Martin Lewis’ charity warns of mental health impact of cost of living crisis

Soaring bills are having a worrying impact on people’s mental health, according to a new report by Martin Lewis’ charity.

The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute found that worries over the cost of living crisis are driving people to have suicidal thoughts.

The report found that 17 per cent of respondents to a survey had experienced suicidal thoughts in the past nine months because of financial concerns relating to the rising cost of everyday items and bills.

Three in 10 people surveyed in the 2,049 YouGov poll said they had fallen behind on at least one bill.

And harassment from debt collectors is contributing to mental health problems suffered by those in arrears, with 11 per cent of respondents saying they “dread” opening post from energy companies, banks and other creditors.

The report calls for the government to prevent debt collectors from harassing people, as is the case in the US.

There are no rules in the UK as to how many times debt collectors can get in touch with those in arrears, whereas in the US it is limited to seven times a week.

The report also hopes the national suicide prevention strategy will be urgently updated to reflect cost-of-living-associated difficulties.

One survey respondent said he ended up becoming a recluse after a debt collector contacted him seven times in seven hours, so he just stopped answering the phone at all.

Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, who has opened up about his own struggles with mental health, said: “The link between serious financial problems and suicidal thoughts is long established.

“So it’s no surprise that the cost of living crisis, with bills hugely increasing, on the back of the pandemic is causing some people growing distress.

He continued: “Yet the scale of this distress is particularly worrying, and it leaves a serious concern about the impact on the number of people who may consider taking their own lives. We know that being bombarded with letters, calls and threats of court action from debt collectors can lead people to feel hopeless, helpless and even contribute to people becoming suicidal.

“So the sooner there are specific protections put in place to limit how and how often debt collectors can contact people about missed payments the better – even the bastion of free markets, the USA, has tighter rules on that than we do.”

Helen Undy, chief executive of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, told The Guardian that the government needed to learn from mistakes made during in the last recession when it comes to the link between mental health and money worries.

She said suicidal rates increased in the previous recession and the government needs to act with urgency this time.

“There is rarely a single cause for someone becoming suicidal, but it’s clear that the barrage of letters and calls bombarding people with debt problems is causing huge distress,” she said.