To what extent does a social phenomenon, like the 2008-to-present Essay

To what extent does a social phenomenon, like the 2008-to-present economic recession, influence or cause health behaviors - Essay Example A personal experience with regard to the effect of the economic crisis on health behaviors provided me with a clear picture of this issue. I still clearly remember when a friend’s father lost his job and the stress of tough financial conditions almost drove him mad. He worked in a clerical position at a factory that went bust during the recession in 2009. My friend had two younger siblings, who were 4 and 8 at the time. And like all children, they too wanted to have the same things that everyone else their age at school had. And thanks to the gadget race these days, children do want a lot then they used to. There is the Xbox, the Sony PlayStation and of course, the latest offerings from Apple to drive everyone wild with consumerism. Pair that up with an empty pocket and a mounting sense of despair and helplessness, and anyone would go out of their mind. My friends dad drunk himself to oblivion, but thank fully he was rescued after family and friends recognized the signs of dep ression. Others may not be so lucky. Economic distress has a direct relation to mental and psychological problems, as I have witnessed around me over the past few years. It is conventionally believed that health-related behavior usually deteriorates during economic recession. But interestingly, research shows an altogether new picture. It seems that when economy weakens, the mortality rates also go down and physical health improves. This cannot be said about mental health as evidenced by the sudden rise in suicide rate. According to recent research, a 1 percent increase in unemployment rate leads to a 0.3 percent to 0.5 percent decrease in the number of deaths (Ruhm, 2009). There can be several reasons for this phenomenon. First of all people do not get to drive (to and from work etc) and as a result decreasing car accident related deaths. Interestingly, there is also a substantial decrease in the number of heart attacks. This risk is perhaps the most reactive to the changes in