Prologue from Youth Work Resource

Today on the blog we have a guest post from Keith at Rehab Recovery highlighting the impact the cost of living crises is having on mental health. This post focuses on the impact of mental health on adults but, this will be directly impacting the young people who live in the same households as these adults so we hope it will be useful to our readers.

The Blog…

Lots of people right now are struggling with the cost of living. This is inevitably having a huge impact on the mental wellbeing of people up and down the country. There has always been a strong link between financial wellbeing and mental wellbeing, and the current crisis is having a ripple effect through our society.

Mental health charity MIND has invested a lot of time and resources into research on how the cost of living is impacting our mental health.

Money has always had an effect on wellbeing and emotions. There is still a huge amount of shame associated with financial struggle, and for this reason lots of people are embarrassed at admitting that they are struggling and asking for help. 

Unfortunately, this sense of shame means that a lot of people who desperately need financial help and support simply ignore the issue, instead of seeking help [1, 2, 4].

Mental health will always be affected by a range of social, environmental and economic situations and conditions. This is why we can only hope and pray that things get better in the coming months and years [2].

When people suffer from financial struggle as well as mental health issues, it is easy for them to feel out of control [1]. This is why it is more important than ever to seek help for your struggles [3]. If you need someone to talk to, then there are a range of services available to you, including MIND and Citizens Advice.

(Click the image below to open it separately)

References

[1] https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-strategy/working-harder-for-people-facing-poverty/facts-and-figures-about-poverty-and-mental-health/

[2] Cooper K, Stewart K. Does Money Affect Children’s Outcomes? An Update. Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, 2017. [Google Scholar]

[3] See alcohol rehab in Cumbria.

[4] Cooper K, Stewart K. Does Money in Adulthood Affect Adult Outcomes? Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2015. [Google Scholar]