SCHENECTADY — Mary Pacifico, of Rotterdam, said she wasn't overly stressed about the country's financial condition Sunday as she sat having lunch at Panera Bread in the Mohawk Commons.

“Sure, you worry about your purchases because you're trying to stretch your dollar and we have two kids in private schools, but it's not changing my life,” she said.

For some, the recent dramatic financial downturn, may have more than just an affect on their pocketbook, it could have an affect on their emotional state as well.

Ronald Nathan, a psychologist with a private practice in Albany who also served as a clinical professor at Albany Medical College for 10 years, said he thinks the country's financial state is having an affect on people in ways they might not realize.

He said the affect is related to the “fight or flight” response that humans have developed, which physically prepares people faced with any type of danger.

Nathan said a body's response while in fight or flight mode accounts for 60 percent of all visits to physicians for all sort of stress-related illnesses including muscle tension and headaches, stomach problems and insomnia. If the stress and anxiety go on long enough, Nathan said, those who are predisposed to depression can become depressed.