How do recessions actually damage people's ability to live with dignity?

When a recession hits, what happens isn't abstract. People lose steady work, and with it, the ability to plan their lives with confidence. I've thought about this carefully: dignity isn't something you're born with and keep—it's something you practice and maintain through meaningful work and the security to provide for yourself. A recession strips that away. You see it in the details. Someone who's worked thirty years suddenly worries they're not valuable. A parent has to explain to their child why they can't afford something they could last month. The anxiety spreads: you work harder for less, take worse terms just to survive, compromise on what matters to you. What troubles me most is how quickly people internalize this as personal failure when it's structural. The economy contracts—demand drops, businesses cut costs—but somehow the person who lost their job feels they failed. That's backwards. A society's measure isn't what happens in good times; it's how it treats people when the system breaks. Does this mean you're powerless? No. But it means recognizing that your struggle isn't individual shame—it's a signal that the system needs repair. That clarity, I think, is where dignity begins to return.