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The Devastating Effects of Recession on Families

Recessions are cyclical and when they do come around, not everyone is prepared or able to cope with their effects. Some people have lived through two or three recessions in their lifetime, while others are experiencing recession and its after-effects for the first time.

While the former have learnt to develop coping skills, the lattter may not have any skills, the will-power or tools to cope effctively with the challenges of a recession.

While it is easier to cope if you have applied "Joseph's wisdom" and saved for a rainy day, and thus are able to weather the storm, it is more difficult for those whom the recession and its challenges caught unawares. Regardless of your preparation, other non-monetarily coping tools are very necessary and much more important. These include your faith in God or a higher being, your resolve, your resilience and most especially your relationship with those with whom you can have a good and healthy support system.

Regardlessly of your faith in God, if you do not have a visible support system regardless of whether it is people you see, work with, go to church with, socialize with, talk on the phone with or your community members, you may not be strengthened enough when the challenges rise up to try and sweep you away.

May we not be swept away by the challeges in our lives and circumstances. People have been devastated by the realities facing them in a recession and some have not lived to be able to testify of their resilence, ability to cope or even simply survive.

The realities of a recession are harsher on some than others, and while these may result from some of the bad choices we may have made individually or collectively, or may just be flowing from the meandering after-effects which we may have in no way contributed to; the reality is that we do not possess equal strength, faith or resilience in times of adversity.

Without good support systems, we might easily get overwhelmed, to a point where even our religion is not strong enough to maintain the faith that "tomorrow might indeed be a better day", or that "there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel", even if it is just a flicker.

Such is the case of individuals or families for whom all hope is lost. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200909...zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNtdXJkZXItc3VpY2k- Sometimes one individual in a family does not see any prospects in a tomorrow and decides to end it all. While that is sad enough as only the person in that position knows what challenges he or she is no longer able or willing to cope with; it is even sadder when that individual clouded by their own emotional and psychological judgment decides to make choices for other family members and resort to murder-suicide thereby ending their own life and those of all other family members, and sometimes even their pets.

Since this recession began and has been witnessed in other recessions or even the with episodes of significant enough drops in stock market prices, some people have chosen to commit suicide or murder-suicides because they could not bare the devastation of their finacial losses or new financial dispositions.

Sometimes one may wonder why a family that could no longer afford lavish or even moderate lifestyles chose to commit suicide or murder-suicides, whereas there are families who have been living on shoe-strings and hand-outs who are strong enough in faith to believe that "like God feeds the sparrows, they too shall be fed." What say we of those starving children in war-torn nations who though malnutritioned and all, still find reasons to hang on to life?

While suicide is a psychological and emotional decision, and some of us might have indeed been pushed into considering it, though maybe not due to financial reasons, it is not the best option, therefore anyone considering it should seek support from their loving and considerate family members, friends, loved ones, church, communities and if possible or feasible from counsellors that may help put overwhelming problems in perspective and help them survive long enough to live through tomorrow.

Before we get to the point of considering murder-suicide, may we take in enough breathe to rethink our options, so we do not make such a devastating and permanent choice for ourself and others with or without their rational consent.

While the stress of recession has pushed some people into smoking, drinking, spousal abuse, having affairs, etc, and/or caused high-blood pressure, heart-attacks, strokes, emotional and pyschological problems in others, at least they are still alive to weather the storm.

Recession has caused some people to resort to all kinds of things they normally wouldn't consider doing to survive, and these include both good and bad options such as taking on second or third jobs, menial jobs, charging for skills they once gave away voluntarily, borrowing, sending their children to work, selling their priced or luxurious possessions, their homes, cars, jewelry, giving up their children or pets for adoption, stopping tithing, interrupting they or their children's education, dental or healthcare, cacelling vacations, postponing having children, opting out of lavish weddings, marrying to consolidate and reduce individual expenses, maximizing their credit card allowances, resorting to escort services, aborting unplanned pregnancies, prostitution, begging, stealing, commiting fraud, etc.

These are all choices to "live" by any and all means possible with the faith that tomorrow will be made better by the choices they are making today, regardless of whether those choices are good, bad, legal, illegal, moral, immoral, temporary or permanent. May we not be pushed beyond our circumstances and may we be granted the wisdom an discernment to make, good, moral and legal choices, that would better our circumstances without bringing us shame, dishonour or disgrace.

May we also be blessed with enough discernment and empathy to recognize and help those who despair instead of mocking, denigrating or disregarding their circumstances to the point where they see no option than to commit suicide, May we also be human enough not to lash out maliciously, wickedly or with evil delight on those who are already overwhelmed by the circumstances of their lives, no matter what it might be.

May we equally not be too selfish and wrapped up in our own problems and challenges, that we do not see, are totally oblivious to or choose to ignore the subtle or glaring warning signs that our loved ones, neighbours, or community members are overwhelmed, may or may not be crying out for help and in dire need of emotional, psychological or even financial help, no matter how small that which we can spare might be.

Cxsm
27th Sept.'09

© Cxsm 2009 All Rights Reserved

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May we be strengthened with the ability, willingness and capabilities to be good ambassadors of Nigeria contributing to its uplifting, rather than its detriment. - Cxsm