Recessions are the economy's way of improving our well-being and making us live longer, say various news outlets.
"Can the bad economy be good for your health?" wonders CNN. "Happy days are here again! Research shows hard times can actually be good for you," says The Washington Times.
If you're not feeling the joy and vitality of 8.9 percent unemployment, don't worry. Or don't worry any more than you already are about your job, mortgage and 401(k) plan.
Four decades of research show that the conventional wisdom is correct. Recessions destroy jobs, budgets, attitudes and health. Economic growth is still the best prescription for human welfare.
Few people know this better than Alan Langlieb, who as a practicing therapist and specialist in occupational psychiatry is familiar with both the theory and evidence of recessionary damage.
"The emotional costs cannot be overestimated," says Langlieb, director of workplace psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "There is always a general level of worry in any population. When you add in what's happening in the economy, and then in the midst of this throw in worries about swine flu or ... issues of terrorism, it is a very, very difficult time for a lot of people."
Analyzing the partnership of economic and mental distress came late to the lab. The University of Michigan has tracked people's moods in relation to the economy since the 1940s - but only to find out how likely they are to buy an SUV or make a trip to Ethan Allen. (The "consumer confidence" survey.)
It wasn't until the 1970s that researchers began to measure the mental maladies that came with economic dips. One landmark study showed that admissions to psychiatric hospitals rise along with unemployment. Others showed increases in depression and stress.
More recent work suggests that recessions hurt overall health as well, and Langlieb sees it in his practice. Economic stress causes overeating or switching to cheaper, less-healthful food, so people gain weight. Diabetes increases. Blood pressure rises. People sleep too much or too little.
"In our country, we don't like to talk about the economy and socioeconomic status as independent variables related to health, because it starts to raise all sorts of important questions about topics that people don't want to face," Langlieb said. "They don't want to admit that health is related to your income, including mental health."
