Foreclosure Takes Toll on Mental Health

[ManicMangaManiac]

Foreclosure takes toll on mental health
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

On a brisk day last fall in Prineville, Ore., Raymond and Deanna Donaca faced the unthinkable: They were losing their home to foreclosure and had days to move out.

For more than two decades, the couple had lived in their three-level house, where the elms outside blazed with yellow shades of fall and their four golden retrievers slept in the yard. The town had always been home, with a lazy river and rolling hills dotted by gnarled juniper trees.

Yet just before lunch on Oct. 23, the Donacas closed all their home's doors except the one to the garage and left their 1981 Cadillac Eldorado running. Toxic fumes filled the home. When sheriff's deputies arrived at about 1 p.m., they found the body of Raymond, 71, on the second floor along with three dead dogs. The body of Deanna, 69, was in an upstairs bedroom, close to another dead retriever.

"It is believed that the Donacas committed suicide after attempts to save their home following a foreclosure notice left them believing they had few options," the Crook County Sheriff's Office said in a report.

Their suicides were a tragic extreme, but the Donacas' case symbolizes how the housing crisis is wrenching the emotional lives of legions of homeowners. The escalating pace of foreclosures and rising fears among some homeowners about keeping up with their mortgages are creating a range of emotional problems, mental-health specialists say. Those include anxiety disorders, depression and addictive behaviors such as alcoholism and gambling. And, in a few cases, suicide.

Crisis hotlines are reporting a surge in calls from frantic homeowners. The American Psychological Association (APA) and other mental-health groups are publishing tips on how to handle the emotional stress triggered by the real estate meltdown. Psychologists say they're seeing more drinking, domestic violence and marital problems linked to mortgage concerns - as well as children trying to cope with extreme anxiety when their families are forced to move.

"They're depressed, anxious. It's affected marriages, relationships," says Richard Chaifetz, CEO of ComPsych, a Chicago-based employee-assistance firm that is counseling homeowners over mortgage fears. "People tend to catastrophize, and that leads to depression. Suicide rates go up. We see an increase in drinking, outbursts at work, violence toward kids. Before, their houses were like ATMs," as they rose in value. "Now, they feel trapped like a rat in a corner."

Foreclosure filings surged 65% in April compared with the same month last year, according to a report Wednesday by RealtyTrac. One in every 519 households received a foreclosure filing last month, and the number of homes with foreclosure activity in April was the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing the report in January 2005.

Don Donaca, Raymond's brother, says it's hard to understand the suicide, but he thinks the pending foreclosure led to their deaths.

"He got so deep in debt he couldn't figure out what else to do," says Don, 74, a retired sawmill worker in Prineville. "I guess a guy would have to walk a few miles in his shoes to understand."

Financial concerns at the top

Many other homeowners are at risk of less-severe, but still significant, psychological distress: One in seven homeowners worry that they won't be able to make their mortgage payments on time over the next six months, according to an April Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance poll, and more than one-quarter fear their home will decline in value during the next two years.

ComPsych says financial concerns are now the top issue the firm's counselors are hearing in calls from clients. Calls about financial worries have surged 20% over last year; those related to mortgage problems have doubled.

"It's escalated to the No. 1 issue because of the housing crisis," Chaifetz says.

Half of Americans identify housing costs, such as rent or mortgage payments, as significant sources of stress, particularly on the East and West coasts, a 2007 survey by the APA says. Sixty-one percent in the West, and 55% in the East (compared with 47% in the Midwest and 43% in the South) reported housing costs as a very or somewhat significant source of stress.

"The problem affects the whole spectrum, not just people losing their homes," says LeslieBeth Wish, a psychologist and social worker in Sarasota, Fla. "The stress exacerbates what is already there. It brings to the surface problems that were often already there, like marital problems. There is so much blaming people for the situations they're in, and that adds to it."

One of Wish's patients was semiretired when she bought a home in 2005 in southwest Florida as an investment that she hoped to "flip," turning a profit. The woman now owes more than the house is worth and can't sell it.

Wish says her client has developed anxiety, dwelling on her financial situation from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to sleep. Other clients, Wish says, are reporting physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach pains stemming from anxiety over their mortgage situation.

ComPsych's counselors are hearing similar stories of the mental-health toll caused by the housing slump. At the request of USA TODAY, ComPsych's spokeswoman Jennifer Hudson queried counselors to come up with examples of the types of employees they're helping. One couple were going through a divorce, and the wife told ComPsych counselors that financial stress was the final trigger. They had maxed out their credit cards and were living off credit in hopes that they could keep their house. Another woman called because she suspected her husband was gambling again, apparently hoping to win big so they could repair their financial mess. She was afraid they were going to have to move in with her parents, ComPsych says.

For Gary Sweredoski of Myrtle Beach, S.C., the threat of losing his home to foreclosure has taken both a physical and an emotional toll. In 2007, Sweredoski, who had no health insurance, underwent triple bypass surgery and wound up with more than $300,000 in medical bills. Then Sweredoski, 60, a real estate broker, saw his business suffer as the housing market crashed.

Today, he and his wife, Irene, struggle to make the mortgage payment on the dream home they built in Myrtle Beach and are trying to stave off foreclosure. Like many other homeowners struggling with the financial consequences of the housing slump, Gary says the emotional pain can be severe.

Standing on his deck overlooking a lake where ducks swim and bobbing pontoon boats drift by, he says such circumstances "shatter your pride and become very humiliating, even though the circumstances are not of our making.

"The situation keeps you up at night, preventing you from getting the rest you need. A lot of the depression that I feel, I do in private," he says.

"It angers you. It frustrates you. It has a large bearing on your emotional state. When the thought of losing a home looms, you lose more than a building. You lose what you worked for so many years, all of the equity that you have accumulated over the years. It's humbling. It affects us deeply."

Rising depression, suicide rates

Historically, research shows, rates of depression and suicide tend to climb during times of economic tumult.

In an article published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press, researchers compared suicide data in Australia from January 1968 through August 2002 with economic problems such as unemployment and mortgage interest rates. The study found that economic trends are closely associated with suicide risk, with men showing a heightened risk of suicide in the face of economic adversity.

"For some people, suicide is the rational option when they see no future," says Ken Siegel, a psychologist in Beverly Hills. "One's house is very much a projection of one's self. To have a home taken away is tantamount to having part of yourself taken away. There is embarrassment. For many, it's overwhelmingly unconquerable."

In the most severe cases, as with the Donacas, authorities have linked suicides with the financial stress of foreclosures. On Oct. 25, 2007, James Hahn, 39, a chemist in north Houston, was facing foreclosure and had to vacate his home. When deputies arrived with eviction papers, Hahn engaged them and a SWAT team in a standoff that lasted more than 10 hours. It ended in the early morning when Hahn shot himself inside his home, according to a Houston Police Department report.

"Suicides are very much tied to the economy," says Kathleen Hall, founder and CEO of The Stress Institute in Atlanta. "It's a public-health issue."

In many cases, psychiatrists say, financial stresses, such as those caused by the mortgage crisis, tend to bring pre-existing mental-health issues to the surface. Studies also show a strong connection between financial distress and emotional stress, including anxiety, depression, insomnia and migraines.

"Often, there is a dilemma of not being able to afford private mental-health treatment in the midst of a financial crisis," says Joseph Weiner, a psychiatrist and chief of consultation psychiatry at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. "Children will likely feel the parents' tension around financial stress. This could cause feelings of helplessness and anxiety in the child. Sometimes, young children blame themselves for their parents' stressful situation."

Jennifer Paschal, 36, of Woodstock, Ga., has tried to ease the effect of the foreclosure of her home on her children, Bailey, 12, and Trent, 9. But she says they've been deeply pained. After 13 years of marriage, Paschal is going through a divorce. The divorce and medical bills led the family to lose its home to foreclosure in April. Paschal couldn't afford the $1,300 monthly mortgage payment on her $45,000 annual salary as a day care center director.

The home is a six-bedroom house on an acre of land, with a trampoline in the backyard, blooming pink azaleas and rose bushes, and a muddy creek where Trent and Bailey would catch frogs and play with their two dogs, a retriever and a Labrador.

Before they left, Paschal took the children to their rooms and told them to fill a box with whatever they wanted to take with them. They moved in July to a two-bedroom, $900-a-month apartment. The "for sale" sign on the house they lost to foreclosure went up this month. When she saw a picture of it, Paschal says, she cried.

The children are suffering, too. Trent worries about money. Recently, at the grocery store, he told his mother not to buy milk because it cost $4. He begs his mother to get a house again, saying that he's old enough now to cut the grass.

"It's hard," Paschal says. "I think they see things very differently now. My son asked me how much money I have, and I told him not to worry about it. We had to give away our Lab and our bird dog (because it seemed unfair to keep them in such a small apartment). That killed my son. That tore him apart, big time."

In the new apartment, Paschal doesn't sleep well. After she goes to bed, she hears Trent scurry out of his bed to make sure all the doors are locked. Then Trent comes to her room and quietly tells his mother she can sleep now because everything is safe.

Copyright 2008 USA Today, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[Moe]

This is a travesty. The emotional and social impacts of this crisis are more than anyone can imagine. The toll this will take on the people and our nation will be so great. My heart goes out to each and every one who is suffering in their homes.

No one should suffer in what is supposed to be their sanctuary, their castle, security.

Thanks for keeping this all in proper perspective for us all.

[jennifer]

Words can not describe the emotion this article created.
All of us here know the gamete of feelings caused from almost or even loosing ones home can cause. The stress of everyday living add on top the uncertainty of today's economy mix in a mortgage that can not be met, before long the healthiest person starts having problems.
I got a mod. It is only a temporary fix. Taxes and insurance cost of living is going up quickly. My pay is not going to be able to keep up. Lost my job today no fault of my own just the nature of my business.
I personally fee like the biggest looser, Still unable to say anything to my family and friends.
I am the go to mom. From babysitting ,taking care of grandma,, Easter bunny, surprise birthday parties. There is a problem I am the one to fix it. Now I make excuses as to why I can not do this things anymore. But the truth is I don't want my family to know how stupid I was. Every dollar has to go to the house note. With in the next year I am going to have to tell my kids I lost their family home. The shame and humiliation feelings of extreme worthlessness. You just get the point you just want all the pain and worry the embarrassment to stop. The stigma to go away.
I am normally the happiest person you want to know a bit manic at times but totally fun!!! Until now.........
Thanks Moe Cat Andrew Professor Coach and everybody. It takes all of us to keep all of us going. If only Raymond and Deanna had us had this forum we could have helped.
We are a strong community in ourselves we are here for one another. There is no place like this anywhere.
Thank God it is here
jennifer

[ManicMangaManiac]

Moe and Jennifer,

I totally agree with what you posted about this article; the whole thing is a national travesty and I can fully identify with what the people profiled in it are going through. Although I've got an attorney working on my behalf to get a mod through Option One, I can't seem to shake the horrible feeling of depression that's been hanging over my head like the proverbial dagger... to make matters worse, I'm not sure I have a job anymore because I got sick with pneumonia, complicated by asthma and have missed more than two months. i've tried several times to call the HR manager, without success (line busy, switchboard opr hung up on me, manager was out of the office, etc., etc.)

I'm looking at having to apply for food stamps and Medicaid just to get through the summer, and I'm not sure what's going to happen with my utilities either. Just two weeks ago, I was arrested at home for failure to appear in court (I couldn't get there because of my illness and because my 18-year-old Honda had broken down) and was incarcerated for three days before my younger brother came and bailed me out.

It was HORRIBLE because I could not get anyone at the detention center to let me call the former county DA/KS Attorney General (with whom I had consulted a few times about possibly filing a class action suit against OOMC); they totally ignored my pleas and the TDDs there are next to useless. Nobody there knew how to work that &#@*!! setup so I was pretty much incommunicado with the outside world--it was only after repeated requests that a deputy relented and called my brother for me. In the meantime, I had to spend most of my time locked up in a tiny cell with a paper-thin rubber mattress on a steel platform and the overhead light blazing all night long; I cried the whole time and wouldn't eat anything. I was also worried sick about two of my dogs, both of whom had been left outside in the backyard and a horrible storm had sprung up that night and they were without food and water as were my other pets in the house. I'm telling you, I was never SO glad to have my freedom as I was when my brother got me out!!!!

The only bright spots thus far have been my wonderful pets (I really don't have any family left; both of my younger brothers are very distant) and the local Subaru dealership that came through for me BIG time after I called a local radio show's talk line asking for help in getting my car repaired. The dealership not only did over $1,000 in repairs to my car for free, they also filled up the gas tank, gave me a sack of groceries and a $150 gift card towards future repairs. Talk about a HUGE emotional lift right there!!!!

Needless to say, I need another huge emotional lift as far as my house is concerned, and I wish the same for everyone else in this country who is suffering from the fear, stress, sleepless nights and tears. I just wish to God that WE could somehow make the powers-that-be at OOMC, WaMu, Countrywide, Citi, Wells Fargo and others SUFFER, and I mean, really suffer for their sins!!!!

Sally

[leap4juls]

I too feel so much sadness for those people in the article, and all the people I have come to know via this sight. My marriage is over, my children have suffered so much. I feel like I go through the motions, seeding the lawn, cleaning the house, in between meeting lawyers, researching securities and banking codes and regulations, and so on.

It is very difficult. I pray it will be at least over a big huge bump in the road tomorrow. I will via attorney, bargain with the mortgage co. I know I have the truth on my side.

I am happy I have worked so hard for all this last nearly two years. I have done all I can, and am proud of my strength. I thing the best thing you can do is NOT let yourself go there, to the sad side of the road, look away, divert your attention elsewhere. I do not achieve this each and every day, but more than not, probably 90% of the time. That's pretty good I think. When I do give in, I try not to let it go on too long, otherwise I feel I might spiral into the abyss.

I pray for all of you to find your happy ending. Thank you for sharing this, I think it is a great idea for people, not to dwell, but to be able to share this fear, or depression, however it manifests in each of us.

But you must make a decision, and go with it. Keep your chin up, as they say, and have faith, faith, faith... Know that where ever you land, there will be something around the corner, or behind the door, that IS good. Be Happy!

[jasminmariel]

Thanks for posting this, it helps me a bit to realize that the roller coaster ride I am riding for the past few months were normal scenario of people going thru this crisis. Yes it is true that we wanted a house when we apply for a loan but we did not beg nor pull any string to have us approve. We did not lie either. But the fact is that many lender approve people who is not ready to have a house. Now an American Dream become our familys nightmare. Everybody is affected and going thru this tragedy takes a lot of courage and prayers. I cannot explain the hardship we are going thru right now. There is more uncertainty to come. The house that suppose to built the family is becoming a reason to break one.

[925girl]

Last night I dreamed about being homeless. Needless to say I woke up very BITCHY.

[BrianF]

Wow this is very interesting. Hell this whole housing debacle is stressful enough. I've lost considerable weight & rarely eat because of this. My wife & I have our difference of opinions with the whole situation & it sometimes causes us not to speak to each other, considering we always see eye to eye on almost everything.

The only thing or person that really keeps me strong & continue to fight this to the end is my one-year old son. Just wanting to give him a better life than myself prevents me from doing something unusual like excessive drinking, taking drugs to cope, or doing bodily harm to myself.

This really affects you mentally AND physically!!!!