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Victoria Mindova

The economic crisis in Greece is not only measured by the percentage ratio of the budget deficit to the gross domestic product, nor by how much private pension funds and banks will lose after the reduction of the foreign debt.

The citizens of the Mediterranean country are also paying a price for the collapse of the local economy. They have to face problems such as unemployment and poverty, which the older generations of Greeks remember only as a distant dream. These phenomena have not yet developed in the complete sense of the word, but the worst period of the Greek recovery is yet to come. Human relations are undergoing reassessment, privacy is becoming more frequent and unemployment is changing the acquired social status of hundreds of thousands of citizens annually.

In these changing conditions, interpersonal relationships and family relationships undergo new tests which the psychotherapist Helena Elevteriou analyzes exclusively for GRReporter. She is part of the Greek research team that studies the relation between the economic crisis and the changes in the personal nature of its victims. She works in the Clinic for sexual disorders treatment. Young Helena is also head of the "Psychology" department at the Athens Andrology Institute and the Society Studying the Human Sexuality.

How has the economic crisis affected the lives of the Greeks and what are the prerequisites for the extent of its impact on the lives of ordinary people?

Certainly the economic crisis has brought a profound change in Greek society, its daily life and the quality of life. After the abrupt change from hyper-consumption and abundance, recession found the Greeks unprepared, weak and almost helpless to resist the collapse. We could say this was a return to the past characterized by poverty, lack and destitution. This past that everybody remembers, and those who were not direct witnesses to it, know about it from the descriptions of their parents and grandparents.

In spite of the memories of the past, it seems that the debt crisis of the 21^st century struck us so mercilessly not only because of its size, but because of the state of nirvana in which the modern Greek citizen had chosen to live. Our luxurious needs were met mostly by loans that exceed the limit of family income and drove households to bankruptcy. What did this flow of wealth or at least the image of it serve for?

The Greeks were exposed more than any other European citizen as being parvenus, for their "exhibitionism" and vanity to use "easy" money. These features helped us get here today, where the until recently impressive civil servants are the butt of the attacks, the young people are leaving the country because their diplomas are proving to be just unnecessary documents; master's degrees and doctorate degrees provoke laughter, and those who decided to take their own way and to fulfil themselves in the economic environment (something which for decades was called here the "American dream") are no longer being paid, they are unemployed and in some cases even homeless. Ultimately, everything that seemed like a glamorous life proved to be nothing but a big balloon.

How does the change in economic conditions and the drastic changes in financial possibilities define or modify the human personality?

The meaning and symbolism of the economic crisis is a personal matter for each person. The investments, which everyone has made in the economic environment so far and in the quality of his life is a major factor in how we respond to the new conditions.

The anxiety, the feelings of failure and inadequacy, of frustration and helplessness also differ quantitatively and qualitatively for the different people who are suffering from the financial crisis. These feelings are of course determined also by the position, which money holds in their lives. We can look at the human psyche as a building with several supporting pillars. Transferring the weight of the values ​​and emotions that "feed" a man with vigour and energy to the possession of money, acts as a vampire, once the economic pillar in the life of the Greeks has collapsed with the crisis. The other pillars are also shaken and it is only a matter of time before they will also collapse.

Modern life as a whole can be described as very stressful. Long hours of work, pursuing bonuses, promotions and other types of "treasures" of the career had already exhausted to a great extent the average Greek. With the little resistance power they had in recent years, people were brought into the process of continuous devaluation, which ultimately leads to misery. There many of the components such as dignity, autonomy and ownership in many cases are unable to save what is left of the wasted man.

The pressure of the economic conditions is determined not only by the credits and financial obligations accumulated in the past, but also by the expectations of the individual, which is another kind people. Aggression, termination of social relationships and retiring into oneself are just some of the phenomena of our time, which we see more and more often in people around us and even ourselves.

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.

What abnormalities are observed in the relationships within families who suffer the most from the consequences of the economic crisis - unemployment and shortage of funds?

The negative consequences for the woman appear in another important area. That of sexual behavior. Research conducted by the Society Studying the Human Sexuality in 2010 shows that the reforms in the social security system imposed by the economic crisis (a longer work experience and more years of work) affect women much more than men, and they mainly affect their sex life. There is a change in the relationships between women and men who are sexual partners, like Lysistrata in Aristophanes’ comedy.

In the story of Lysistrata, she "punished" the man-lover/father for the wrongdoings that he brought with his policy in "Polis", where the focus is of course on war. Lysistrata requires the man to reach peace, depriving the male population of the joys of love and affection.

The survey from 2010 shows that 72% of women surveyed responded that the economic crisis has a very negative effect on their sexual desire, unlike men, where this percentage is much smaller. However the desire of the woman is not only aimed at the vulnerable phallic symbol, but it is also the position of self-punishment through eunuchisation of her orgasm.

We ask ourselves why women are more affected in this respect than men and the answer lies perhaps in the coded place of the woman as the guardian of the hearth in the prosperous modern urban society. The woman in the modern Western world where, after endless struggles and sacrifices, she already plays an important role in the evolution of economic life. Unfortunately women did not have enough time to prepare mentally to be equal to men, who have previous experience with the phenomena of recession and devaluation. In simple terms, just as the woman managed to get equality with men and reached the long desired independence and financial (and only) autonomy, she suffered a serious blow that literally brought her to her knees. The history that is yet to be written will show how the representatives of the two genders will deal with the current challenges.

Is there a link between the loss of libido and personal failures in the public plan?

While world history has shown us that during disasters, wars and suffering, the primary instincts of human reproduction and the impulses of life prevail, in times of economic crises sexual desire cannot prevail and the destructive impulses are stronger. The destructive impulses are those that prevent us from moving forward, they are pulling us back, as if their ultimate goal is not for life to go on, but to take us back and restart the course from a certain point, in which it has deviated from the traditional route.

The first study, conducted in 2008, about the relationship between sex and economic recession, which was carried out by the Andrological Institute and the Society Studying the Human Sexuality showed that there is a very sharp decline in sexual contact with couples and this phenomenon is due to increasing financial problems.

It seems that in this period no matter how hard we try to leave the problems of everyday life and work behind us when we arrive home or leave them outside the bedroom, this cannot happen. Under the pressure of the hard economic conditions, problems, lack of time and uncertain future mainly for the children, the joy of life and the pleasure of love are thrown into the background.

In this study, very few of the Greek respondents had reported sex as an important part of their relations. When actually asked "What do you consider most important in your relationship?", 42% had answered that the most important thing was their economic situation, 31% their emotional condition and only 16% - answered sex. At this point it became clear, that the old understanding that the poor accept the blows of life easier and have a better sex life is no longer valid. The famous saying that a couple is brought closer together and the differences are resolved with good sex, seems to be proved completely altered. People under economic pressure are less interested in carnal pleasures, and regard as important other factors such as financial stability, security, friendship, support and less sex.

According to the same study, six out of every ten respondents said that the reasons for their poor sex lives include "financial problems" with 41% and another 21% selecting "work stress". Similar results were shown also by the study conducted in 2008 by the same institutions up until last year. If a title had to be chosen for the survey results in 2011, it would sound like this: "The funeral of the economy and the resurrection of the libido". 63% of all respondents say that their sexual desire has not been affected at all by the economic crisis, while 17% of male participants in the survey said that their libido has even increased. The conclusion is that indeed the sexuality and social relations of people can be affected and hurt by the economic crisis, however ultimately the man with his spirit is the great winner.
 

To be continued.