Unemployment and job loss: impact on mental health
- Posted on 12/11/2022 23:27
- Film
- By abelozih@sante-education.tg

Extract from the article: People excluded from the labour market are also represented among the consumers of psychotropic drugs. Many unemployed men and women experience
People excluded from the labour market are also represented among the consumers of psychotropic drugs. Many unemployed men and women experience « psychological injury, but also sleep problems, as well as other stress-related ailments, such as back pain. And we know that some suicides are directly linked to losing one's job or not finding a job », explains Pr Kolou Valentin Dassa, Stress Counselor/Psychiatry at the CHU Campus in Lomé.
If we take the WHO definition of good health, a state of physical, mental and social well-being, we are faced with a real health problem. « Among those who lose their jobs, the disorders, closer to trauma than to depression, are more frequent. They are associated with high levels of stress that cause back pain, or lead to the consumption of psychotropic drugs, alcohol, drugs, or even an addiction to games. It is therefore the right time to get help, to seek counseling from qualified personnel », says Professor Valentin Dassa.
Why do some people hesitate to seek help?
When you lose your job, the first reaction, once you get over the shock of the announcement, is to say to yourself, « I'm going to get through this ». On the one hand, you are faced with an injunction to find a job as quickly as possible, and on the other hand, you are faced with a social fact that asking for help is not necessarily a valued gesture. However, consulting is necessarily a good idea: « we must work to ensure that the time of unemployment is not only a time of suffering, but also a time of reconstruction, particularly in terms of self-esteem, which is often lost in such cases », recommends Professor Valentin Dassa. Losing one's job is a trauma, which is accompanied by the same symptoms: nightmares, irritability, anxiety, isolation.
How can health professionals manage these situations?
Occupational physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and qualified professionals can intervene. This is really the time when the person deprived of employment must allow himself to speak and not remain alone. There are many associations that work in the field in a remarkable way to help the unemployed.
However, « the health of the unemployed is not sufficiently taken into account in the health care system. Surprisingly, while the health risks are increased, those who lose their jobs no longer benefit from occupational medicine », recognizes the specialist. Structures must be put in place to better support and monitor the unemployed and their health.
Abel OZIH