signs and features of its manifestation.
The development of depression in an unemployed person
Depression develops due to severe psychological pressure. Having lost a job, a person experiences severe stress. You need to look for money somewhere, there is no confidence in the future, you need to change your usual way of life.
The situation is worsened by the presence of a family, small children, and loans. The lack of serious financial savings and a “safety cushion” for the near future forces a person to constantly think about solving the problem of employment.
The job search process begins: writing a resume, calling and sending resumes, interviews. The first blow comes when there are no vacancies that meet the person’s requirements. You have to choose - wait for a good job to appear or take what you have. The second blow is a refusal to call for an interview after sending your resume to the “right place”. The third blow is failure at the interview.
Days and weeks pass. The problem cannot be solved, money is running out, being at home all the time is depressing - the psyche cannot stand it. A person begins to think that he is a loser. Obsessive thoughts are born in my head - something is wrong with me, because no one wants to hire me. There is a loss of confidence and self-esteem decreases. Further more. From apparent helplessness, anger, aggressiveness and temper may appear.
All these signs signal the onset of depression. There is a loss of interest in the surrounding life, loss of appetite. Insomnia appears, which is accompanied by the “winding up” of negative scenarios.
Depression is often provoked by relatives and friends who do not understand the peculiarities of the psychological state of an unemployed person. The wife begins to show dissatisfaction every day, relatives refuse to support, friends are busy with their own affairs - all this demonstrates uselessness in a difficult situation. Such thoughts contribute to the development of psychological disorders of a depressive nature.
Another important aspect that needs to be clearly understood is the close relationship between the “no work” situation and depression. This connection forms a dangerous, closed sequence:
- Depression began due to job loss;
- the presence of depression interferes with quick employment;
- unemployment makes depression worse.
The emergence of uncertainty and low self-esteem affect the search for vacancies, the nature of telephone conversations, and behavior during interviews. With every failure, the fear of another failure increases. The person loses faith in his efforts to obtain employment.
Depression due to prolonged absence from work gets worse. There is a sharp, progressive decline in working capacity; the unemployed person spends most of his time alone in his apartment. Low self-esteem makes it difficult to appear on the street. A person begins to feel that everyone around him knows about his failures. It's better to do nothing and stay at home. Stagnation sets in.
A scary situation becomes dangerous when alcohol or drugs appear. These dangerous substances help to temporarily improve your mood and forget about negativity and problems. At this stage, it is necessary to actively take drastic measures - to begin treatment with the involvement of psychologists or psychotherapists.
Psychological reasons for problems finding a job
The main psychological reasons that interfere with finding a job include the following factors:
- Fear of failure, of being rejected during a call or at an interview.
- Insecurity due to low self-esteem.
- Negative attitude towards yourself, your abilities and capabilities.
- Fear of a negative reaction from society, family and friends.
- An exaggerated attitude towards one's abilities and skills.
Symptoms of depression in the unemployed
When a person is in a difficult situation, it is important to monitor all changes in his condition. This will help to detect the onset of depression in time. Knowing the symptoms is important for both the unemployed person and his loved ones.
Key symptoms of “unemployment” depression:
- negative feelings of hopelessness, guilt, shame;
- apathy;
- lack of interest, indifference;
- loss of self-confidence;
- decreased activity, energy;
- fatigue.
Germany is “cutting” time, France is “flooding” money
In Germany, 470 thousand enterprises applied for state aid for employee salaries in March. In addition, many have decided to save money by cutting back on their working hours. At the same time, in Germany, government assistance to business, compared to other EU countries, is more than generous.
German economists believe that the country's economy will contract by 10% in the second quarter.
During the quarantine, the French government covered 84% of employee salaries for companies. Despite this, 400 thousand enterprises had already applied for additional help by April 2 to save 4 million jobs.
France last week declared a technical recession. It also recorded its worst quarterly performance in 50 years. If France ended the last quarter of 2020 with a decline of 0.1%, then the first quarter of this year was immediately minus 6%. Economic activity fell 32% in the last two weeks of March.
In the Nordic countries, about 800 thousand people are unemployed, and another 620 thousand have been sent on unpaid leave.
How to help yourself
In the social sphere, there are certain categories of people who fall into the so-called risk group when looking for a new place of employment. These are young mothers, disabled people, students without professional experience. Unemployment has its own growth trends, but it is not fatal. You just have to follow some simple rules and everything will work out:
- You must always have a neat appearance and maintain your physical shape;
- take the initiative, show activity, enthusiasm;
- do not hesitate to seek help from psychologists, social services, and recruitment agencies;
- you should look for a new use for yourself;
- You always need to stay up to date with developments related to finding your business.
Advanced training, training in a new specialty, the opportunity to temporarily switch to seasonal work - this is what can be allowed in a modern rule-of-law state. Employment centers are a social service that can open up such prospects for those who wish. But the main thing is to do something for this, not to give up and not to be lazy.
Life is structured in such a way that all crises occur in the same way:
- recession - depression, fear of the new unknown, fear of losses;
- rise - search for other sources of income, gaining new knowledge, self-improvement;
- reaching new levels of well-being.
Worst in Spain
Most people applied for social benefits in Spain, where the unemployment rate even before the crisis was the highest in the EU - 14%. The UniCredit research group believes that Spain will become the country most affected by the crisis in Europe. Spain's GDP will fall by 15.5% and the fiscal deficit will reach 12.5% of GDP.
Other economists paint a less apocalyptic picture: GDP will shrink by 10% and the fiscal deficit will be 10%. But even in this scenario, Spain's debt will amount to 120% of GDP.
In the first week of April alone, 800 thousand people in this country lost their jobs. In total, the labor market in Spain numbers 19 million people. The government supports 6 million with all kinds of subsidies - from paid leave to increased social benefits. So far this has not led to any breakthrough consequences.
The political crisis is also making the situation worse. The actions of the authorities, according to a survey by the Spanish newspaper ABC, are supported by only 28% of the country's residents. For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel or Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is supported by over 60% of the population, and Emmanuel Macron has the best ratings over the past two years.
But most importantly, Spain, like other countries, never received a life preserver. “DP” has already written that the EU cannot agree on how to save the economy. To date, no agreement has been reached. Spain, like several other countries in southern Europe, insist on issuing “corona bonds” in order to share the burden of the crisis between all countries of the Eurozone; Germany, France, the Netherlands and several other countries are categorically against it.
Ways to get out of depression for the unemployed
The depressive state due to lack of work is psychogenic in nature, it is based on external circumstances. It can be overcome by resorting to psychological recommendations. Often close people give adequate advice that helps in finding a job. But in some cases, the symptoms are severe, the person’s physical condition worsens, and he is isolated from society. This requires professional consultation to provide both psychotherapeutic assistance and the prescription of medications.
There are several recommendations for getting out of depression.
It is necessary to cope with the fear of uncertainty and the unknown. A rich imagination, natural impressionability, and stress give rise to a large number of unfounded fears. It is important to look at your fears as if they were stills from a movie, flashing and then disappearing. Fear is a product of our imagination.
In most cases, there are always close people nearby who will lend a helping hand in difficult times. Even if there is no means of subsistence, government programs operate to support low-income citizens.
It is important to suppress thoughts about troubles, not to imagine a negative scenario in advance, and not to scroll through depressing details in your mind. It is important to appreciate what you already have, be it food, clothing, a roof over your head, or loved ones nearby.
It is necessary to draw up a plan for further action. If relatively little time has passed since your dismissal and finances allow, you can give yourself a rest. When this opportunity is not available, it is important to think through the first steps and begin to take action to find a job without dwelling on previous failures.
The meaning of work activity
How does a person’s work activity or lack thereof affect the human psyche?
Work activity affects the human psyche in completely different ways.
In some cases, of course, it has a positive effect on the human psyche, when a person can satisfy the need for self-development through work. In some cases, work activity can shake a person’s psyche.
Lack of work activity also negatively affects a person’s mental state.
Especially if this is an elderly person who has retired. He begins to feel unwanted. Just yesterday he was a valuable specialist, but now he finds himself overboard in life.
