adminDr Mazvita Machinga Mental Health
LAST week, I stopped by in town and had a conversation with one of the vendors who was selling clothes on the streets.
I asked what she thinks about what is happening, the influx of vendors in the Central Business Centre.
Here is how she responded to me: “Life is hard, mother , I lost my job .You know what if I had a choice I would love not to be here, but if I sit home everything sits too. I have a family to take care of and do not have a job. This is my job now. At least I am getting something to buy my family food. I need a job, but where can I get one, where, tell me?”
She was becoming emotional. The conversation went on for some minutes and then I left. As I was walking back to my office, I pondered upon what this lady had said to me. Her response made me think of focusing this article on unemployment and mental health.
Unemployment had caused havoc to her life. It is true that becoming unemployed has a negative impact on many aspects of one’s overall well-being. However, in this article, I will discuss how to cope. Scholarly research has shown that, unemployment “tends to make some people more emotionally unstable than they were previously.”
There are many causes of unemployment such as loss of job, closure of companies, illnesses and others. If you decide you really were responsible for losing your job, do something to improve.
What happens – When one loses a job, there is grieving? Unemployment can be, and often is, a shock to your whole system. It is not as easy as saying, just forget about it, or snap out of it. After job loss, one is grieving not only the job but many other things too.
They could be grieving personal relationships, daily work routines, and sense of self-purpose too. The grief feelings may even be similar to the stresses one has after a serious injury, or after a divorce.
You can go through some or all of the stages of grieving just as you would with any other major loss. You can go through, shock, anger, fear, guilty, and loneliness. What is important is to note that potential effects of unemployment on mental health vary with age, gender and one’s readiness and can be quite overwhelming. Stigma and loss of self-esteem is also experienced during such hard times.
Becoming unemployed can result in shrinking of social networks, a drop in status among friends and family, and in the community at large. This can lead to a loss of self-esteem (Björklund, 1985). Most importantly, this can cause depression, anxiety and stress. However, while there is no one size fit when it comes to coping with unemployment, there are ways to cope.
Coping with Unemployment
You need to adopt positive stress management skills that help to keep your stress levels down, your confidence up and your relationships strong.
Face your feelings. Know that it’s going to be tough. Take control of your situation.
Reach out for help. Call everyone you know and ask if they know of an opening somewhere. Use your networking skills, ask if they know of any jobs or any companies wanting people
You may be overqualified for a lot of jobs. Don’t give up.
Be worthy of support. Work hard and take job search seriously.
Volunteer to help someone else.
Keep busy and stay active outside your home. Isolating yourself at home will not get you a new job and can lead to additional mental and emotional stress.
Reward yourself on a regular basis for your efforts.
Before you go to bed, prepare a written plan for the next day. This will give you a reason to get up in the morning and be productive in one way or the other
Set daily goals that you know you can accomplish
Take care of yourself. Make use of your spiritual resources to strengthen and encourage you.
Be flexible and adaptive. Even if you have to work part-time, any money is better than no money.
Dr Mazvita Machinga Ph.D. is a trained and qualified Psychotherapist in Mutare who offers professional counselling and psychotherapy. For more information on mental health issues contact [email protected] or call 0771 754 519.
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