More than 1.5 million people in England are struggling with a 鈥榲icious cycle鈥� of spiralling debt and mental health problems, according to new research.
People with mental health issues are 3.5 times more likely to be in problem debt than those without mental health problems, the study by the charity Money and Mental Health Policy Institute revealed.
The research found the link was even stronger for certain conditions, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
It also revealed nearly half (46%) of all people in problem debt also experience a mental health problem.
Fairer deal
We鈥檙e backing the charity鈥檚 calls for the government to use its upcoming Consumer White Paper to ensure people with mental health problems get a fairer deal from essential services like banks, energy or broadband providers 鈥� and more protection from aggressive debt collection practices.
Last year, we also joined the charity in calling for the Government to change 34-year-old legislation around lenders鈥� letters, that is contributing to the mental health issues of people in problem debt.
Martin Bell, 香港六合彩精准资料 Head of Policy and Stakeholder Engagement, said: 鈥淭hese shocking statistics show the scale of the link between mental health problems and spiralling debt. Action has to be taken to address this widespread problem.
鈥淪ervices and companies should be working to support their most vulnerable customers, rather than threatening them or penalising them because they are facing mental health problems.
Not alone
鈥淧eople in debt can feel isolated, vulnerable and not know which way to turn. We want to stress that people in debt are not alone. There is a lot of help available, from debt advice to mental health support, including from our trained 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellors.鈥�
Nearly half (46%) of all people in problem debt also experience a mental health problem, the research revealed.
The research found people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are six times more likely to experience serious financial difficulties than people
People with bipolar disorder or depression are around five times more likely to have problem debt.
The research was based on analysis of new national data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, a nationally representative survey of over 7,500 people across England.
Vicious cycle
Helen Undy, Chief Executive of Money and Mental Health, said: 听鈥淲hen you鈥檙e struggling with your mental health it can be much harder to stay in work or manage your spending, while being in debt can cause huge stress and anxiety 鈥� so the two issues feed off each other, creating a vicious cycle which can destroy lives. Yet despite how connected these problems are, financial services rarely think about our mental health, and mental health services rarely consider what鈥檚 happening with our money.
鈥淭he government has an opportunity to use its upcoming Consumer White Paper to introduce minimum standards that people with mental health problems can expect across essential services like energy and banking, to ensure that they get a fair deal. That should include help to avoid problem debt, and better protection from aggressive debt collection practices when it does happen.鈥�
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