Cost of Living Impact on Mental Health - Rehab Recovey UK

People are doing everything that they can to manage the cost of living crisis. People have cut back on their food shops, turned their heating off to sit in the cold and have even started to work from home to reduce the amount of money that they are spending on their petrol each week.

However, constantly having to battle against things that are out of your control is always going to take a toll on your mental health, and suffering from mental health issues at this time won’t be making things any easier.

Unfortunately, over 1.5 million people across England are currently suffering from debt and mental health issues due to the cost of living [1]. We are actually already seeing the outcomes of this, with a recent study carried out from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy discovering that 66% of all current working therapists have said that their client’s mental health has started to decline with the current cost of living [2].

As we all know, a decline in public mental health has consequences that affect the rest of society, with more people abusing alcohol and other substances when they feel depressed or anxious. [3]

The infographic/ PDF to download highlights some additional facts and figures surrounding the cost of living crisis and how this links to poor mental health.

References [1] https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/money-and-mental-health-facts/ [2] https://www.bacp.co.uk/news/news-from-bacp/2022/8-september-cost-of-living-crisis-survey-shows-impact-on-mental-health/ [3] See alcoholism rehabilitation article.

Male Healthwatch volunteer at a community event

Stay well this winter toolkit, information

There are a number of things you can do to help including getting your winter vaccinations and using the NHS 111 service first for any urgent medical need. The below links take you to the relevant advice and information to support you during the winter.

Let’s Talk about...Suicide Prevention

Suicide is preventable – If you or someone you know is having suicidal
thoughts, we can all help those at risk. In the UK in 2019, 6524 people took their own lives. Men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide. Women are more likely to report suicidal thoughts. Click on the link to download a useful information leaflet.