The cost-of-living crisis has been devastating for many people with mental health problems, a charity has warned.
The report from the Centre for Mental Health has concluded that people with mental health problems were hit hard by the crisis.
Many struggled 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 because of long waiting lists.
The report, Just living and coping: The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on mental health, was commissioned by fellow mental health charity Mind.
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The researchers heard from 500 people across England and Wales, many of whom already had mental health problems. More than eight out of 10 (84%) said the crisis had made their mental health worse, with the biggest impacts among those living in the deepest poverty.
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, the centre warned.
It also concluded that mental health support post-pandemic remains inadequate to meet the escalation in need caused by the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing health fallout from the pandemic.
The report has called 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,” he added.
Separately, a report from the Mental Health Foundation has concluded an estimated 10 million people across England – almost one in five of the country’s population – are living in areas where local plans for improving the public’s mental health are insufficient.
The charity has pointed to a failure of the UK government to properly support the bodies responsible for these plans over the last two years.
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