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Economy Depressing National Mood

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The Washington Post

Published: March 2, 2009

Eileen Griffin always wanted to own a bookstore. So three years ago, when she retired from her job as a national account manager for Random House, she took all her savings and opened the Griffin Bookshop and Coffee Bar in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. It became a local favorite, with live music performances on Friday and Saturday nights.

"This is my big dream. When I retired, I thought, 'This is great - I'm going to open a bookstore and a coffee bar,'" she said. "Then the economy started doing what it's doing."

Sales slowed in September. In December, around the holidays, there was a rally. But January brought with it a terrible slump. She cut some of her employees' hours and ordered fewer shipments of books. She stopped offering live music on Saturdays, shutting down the store at 5 p.m. instead of 9:30 p.m.

Griffin, 62, is terrified of losing her business. She has turned to her friends, her daughter and fellow business owners for comfort. "I have my entire retirement in the store," she said.

The country might be not be in a depression, but many Americans feel that they are.

Local and national mental health experts said that the loss of jobs, homes and retirement savings has triggered an increase in the number of people with symptoms related to anxiety or depression, such as changes in sleeping and eating patterns, headaches and nervousness. Some psychologists and therapists said they are getting calls from new clients seeking their help in dealing with the financial crisis. Others said current patients are increasingly talking about how the recession is causing them angst.

Financial advisers, meanwhile, said they are spending more time, on the phone or in person, reassuring their clients.

"People were riding a false wave," said Nicholas Yrizarry, an adviser with Nicholas Yrizarry & Associates in Reston, Va. "Their house values were going up. They were spending money. They were buying brand-new cars. This puts a tremendous strain on people when not only are their portfolios down, but they've lost their jobs."

If you think you cannot get through this on your own, experts say, it's crucial to turn to friends, family, clergy, financial advisers or mental health professionals. Maintaining your physical health by eating well, exercising, sleeping enough, taking walks when you need fresh air, and doing fun things that don't cost much money are also important.

"Some people are doing what we call catastrophizing," said Mary Alvord, a psychologist in Maryland and also the American Psychological Association's public education coordinator for Maryland. "They'll think this will go wrong and that will go wrong."

Instead, she said, you should think this: "What's the worst that can happen? And how likely is that? ... Control what you can control," she said.

The irony, advisers and economists say, is that an anxious investor, consumer or worker actually compounds the economy's distress. The fear is driving people to make rash decisions with investments, thus contributing to the volatility of the stock markets. It is keeping consumers from spending money, not a good thing nationally, considering that consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the economy. And it is making many workers less productive at work.

"It is a vicious cycle, and people are under remarkable stress," said Charles McMillion, chief economist at MBG Information Services. "There are a lot of people that are severely affected by this and have never had to deal with it before and don't know where to turn because the country hasn't dealt with it."

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