Apples for Health- Rx for job-loss stress: reach out

Rx for job-loss stress: reach out

RICHMOND, Va., July 1 (UPI) -- If left unchecked, job-loss stress can build into depression, with potentially mental and physical health consequences, a U.S. psychologist says.

"The body is going to tell you, for sure. Blood pressure rises," Micah McCleary of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond said in a statement. "You start getting migraines and headaches."

While no two people react to a job loss in the same way -- some become angry or aggressive and others sad and withdrawn -- McCleary tells people encountering one of life's stressors to reach out to others.

"Some people are what I call healing personalities, people who are just fun to be around," McCleary says. "Seek them out. There's power in relationships."

It also helps to keep up healthy habits -- physical fitness regimens, healthy diet, enough sleep and staying mentally fit by doing things that are enjoyable, McCreary advises.

"You have to keep your sense of humor and you have to like yourself," McCreary said. "A negative self-image can hold you back when the time comes to interview for a new job."