It's worse than we thought: Unemployment is wreaking havoc on your health

I was shocked when I read that, according to the U.S. Labor Department, half a million jobs were lost just last month. That is in April alone. I imagine that you, like me, have seen the economy send many of your friends, co-workers, and colleagues to the unemployment office this year, but that number...wow.

What isn't really a surprise is that being unemployed can impact your health. If you've been fired or laid off or even loved someone who is out of work, you already know how the stress of leaving a job, finding a new job, and dealing with finances manifests in your body.

Some of my own darkest days were in the year I was woefully, irritatingly unemployed. I was applying for jobs I desperately wanted and taking temp work I was completely overqualified for just to make ends meet and to force me to get out of bed. It was far from the best of times, and feeling the symptoms of depression did not make it easier to put on my best smiley face for interviews. Somehow, it all worked out and I am thankful for that. But I've seen similar issues with my friends who have been through periods of unemployment as well -- a slow build of exhaustion, colds and allergies, frustration and lack of interest, skin ickiness and weight gain.

It's not news to any of us who've been there or to scientists that there's a link between health and unemployment. However, a newly released study of employment and health data is answering the question of whether poor health could make a person more likely to be dismissed from a job, or whether health conditions are triggered by getting fired or laid off.

A researcher at Harvard School of Public Health analyzed more than 8,000 people surveyed in 1999, 2001, and 2003, specifically studying people who lost their jobs for reasons unrelated to their health.

What she found is fascinating and also concerning. The people surveyed who were not at fault for losing their jobs (due to a branch closing or cut-backs in a department, for example) were twice as likely to develop a serious health condition over the next 18 months as those people who retained their positions. Some of the medical issues include high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.

Even if the unemployed participants found new work within that year-and-a-half time period, they still had an increased likelihood of developing a new health issue.

Feeling like you never .ever want to wear anything again but a ratty pair of yoga pants and your slippers is one thing, but a condition or disease that could be chronic or require medication is really startling, don't you think? It's even more frightening to factor in that people who are unemployed, particularly for a long period of time, might not have health insurance at all, might not have adequate coverage, or might not seek medical attention as quickly or regularly as they might if they had a steady paycheck.

It was also noted by David Williams, another professor at Harvard School of Public Health and director of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America, that stress causes physiological changes and can impact how well we take care of ourselves.

We are more likely to eat more, drink more, smoke more, and exercise less when our stress is upped, he said.

Dr. Williams also has a warning that I think we all need to pay close attention to as we measure the economy. I personally think that means employees, administrators, bosses, doctors, all of us.

"There is a lot of focus on the economic downturn, but there is not much attention being paid to the health consequences of the downturn. This study shows that it does not take a long sustained period of unemployment to see health effects," he said.

Just as those concerning symptoms of stress and depression have a way of showing up in the first month or week or even day of getting laid off, apparently so can the collective health concerns in this economy.

Has unemployment made you stressed, depressed, or even worse -- sick?


Read more:

• Tips on finding (and keeping) a job
• Rebooting your life: Tips from a CEO
• 2 fun and unusual ways to beat stress