Debt and Health

It probably comes as little surprise to most that debt and money problems can have a serious effect on your health. And debt worries don’t just cause mental health problems, but can have a detrimental effect on your physical health as well.

Stress, clinical depression, anxiety, sleeping problems and a loss of appetite are common amongst those with debt worries and all of these things can result in a negative effect on both your mental and physical wellbeing.

A recent document released by The Forum for Mental Health highlights the severity of the effect of debt on health. It states that half of the people in debt have some form of mental health disorder (obviously ranging in severity from the mild to the more serious). They put this in context by going on to explain that only 14% of those not in debt suffer a mental disorder of any kind. Their research has also found that people who owe money to five or more creditors are six times as susceptible to such disorders and that debt is also deemed by mental health experts to be an official suicide risk for those who suffer mental health problems.

These are particularly worrying statistics in light of rising unemployment. However, the facts and figures aren’t all doom and gloom. The research into the links between debt and health also found that between 84 and 90% of all those suffering debt related mental health problems saw significant improvement in 2 – 4 years when seeking the advice of debt advisors.

Anybody whose health is suffering as a result of debt would be well advised to seek assistance in dealing with the matter urgently. There are plenty of debt solutions and free advice available and seeking such advice out is incredibly likely to improve your state of mind.