Today Harvard's Daniel Gilbert writes about the psychological costs of uncertainty, whether they stem from the recession and the unknown risk of individual unemployment, or from getting a random stronger shock, even when you're wired to get a small shock no matter what.
This contrasts with the literature that reveals short-run improvements in population health associated with the business cycle. If I remember correctly, however, suicides are countercyclical, increasing during downturns, suggesting that at least some component of mental health is similarly depressed when the economy goes sour.
