How the credit crunch is affecting our health

Most people in the United Kingdom have been suffering over the last few years from the effects of the credit crunch. People have been forced to watch helplessly as the prices of their properties plummet, the cost of living skyrockets and many are made redundant as companies are forced to scale down their work forces.

Even people who have yet to be affected by the credit crunch have admitted to being stressed and worried as they watch those around them lose their jobs and fall into debt. In fact, surveys have shown that more than half the nation is currently concerned over their financial situation, while one in three are worried about their employment statues and their chances of finding another job if they should become unemployed.

It is only natural that many people admit to feeling worried and stressed over their financial situations. However, what many people may be unaware of it how severally the credit crunch is really affecting us. According to leading medical institutions, as many as nine out of ten people admit to feeling severely stressed and anxious, and in four out of five people these symptoms have led to stress-related illnesses such depression.

One of the main problems is that until the credit crunch hit many people were living relatively prosperous lives. It seemed that life in Britain was getting better and better every year and large numbers of people were able to take exotic holidays abroad and purchase items such as expensive cars and goods.

For these people the recession would have come as quite a shock as the future they had been dreaming of and planning for was suddenly whisked away from them and they were forced to face a present in which many people were being made redundant and job security was suddenly a thing of the past.

According to medical researchers there is evidence that people’s general life expectancy falls during times of recession. Much of this research has been conducted in the former Soviet Union, where people experienced a dramatic deterioration in financial security. It seems that in the areas of the former Soviet Union which were the worst affected also had the highest death rates, and this parallel has been drawn in a number of other countries as well as during periods of economic decline in the past in the UK.

It has long been known that stress kills large amounts of people as it affects both the cardiovascular system and the immune system and leaves people vulnerable to catching other illnesses.

However, the health risks during times of recession are more than simply psychological. It has been seen that people are twice as likely to die when they are unemployed as poverty often leads people to eat unhealthily.

Many people are unable to socialise to the same level as they once did, which adds to feelings of depression and disconnectedness. Many people who are lucky enough to have kept their jobs now have to work much harder and put in longer hours in order to keep them. This is naturally adding to people’s stress factor as well as their general levels of well being and restfulness.

However, the good news is that there are plenty of ways to maintain physical and mental health during the credit crunch. Tests have shown that many people feel more depressed when they keep their feelings to themselves. Talking over feelings of stress and anxiety with friends and co-workers can help to diminish these feelings as many people express the same feelings.

It is also important to stay active and spend at least an hour a day outside. Jogging or walking in the park each day is a great way to stay fit and healthy and those who take regular daily exercise have been proven to live significantly longer on average than those who do not./p>

Even though you may not be able to maintain your previous social life, socializing is an important part of modern life and can lead to a feeling of contentment. Rather than going to restaurants and bars, people can entertain friends and neighbours in their own homes and take turns within the group.