Recession versus Depression

In a troubling economic world, healthy living does get exposed to some interesting problems. While many more lose their jobs to the "recession" those who keep jobs may still cut back on consuming unnecessary goods(Its is reported that 1 in 4 of the US postal workers will be provided voluntary retirement and a further 3000 will lose their jobs). Someone once said that a recession is when my neighbor loses their job, a depression is when I lose mine. The constant reminder of the "economic meltdown" in the media has an adverse effect on the public's health. More time is spent talking about hardship than about healthy practices. Ignoring the situation is also unhealthy. Where is the middle ground? Studies have concluded that more optimistic people tend to live longer healthier lives. What makes this happen? The balance between daily healthy practices and knowledge of the limited power we all have over the total economy must be somehow accepted. Fear is an emotion which results from some expectation which may have been altered by the current circumstances. Small wins like eating a healthy meal at home rather than one at some restaurant serves a valuable sense of what you can do. About 20 years ago I was in El Salvador for some meetings where I met a group of street children. Their daily routine was to walk approximately 17 kilometers into the capital to sell "Chiclets" or gum on the street. Each night they would walk back to a hole in the side of a hill called home with their "earnings/profits" for the day. Each night the family slept in this makeshift home where one light bulb attached to a long cord hung for light. I don't know why or how but their survival was constructed from a few basic motivations which have made me wonder about recessions and depressions ever since. The poor of every nation know survival and recession or depression isn't an unfortunate economic episode. The daily motivation is survival even if it is in squalid tenements on the outskirts of cities devoid of basic hygiene and ravaged by forms of deprivation which many of us will only shudder at. Healthy lives are a gift constructed from the social power structure and unfortunately not shared by all. Sharing that gift is an opportunity for all of us to engage in.