Generally, in terms of Science of Economics, we term a recession is there when a general slowdown in economic activity is seen in a country over a sustained period of time. During recession, production, employment, investment spending, capacity utilization, household incomes and business profits fall drastically. The badly affected industries try to make a balance of their financial viability by cutting off the salary and wages, shutting down their production units or putting a short break to avoid pile-up of stocks etc. In this process, many jobs are put to an end suddenly putting the concerned families to the brink of hunger. To save the economy, governments usually respond to recessions by adopting expansionary policies, such as increasing money supply through increased government spending/subsidies, special assistance, as bail-out packages, to those industries that may help to regain the economic health and decreasing interests/duties and taxation.
Most economists believe that recessions are caused by inadequate aggregate demand in the economy, and favor the use of expansionary economic policy during recessions. Some of them would favor the use of expansionary monetary policy, while others may advocate increased spending by the government to spark economic growth. Some economists may suggest tax cuts to promote business capital investment. But those economists who favor Laissez-faire may simply recommend that the government not interfere with natural market forces. But the Governments have to come in the picture to save those families who are affected badly with the downturn of the economies.
Today, the world economies have been so dependent on each other that the impact of recession in US is well experienced in India and China too. Most of the States are doing their best to save themselves, sometime adopting too protectionism, as an insidious evil. It is equally dangerous. For global stability, it is essential that self-interest by them should be put aside at the earliest. A failure to do so and reach common agreement risks plunging the world into prolonged recession. The Great Depression appears to have extended due to a 1933 meeting of nations failing to adopt a co-operative approach. Instead it ended in recriminations which led to protectionism. This way, history is reminding us of the consequences when nations fail to work together. All the Governments are under obligation to do every thing possible, more cooperatively with each other, to ameliorate the effects of the global recession since no nation can deal with this crisis on its own and risk increased social and political unrest in developing nations. The effectiveness of every Government’s domestic action to deal with the financial crisis depends on the recovery of global growth. Unemployment now stands at its highest rate since 1983, and February was the third straight month that payroll job losses exceeded 600,000.
For reducing the impact of the recession, some governments are hostile towards economic stimulus packages, whereas some others are endorsing as part of the approach to the global financial crisis. It is estimated that the stimulus packages around the world so far had spared 19 million people from the unemployment queue. The IMF said the actions had been 50 per cent more successful because they had been coordinated. It appears that some countries would do more as required. They need to allow further stimulus, purging toxic assets from banks, support developing countries by enhancing the resources of the International Monetary Institutes and ushering in global financial regulation and strict monitoring of hedge funds.
But we should not see towards the Governments every time for solution of our problems. We too need to come forward to cooperate it, to support it where it is proper track and to oppose vehemently if that is going wrong. Although today the global economy is somewhat better than during the periods of recessions history has so far witnessed earlier than the present one, spending on food accounting for a little less than a tenth of a typical family’s disposable income wouldn’t hit people in the stomach as it happened earlier when people were taking dried corn meant for animal feed out of the granary and sifting dirt out of it to make corn bread.
A study found that while women may be more vocal about their anxiety, men suffer more because much of their identity is tied up in their job. Not only do men worry more when they’ve lost their job, they are often are unable to feel mentally well unless the job they have is secure. At a time when no one’s job is safe, men are quite vulnerable to feelings of hopelessness. Unfortunately, if you decide you need professional help to cope with your feelings, you may have some difficulty getting it. So many people are seeking help that many therapists are finding themselves totally booked. Many employees are taking advantage of their benefits to get help dealing with their fear and sadness about looming layoffs. Sometimes these feelings express themselves physically, as fatigue, muscle pain, apathy, dizziness or stomach problems.
Some executives are taking the recession particularly hard. Facing staggering financial losses, they have turned to suicide. Why so? They must analyze if they have not taken necessary action before hand to do make advance planning for meeting such an eventuality/emergency.
Lower income affects relationship between a wife and husband. Many couples this year have had to cut back on the trappings of romance; but it isn’t so much the little stuff that matters. If there’s a lot of debt, tension and guilt can take over the relationship. Jim and Renee Fellows, who have been married for 20 years, could not go out for a romantic dinner this year’s Valentine’s Day. He lost his job three weeks ago as a manufacturing manager for Pearson Education, a job he held for more than a decade. Renee, who runs her own firm, called ClearPoint Marketing Communications, has seen her client load fall off recently given the economic downturn. The Fellows — who live in Derry, N.H., and have two boys, 11 and 7 — acknowledge the loss of Jim’s job is definitely creating some stress, but they’re determined not to let their marriage suffer. Taking lesson from them, it is advisable that there must be a continuance of the communication between both, involving each member of the family understanding deeply that it is not always diamonds and roses every time and that’s not what a marriage is all about.
This recession and the mass layoffs that have resulted may test even the best of marriages. When a spouse suffers a job loss, the strain on a marriage or relationship can cause not just financial but emotional problems as well. “The romance tends to go down the toilet, not just because of the financial stuff,” said Thierry Guedj, a professor and workplace psychology expert at Boston University. “People just aren’t in the mood to celebrate anything, whether it is Valentine’s Day or their own birthdays.” Some studies even point to a higher rate of divorce when one spouse, or even both, end up on the unemployment line. A British study released late last year by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex found that couples who experience job loss are more likely to divorce within a year than their employed counterparts. Recessions tend to raise divorce rates. And this particular recession has begun wreaking havoc on wedded bliss. A number of couples worry about how they’re going to survive after a layoff or cuts in pay and bonuses, and many have allowed the worry to impact their relationships. It is an extreme for those couples who have already overextended with credit cards maxed out and big houses, and now, if one of them loses their job, there’s tension in unspeakable amounts.
To Relax
While the world seems to devolve into chaos, Forbes advises you to “pause but not panic.” Although there is plenty to worry about, dwelling on it is probably the least productive thing anyone can do. Making lightning decisions under pressure won’t help you; the best thing you can is take care of yourself so your choices come from a stable place. That means eliminating bad habits, including “gambling, substance abuse or over- or under-eating.” Replace them with meditation, exercise or activities you enjoy.
As it turns out while suicide rates do spike during the recession, so do exercise rates. So even though mental stability is a bit shaky, it turns out that people are a lot healthier. Fortunately, the endorphins one gets from exercise and choosing healthy habits may actually be valuable in combating depression.
Today’s cutbacks would be for more discretionary purchases — cable television, iTunes songs and restaurant meals. And there’s plenty of room for trimming. This has a whole different feel for the people who have seen earlier recessions in their life time. But there would be a severe loss of the period of four or five years of sluggish growth, before the present youth.
To overcome the emotional depression created by the present recession, the youth need to work, work and work only. They must pursue their employers not to keep them out. Instead, they may afford a cut-down or freeze of their emoluments and with the reduced earnings; they would trim their lavish spending. It would be still better to have something than having nothing. Because you’ve no idea how good it feels to get up in the morning and realize that you don’t have to fill your day with nothing in case you get in work after being unemployed for many months. Right now there are millions of workers in many parts of the world having to cope with this increasing unemployment problem.
You know the downturn hitting the economy can bring a “tsunami” of mental health problems with an increased incidence of depression, anxiety and suicide due to sudden unemployment. Unfortunately, in times like these, everybody looks at their financial situation and we are inclined to overlook the emotional damage, and the repairs that will be necessary.
In case you have got unemployed, you still have a chance to revive yourself by turning to those companies who are recruiting low-costs employees in place of their high-cost employees. You may give up your ego and go to them. It is important to distinguish between being sad, grieving and suffering from a depressive disease. Everyone has felt sad at some point. Your existence then seems sad and insurmountable and the future looks hopeless. It’s natural to feel sad and melancholy when you experience adversity and loss like for instance in the case of an unhappy love affair, unemployment or bereavement. But when you are “naturally” sad, you don’t come to a complete stop. You are able to take part in activities even though “your heart isn’t in it”. And when something good happens, you can still feel happy about it.
To be naturally sad is therefore not a disease. Sadness and bad moods will pass. Even if you are experiencing serious grief, it will affect you less with time. But perhaps your grief will never completely go away. You can do something yourself to help, and support from your family and friends will also help you. For you need to be with others and speak with other about your problems, in order to get better.
If the recession is causing you to feel increasingly depressed, you’re not alone; nor are you alone in seeking help. There are numerous ways to cope when your mood plummets alongside the economy, no matter how mild or severe your condition. The economic crisis isn’t doing anything to liven up people’s moods. In fact, the recession appears to be inducing emotional depression in a number of people, a state of being that makes it even more difficult to weather financial woes.
When your mood starts affecting your day-to-day functioning, it’s a sign of depression. That means that if you have trouble sleeping, concentrating or feel a prevailing sense of anxiety, you may want to seek professional help. You may also be able to get some relief just by talking to friends and family. Since everyone is experiencing the same thing, people may find consolation in the fact that they’re not alone. At the very least, it’s important to talk openly with your partner, since financial worries can damage your relationship.
Sometime some illness cures other one. Like during recession, you are taking healthier meals after a lot of their selection in financial terms because you would now like to get maximum productivity out of the minimum expenses. People actually eat healthier, overall, during a recession, and they are less likely to be obese. It may be that they eat more frequently at fast-food places than they do at expensive restaurants. At restaurants, they tend to choose fatty foods.
It has also been observed that people exercise more when times are bad. Partly, that’s because they now have the time to take a run in the park. When you feel powerless, you want to control other pieces of your life, so you take steps to get healthier. A one percent increase in the unemployment rate reduces mortality rates by half a percent. Heart attacks decrease by slightly less than half a percent. Traffic deaths decline by 3 percent because fewer people are commuting and drinking is down. There are fewer smokers, too, which can have a big impact on mortality rates in the long term.
People are more likely to die of heart attacks on a Monday morning than at any other time, which suggests a connection to work. In a recession, deaths from flu and pneumonia go down, as do cases of acute medical conditions like back problems. Some of these are stress-related due to heavy rush of work which is lesser during recession.
During recession, you may undertake a variety of jobs which you can not imagine otherwise. The third person will also not be able to comment upon you as he already knows that you do not have any other alternative but to strike over the opportunity available and this can happen to him also any day.