Debt worries cause health problems

Various mental health organisations have expressed concern that the credit crunch is adversely affecting the psychological wellbeing of many Britons, and could even trigger a “mental health disaster”. 

Health insurer Bupa has uncovered that a third of British worker are severely worried about the security of their jobs, and two out of five have said that levels of stress at work have risen since the onset of the financial crisis.

Mental health charity MIND has also stated that the volume of calls to its helpline has doubled year-on-year to October. The charity has put the increase down to the financial fallout.

Additionally, a study conducted by the Legal Services Research Centre revealed that roughly 130,000 people have visited their GP about debt-related stress recently, costing the NHS between £15 and £20 million.

Mental health ailments like stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia have largely been blamed on the rising cost of living, soaring debts and the threat of redundancy, repossession and recession.

In a 400 page report on Mental Capital and Wellbeing, the Government’s Foresight programme identified a strong link between mental health problems and debt.

The report found that debt-ridden individuals have two to three times the rate of depression, three times the rate of psychosis, double the rate of alcohol dependence, and four times the rate of drug dependence compared to the general population.

As recession becomes a reality and the economic downturn hits home for many in the UK, mental health worries are only expected to worsen.

A spokesman for the Department of Health has urged those in debt to seek professional advice about their financial troubles. “The key thing is that people who are experiencing stress and worry about financial issues know where to go to get help and find solutions.”

This entry was posted on 22/10/2008 at 10:23 am and is filed under Debt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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