Health psychologists at the University of Limerick’s Study of Anxiety, Stress and Health (SASH) Lab have identified new health risks associated with being unemployed. Their findings provide new evidence about the impact that unemployment may have on health. The research compared the diurnal patterns of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) in both unemployed and employed Irish people, finding that both of these hormones are dysregulated in the unemployed. Previous research has found that unemployment is a risk factor for depression, with those who become unemployed showing higher rates of depression compared to those who are employed. Researchers aimed to extend this line of research to see whether the stress associated with unemployment also had a negative effect on the hormonal health of those unemployed. They were particularly interested in looking at hormones associated with stress, accelerated aging, heart disease, and depression. The results of the study confirm that unemployed people are not just more stressed, depressed and report poorer physical health compared to those who were employed; they also display a less healthy hormonal profile as well. These irregular hormonal patterns are not only similar to those experiencing chronic stress, but similar patterns have been seen in those with depression and heart disease. http://www.psypost.org/2016/08/stud...dysregulated-hormones-in-the-unemployed-44539
I suspect that it rather depends on what you do with your time while unemployed. Even the worst jobs impose pattern on the lives of the employed, which regulates the hormones. Depression seems to be exacerbated by inactivity, and diminished by activity. And if the depressed spend time watching TV, they are likely to become even more depressed.
