When Sandra Fowler lost her job as a hotel manager in March, she thought of the many homeless people sleeping in the streets of Tucson, Arizona, and feared she would soon be among them.
“I could see myself mentally on the street,” says Fowler, 58. “It’s the kind of anxiety that kept me going at night … I was going to be homeless because I did not know how I was going to make it.”
It took Fowler eight months to get a job in a shipping store that replaced her previous $ 42,000 salary with a part-time position paying $ 12 an hour. Her wages are scarce enough to keep a roof over her head and not enough to constantly put food on the table.
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“I have to go to work every day and put a smile on the face of strangers when I literally break in, because my finances are completely in disarray,” says Fowler. ‘Mentally, it’s going to take me a while to get back to a place where I feel financially secure, where I know I’m going to be ready. ‘
Mental toll of COVID-19
The physical toll of COVID-19 is strong, with more than 484,000 dead and more than 27 million infected in the US. But among the millions of Americans who lost jobs during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, or who saw their hours and wages cut, the toll on mental health is also widespread.
According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, 70% of the unemployed say they are out of work, leaving them more stressed. More than five in ten said they have more mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. And 81% said they felt angry, fought more with loved ones or experienced other emotional problems since losing their jobs.
“Unemployment not only puts people in a more vulnerable financial situation, but our survey found that it also has a negative effect on their emotional well-being,” said Kim Parker, Pew’s director of social trends and co-author of the report.
In part, what we do affects how we see ourselves.
“Unemployment at any given time takes a significant toll because work is related to identity and self-worth,” said Robin Smith, a psychologist who advises patients struggling with the pandemic. But during COVID-19 it was particularly stressful “because we are witnessing more than just job loss. We are experiencing an extensive and real experience of catastrophic loss.”
First shock, then depression
Whether Americans work or not, the symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as drug use and thoughts of suicide, rose during the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Initially, Fowler says she was numb.
“The first few months I think I was just in shock,” Fowler said, “but my anxiety level probably rose by 50%. And I went through a period of depression. I function, but I was always worried about the next month … I robbed Peter to pay Paul. ”
This is not what she thought she would go through at this point in her life.
“I’ve been on my own since I was 19,” says Fowler, “so for me at this point … to have to ask people to buy groceries, or to just help me pay a bill, that’s it. not what I was used to. ‘
Fowler made payment arrangements with her credit card companies that froze her accounts due to her loss of income. “I had to borrow from the family to feed myself,” she says. ‘I had to use food cupboards. It’s not a matter of pride. It’s a matter of life. ‘
No job insurance, no therapy
And Fowler says she’s walking a tightrope and wants to work more, while also worrying that every extra hour could jeopardize the unemployment benefits she needs to make their money.
She wants to get therapy, but she lost her health insurance when she was fired from her full-time job. She was also isolated during the health crisis. She moved to Tucson with her current ex-husband, and most of her family lives in Michigan.
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To calm her nerves, go walk Fowler, pray and try to hold on to the hope that she will eventually be able to get another job in the hospitality industry, “to get back to what I know and what I am good at.”
Anger, then joy
Kelly Newman ended her job as a family law attorney in July. She and her wife, Rachel, strained the care and distance education of their six children with work and under stress.
“The last year has been very challenging mentally and emotionally,” says Newman, 46.
While her wife, a teacher, instructs her students from their dining room, Newman transports their children to the daycare and school, which they attend at least part of the week in person.
The family is finishing up with the grants it receives for the four youngest children the Newmans are currently adopting, as well as help from a federal food program and meals the school district is handing out to local children.
“We’re surviving,” says Newman, adding that they got rid of the cable and currently owe about $ 3,000 on their electric bill. “We pay as much as we can at a time. We save on everything.”
Newman’s mental health declined sharply during the first half of the pandemic. After her doctor prescribed antidepressants and the family moved to a larger home, Newman says she briefly felt better.
Can’t get out of bed for Christmas
When bills still piled up, she could not get out of bed on Christmas Day.
“I was angry and lost touch with people I cared about,” Newman says of her deteriorating mental health. “(I) said things to people I should not have said because my filter is gone.”
She takes yoga at a studio that regularly allows her to participate for free. And over the past few weeks, Newman has said she has started using a new medication that helps her mood.
“I finally feel stable in the sense that I will not let go of this looming fear of the next shoe,” Newman says. She put overdue bills in a drawer, but recently “I was able to stack up and make a lot of difficult calls. … I’m just on the crest of feeling physically and capable.”
While Kelly was going through her bills, she came across a gift certificate. She treated herself to a manicure and pedicure.
“Such a small thing, I would not have had the energy or the desire to do … six months ago,” she says. But for the first time in a long time, she says, “I feel joy.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mental Health: COVID-19 Unemployment Causes Emotional, Financial Pain