Number of people calling mental health helplines soars by 50% in one year - and 'financial pressures' are to blame
- - Mind, a mental health charity, has noticed a sharp increase in the number of people
- calling their infoline
- - Charity CEO Paul Farmer said that financial worries were usually the root cause of
- despair and worry
|
The number of people ringing helplines to seek advice for mental illness has shot up by an ‘alarming’ 50 per cent, according to new figures.
The nature of the calls made by those who anonymously seek help has also changed – with more people contemplating suicide.
Mind, the mental health charity who compiled the data, have described the figures as ‘alarming’ and have urged people to seek help as soon as they are concerned about their state of mind.
Mind, a UK mental health charity, has noticed a sharp increase in those calling their infoline for help. The amount of people ringing with 'complex and acute' problems had increased more specifically
Mind found that the number of calls rose to over 68,000 in 2012/13, from 46,000 in 2011/2012.
They said that they had seen a corresponding shift in the nature of calls, with people presenting more acute and complex problems.
This was reflected in a ‘concerning’ 30 per cent rise in calls relating to suicide.
Many cases, they added, were as result of 'severe financial worries'.
Paul Farmer, CEO for Mind, said that many calls were related to financial worries such as rising living costs
In response to the figures, Mind said there was an increased need for its services, and urged people not to wait until they hit crisis point before seeking help.
Paul Farmer, CEO for Mind said: ‘Today many people face the stark reality of severe financial pressures - be it through employment worries, benefit cuts, increased cost of living, or a lethal combination of all three.
‘We urge anyone who needs our support to pick up the phone and to do it today.
Earlier this year a study conducted by Oxford University political economist Dr David Stuckler and Dr Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor of medicine and an epidemiologist at Stanford University, concluded that 'austerity is devastating the health of people in Europe and North America by driving suicide, depression, and the spread of infectious disease'.
It said that reduced access to medicines and care was further compounding people's problems.
It also suggested that the high employment rates across Europe had increased drug abuse and even contributed to the increased spread of HIV.
No comments:
Post a Comment