Mind reveals mental health toll of cost-of-living crisis, with 2.7 million people considering suicide because of financial pressure

Posted on 31st October 2023 by Dan Price

Research published by Mind today shows the full impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the nation’s mental health, with three in every 50 (6 per cent) people in England and Wales saying they have considered ending their lives because of it.

Other findings include that one in five (20 per cent) people report worsening depression because of the cost of living, and one in ten (10 per cent) developing disordered eating as a result.

The numbers also show the increased impact on people who were already struggling, with the cost-of-living crisis resulting in:

• People receiving Universal Credit being more than three times more likely to consider suicide because of the cost-of-living crisis than those who don’t receive benefits. [1]

• A third (33 per cent) of people receiving Universal Credit reporting deepening depression.

• A fifth (20 per cent) of people receiving Universal Credit reporting disordered eating.

The figures come ahead of the Autumn Statement, with wide reporting that the UK government will not raise benefits in line with inflation. Mind is calling on the government to make sure benefits continue to cover the essentials and to reconsider changes to Work Capability Assessments, reducing already limited support for people too unwell to work.

People with mental illness in England face ‘horrifically long’ ambulance delays

Posted on 11th September 2023 by Dan Price

Ministers have been accused of “sheer neglect” of people with mental illness as figures reveal one patient waited nearly three days for an ambulance to arrive last year.

Data obtained by the Liberal Democrats shows that ambulance services regularly breached response-time targets in emergency and urgent calls to help patients with a mental health crisis or severe illness last year.

The figures show the longest waits for emergency mental health ambulance callouts, which should be seven minutes on average, were more than two hours in 2022. The longest wait for an urgent callout, which is less of a priority than an emergency call, was more than 70 hours for an ambulance to reach one patient in the south-west of England.

Antidepressants: I wasn't told about the side effects

Posted on 15th August 2023 by Tegan Chelsea

Up to 3m UK people behind on bills have had mental health problems, study says

Posted on 25th July 2023 by Dan Price

Up to 3 million people in the UK who are behind with at least one bill have experienced a mental health problem in the last two years, according to research.

YouGov polling for the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute charity found that 12% of participants were behind on at least one payment such as energy, rent or credit cards, of whom half had a mental health problem. That equates to 3 million people who are behind on a payment and who have experienced a mental health problem in the previous two years, the authors calculated.

In all, people who have had mental health problems in the past two years are three times more likely to be behind on at least one significant bill, the report found, with 60% saying they felt unable to cope due to rising costs. Yet only 9% have received money or debt advice since the start of the cost of living crisis.

To read the full article click here

Record numbers of children seek mental health help from NHS England

Posted on 27th June 2023 by Dan Price

A record 1.4 million children and young people sought NHS help for mental health problems last year, amid concern that under-18s are struggling with issues including about money and their education.

The number of school-age children being referred to child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs) has undergone an “explosion” in the last three years, soaring by 76% since 2019, NHS figures show.

That year 812,070 under-18s in England were referred to Camhs for treatment of anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other psychological problems.

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Who should be responsible for mental health care?

Posted on 16th June 2023 by Dan Price

I’m writing in response to your article on mental health support for students in universities (Parents outline ‘woeful’ mental health support for students at UK universities, 2 June). Amid arguments that universities should become quasi-mental health service providers, university staff are already struggling under pressure to support mental health.

My mother is a mental health professional. She had nine years of university and three years of on-the-job training. I had nine years of university and three years of on-the-job training to become a lecturer. My mother’s training involved learning how to protect her own wellbeing while helping others. My training did not. Most university staff are not mental health professionals, and the few who are need more support.

To read the full article click here