Mental Health and Debt Guide Blog Discussion

Former_MSE_Archna

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's blog. Please read the blog first, as this discussion follows it.

Read Martin's 'Mental Health and Debt Guide ' Blog.

Click reply to discuss below.

Ghostlove

I have several mental illnesses (and some others pending diagnosis in January when I finally see a psychiatrist) and am in a lot of debt which is spiralling badly. I am glad to see someone 'in the public eye' recognise that those of us who are 'mad' are disproportionately more likely to also have debt problems and difficulty understanding and managing those debts. I am looking forward to your piece with interest.

fermi

Had wondered what had happened to this.

A shame that it has been delayed a bit, but I'm very pleased to see that Martin is persevering with it. As said, it is an important area that has not really been addressed well in the past.

Thanks.

Airwolf1

I think one of the things involved with this type of a scenario is a person or carer (who may be purely a family member) not knowing/realising what benefits they (the carer and the cared for) could be entitled to.

kayla99

I’m a mental health nurse, and have come across many individuals who have accumulated vast amounts of debt when unwell, particularly people in a ‘manic phase’ of Bi-Polar.
In these cases when the debt has occurred through genuine illness the Consultant has written a supporting letter to confirm this and the debt eventually has been written off. I have seen this with bank loans, credit cards and Hp agreements. But you need to have a supportive mental health team to achieve this, as the process is not easy, and it’s not guaranteed to work.

bigsnap

Mind have a section of their website devoted to this issue - www.mind.org.uk/money - and a report "In the red - debt and mental health" with a foreword by none other than the MSE himself.

There's also a guide at http://www.mhdebt.info/finaldemand.pdf.

bramblejam

Will this guide just be for/about people with bipolar, schizophrenia etc or will there be a section for the sometimes quite serious mental health effects of being in debt? I've had quite serious depression caused by stumbling into debt, and the good old NHS won't fund a therapist, you end up paying £40 an hour that you can ill afford. Well I did, anyway.

kayla99

I don’t know if I am allowed to say this , but if I am not, the board moderators will remove the post, so here I go.

I work full time, as a Mental Health Nurse [I’m also a wife, and a mother to three, one of whom has Autism] , therefore I don’t have that much spare time, but I am willing to help people with Mental Illness with DLA claims, or point people in the right direction for advice. I work in the North West, so have a strong knowledge base of services available in that area.

I have had many successes when supporting clients in applying for DLA. If you feel I can offer you any advice, please ask

Kay

vegankris

I tried climbing the ladder (into retail management) a few years back and found it far too stressful as I suffer from anxiety. I'd rather be poorer and at the bottom of the ladder because my happiness and mental health is worth far more to me than getting a good wage... unfortunately I took out my mortgage at the time when I was awaiting a promotion and imagining that in a few years I'd be a much higher earner.

Mia_Moore

I had a reasonably well paid job and was doing quite well until the depression which had dogged much of my life returned. I was off work and things got out of control, I was really struggling financially and this made me feel even more worthless than I felt before. The constant phone calls and demands for money sent my stress levels through the roof that after every call I self harmed, and I almost gave up on living.
I was so ashamed about my illness and my finances, so I kept everything to myself.

Thankfully, after psychiatric care and a support worker who told me about CCCS I am feeling much more positive, and do feel like I can breathe again.

Sorry waffle-waffle.

rach

Would definitely recommend that you (Martin and the MSE team) work with organisations like MIND and Rethink on this as not only will they be able to advise and help you practically but they will be a key partner in getting the resource out there for people