WARNING: Foreclosure can be hazardous to your health.
Possible side effects include, but are not limited to:
- Heart palpitations
- Anxiety attacks
- High blood pressure
- Stress
- Depression
- Weight gain
- Canker sores
- Skin problems
- Acid reflux
- Insomnia
The Alameda County Public Health Department and Causa Justa/Just Cause — a housing rights group — recently conducted a study of nearly 400 residents in the Oakland, Calif., area who had to endure the foreclosure experience.
Here’s the bottom line finding:
Foreclosures exacerbate the health problems [of distressed homeowners]. In addition, the deleterious health effects can often spread to tenants and others associated with foreclosed home.
The San Francisco Chronicle provides powerful context:
The survey found that residents who are going through foreclosure or recently lost their homes were more than twice as likely to say that their mental and physical health had worsened over the past two years than those not going through foreclosure. Those residents were also twice as likely to report stress, depression or anxiety over the past month.
To read the full report, which is entitled “Rebuilding Neighborhoods, Restoring Health” click here.
