It’s becoming increasingly clear that the recession is going to be nasty, brutish, and long. Many economists project years of pain, and there’s little on the horizon — even the stimulus bill — that seems likely to turn the national economy around anytime soon. So now that we know how much this is going to hurt us financially, a compelling question becomes, how much will it hurt us emotionally?
The surprising answer, according to economists and psychologists who study people’s relationships to money, is that the next few years probably won’t be unrelenting misery. Some will suffer — especially those who lose jobs central to their sense of self-worth — but on the whole, humans tend to be resilient, adaptable creatures who bounce back from problems faster than you’d think. Plus, research shows there’s much you can do to extract happiness out of your life, regardless of your circumstances.
So cheer up. The good life may be over for now, but even economists would say, life is still good.
