Around one in two UK adults who are struggling with bill payments and mounting debts could also suffer from mental health problems, it has been revealed.
New research funded by financial guidance charity Money Advice Trust and the Finance and Leasing Association shows that half of adult Britons suffer from anxiety, depression and stress as a result of their debt woes .
It also reveals that those suffering mental health issues are less likely to seek help with their financial difficulties, and that customers with debts are unlikely to disclose their mental health problems for fear of embarrassment or their condition being used against them.
Beccy Boden Wilks, spokesperson for the Money Advice Trust, said: "We often speak to clients who feel depressed and who have visited their GP due to the stress and anxiety caused by their debt situation."
She suggested that people should seek professional help on how to manage finances and prioritise debts, such as loan and credit card repayments, before the stress becomes too much to handle.
The findings, published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and mental health charity
Rethink, have been backed by British comedian and bipolar sufferer Steven Fry.
He said: "My own bipolar condition has caused me to go on many giddy spending sprees so I have first-hand experience of the difficulties of debt brought on by poor mental health."
"An understanding of the relationship between mental health and unmanageable debt should ensure that appropriate advice and support is provided to those who need it."
The report calls for all the relevant agencies to work together to ensure that both people with mental health problems and those in financial difficulties are identified so that they can receive the appropriate support.
It also calls for all financial sector codes of conduct to recognise the existence of customers with mental health issues, and for all health and social care professionals to ask patients about financial problems as part of routine assessments.
Half Of Debt Sufferers May Have Mental Health Issues
Tue, 13 Oct 2009
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