The cost-of-living crisis has been devastating for many people with mental health problems, a new Centre for Mental Health report has found.
Just living and coping: The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on mental health says that people with mental health problems were hit hard by the crisis, with many struggling to get by day-to-day at the expense of their health. The strain of rising bills, skipping meals and working longer hours in low-paid jobs led to severe anxiety, isolation and hopelessness. However, support was often out of reach due to long waiting lists.
Commissioned by Mind, the research explored how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting mental health. Researchers at Centre for Mental Health heard from 500 people across England and Wales, many of whom already had mental health problems. 84% said the crisis had made their mental health worse, with the biggest impacts among those living in the deepest poverty.
The report says that the crisis is affecting people’s sleep, their ability to connect with loved ones and their access to healthy food, all driving poorer mental and physical health.
“Resilience is at an all-time low and it is like having a circular firing squad of pressures around you and you don’t know when it is going to end…. It is impossible to give yourself firm foundations at the moment and to give yourself a life worth living.”
“Everything is going up at the same time and there is nothing left to cut. The last couple of months, the only thing coming into my head is asking how much can I squeeze myself and what else can I do. The mental and physical health impacts of this are huge. It makes the anxiety so much worse.”
Just living and coping says that people with mental health problems are already more likely to live in poverty, which leaves them more vulnerable in the face of economic crises. Previous research in the north of England has shown that half of people with a severe mental illness are in food poverty.
The report says that mental health support is inadequate to meet the escalation in need caused by the cost-of-living crisis, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It calls for all mental health services to offer money, housing and welfare advice in a bid to address the dual crises of mental ill-health and poverty.
Andy Bell, chief executive at Centre for Mental Health, said: “The cost-of-living crisis is a public health emergency. Money problems are a major cause of mental ill health. And people with mental health problems are at greater risk of the worst effects of any financial crisis. This is a vicious circle that for many people is proving impossible to escape, even as inflation rates are now easing.
“Every mental health service must come with ready access to help and advice with money, work and housing. No one with a mental illness should be left without this crucial service, struggling with their finances when help could be at hand to ease this burden.”
