But it really is kind of a vicious cycle: you need social contact to stay mentally healthy, losing your job severs your 9-5 social network. I had to specificall

But it really is kind of a vicious cycle: you need social contact to stay mentally healthy, losing your job severs your 9-5 social network. I had to specifically seek out meetups to keep from going loopy. I'd really say it's less about chickens and eggs and more about selection bias: the 12 month unemployed have something extra wrong in their lives.