Mental Health

Debt isn’t just a financial problem, it causes relationships to break up, people to lose their homes and families to break down. No matter who you are, it can be hell.

Debt is a common problem for people living with mental health problems.

While describing the problem is easy, the solutions aren’t.

Debt and mental health problems, can be caused by a range of events such as unemployment, redundancy, bereavement, relationship breakdown etc. There is invariably a link between mental health issues and debt. With debt, comes stress and anxiety.

Mental health problems can also make it difficult to deal with money day to day, affecting motivation, judgement and income, as well as ability to do things like make calls or open post.

People struggling with debt feel that they are on their own in their struggle. It’s important to recognise that you are not struggling alone.

The Stages Of Depression

People do not become depressed overnight. It takes time, usually weeks or months. Some people have identified these are stages of depression:

Stage One - Warning signs

Work out what your warning signs are, eg, tension headaches, back pain, bad skin or arguments at work.

Stage Two – Burnout

You start to struggle and make mistakes. Time is short and your brain is inefficient. You may be snappy and generally down.

Stage Three – Depression

You are unable to enjoy things you used to and a low mood lasts more than two weeks. You lose weight, can’t sleep or concentrate.

It can take time before you feel strong enough to tackle debt problems and put things right, but there is always a path through. If you do find that you are in financial difficulty as a result of your mental health, don’t despair – there are lots of little positive steps you can take to sort it out.

If you are very unwell or in a crisis, delay important financial decisions until you feel more able.

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