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According to recent studies the economic crisis brought with it an increase of diagnosed states of depression and the emergence of psychotic symptoms. Let’s not forget that in a developed Western technocratic society, economic pressure is perhaps the strongest kind of pressure because it incorporates various components. Income per capita largely determines the way and quality of life of a person and his family. Following this logic, the greater the expectations of a particular person were, the greater "debt" he has accumulated after the height of the economic recession.

We hear older people say: "We are not afraid ... We've earned our pensions, we have worked for them" or "We've been through occupation, civil war, change in the regime, dictatorship. Woe to those who do not know what hardship means." Ultimately, one of the greatest threats to the modern man is the suppression of the memory of scarcity and lack. In other words we can say that the "lack of scarcity" is dangerous. Destitution by itself is painful, but otherwise when for a long time we lack nothing and then we lose something important, this loss/absence can paralyze us.

In less than two years unemployment in Greece has tripled. What is the relationship between the loss of employment and the quality of life and the changes it brings in the character of the person?

Losses nowadays become flesh and blood, because this is no longer only about the economic pressure and unsustainable cuts, but about loss of jobs or the nightmare of our times: unemployment.

Studies from Greece and abroad have shown that unemployment can be a major factor in the manifestation of physical and mental illnesses. Moreover, researches from the 1970s show that there is a direct relation between unemployment and mortality. Cardiovascular diseases, alcohol abuse and drug abuse, suicide attempts are just the most popular and common effects of the lack of permanent employment or the loss of professional fulfilment. The economic decline caused by unemployment often leads to the loss of home and the suspension of social relations, fragmentation of a person’s psyche to the extent that he might become dangerous to himself and to others. Let's not forget that increasing unemployment leads to an increase in criminal behavior.

Unemployment destabilizes and discredits the individual, it leads to social and cultural isolation, and ultimately creates fear, anger, aggression, the feeling of inadequacy and feeling of humiliation.

What has to be done is for the state and community care to focus to a great extent on the unemployed. This phenomenon affects not just the social structure as a whole, but each of us individually. Therefore we need to promote awareness of the reality that surrounds us and understand that losing a job can be one of the most difficult moments in the life of a human being. At a moment like this the utmost support is required and in addition to the personal responsibility it is also a proof of humanity.

Is there a difference between the way women and men perceive the economic crisis?

It seems that men are affected by the economic crisis to a greater extent. This can be explained by a historical review. Since the moment when men have entered into social relationships and have created a family, the man has always been the one to provide security and food at home. This basic genetic feature has not yet disappeared.

Let us now consider the situation of the Greek man, who in the condition of an economic collapse is in many cases unable to provide the basic means to support his family. Often we ask ourselves, why in this case is the impact more severe for the man, given that we are living in a modern society, where career development is not only the privilege of men and in almost all couples the man and the woman work equally? Because the economic crisis has a more severe impact on the narcissism of the man (his self esteem).

In this regard the study of professors McGill and Stony Βrook shows that there is a direct relation between employment and mortality in men. With the increase in unemployment higher mortality is observed in men than in women, the rate is respectively 78% and 37%. The percentage of lethality is particularly high for unemployed men under 50 years.

According to the same study, the lack of employment is the source of an extremely high level of stress for men. And nowadays, when a man loses his job, he associates this with the impoverishment of the family and going through various troubles and this is sometimes completely justified. This in turn has a huge impact on the person’s health and it often leads to bad habits such as increasing the quantities of alcohol consumed, overeating or loss of appetite. The aforementioned conditions are extremely harmful to the physical and mental health of people and many of them are becoming more and more common in our society. Increased levels of unemployment may be the catalyst of health problems which are severe in themselves, but are often deepened further because of bad healthcare.

Studies conducted in England, Italy, Denmark and Finland have shown that the relation between unemployment and mortality also affects women. It is observed in a greater extent in the cases of wives of unemployed men.