Good Cope, Bad Cope: Chicagoans fight foreclosure stress by fixing their mortgages

In a recent study, nearly half of 235 Chicagoans going through foreclosure reported physical symptoms of stress-headaches, sleeplessness, backaches, extreme fatigue, or other problems. Those who felt most confident they would soon resolve the foreclosure problem reported the fewest symptoms. Not surprising? J. Michael Collins, the author of the study, says the news is how the respondents handle their stress: They work through it. Collins says his past studies of people coping with foreclosure suggested that “the more stressed people are, the less likely they’d be to look for help [with the mortgage].” But in the latest study on this topic, most of the subjects were assertive about getting mortgage counseling and other aid instead of succumbing to the stress symptoms and avoiding the mortgage problem. “Their response is a [drive] for action, to try and get something done,” Collins suggests.

This article appears in the December 2009 issue of Chicago magazine.

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