If the recession has you feeling depressed, anxious or angry, you are not alone.
More and more people are calling Fredericksburg-area suicide and domestic-violence hot lines as the economy spirals.
"Stress and depression are up," said Marci Bartley, director of the nonprofit Fredericksburg Counseling Services.
Her group provides therapy for the uninsured and poor. As more people lose jobs and benefits, they turn to Bartley's agency. And more come in to talk about foreclosures, evictions and money problems.
The same is true of people using the Rappahannock Area Community Service Board's emergency services.
There, people are screened for admission to Snowden, the area's psychiatric hospital, and for other emergency mental health services.
"January was a busy month," said Jacqueline Nuzum, emergency services coordinator. The agency works with individuals to get them through emotional crises with the help of counseling and referrals.
Many of the 117 people who called the RACSB's emergency services number in January complained of money worries.
"Financial difficulties can lead to feeling like there's not a lot of hope," Nuzum said.
And those feelings cause many to think of suicide.
More people also are calling the Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence's hot line.
The economy doesn't cause domestic violence, director Kathy Anderson pointed out.
"It really becomes another excuse," she said.
And while calls are up, Anderson worries that the economy leads more people to stick it out in abusive situations.
"A lot of people hesitate to make that call, because to do that, then they would have to leave," Anderson said. "And, really, they're not in a financial situation to do that."
Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com
| The Fredericksburg area has private and publicly funded counseling agencies. Among the area's emergency hot line services are:
Fredericksburg Counseling Services, 540/373-2320; volunteer counselors to help the uninsured and low-income Rappahannock Area Rappahannock Council Mental Health America |