How to help your mental health during the cost of living crisis

We know that the cost of living crisis is impacting everyone, that is a sad reality of this situation that we are all faced with.

Costs are rising faster, and further than wages are. This is causing the country to go further into a recession.

For the average person in Britain, this means they will have less disposable income at the end of each month meaning they’ll have to cut down on spending.

Some people may even have to resort to borrowing money, with Credit Karma finding out that £5bn has been borrowed on credit cards this year so far, which is alarmingly high.

While we are not a mental health charity, we want our customers to know how much we care about them.

We understand that times like these can be tough, and we are here every step of the way.

Remember, speaking up helps

We know how hard it can be to ask for help when things start to feel a bit rocky. It can be scary, and overwhelming to deal with by yourself.

There are so many places that you can go for support.

• Samaritans
• Mind
• Young Minds
• Rethink

These are just some of the help that is out there, there are many more.

A recent Rethink Mental Illness survey, which asked almost a thousand people living with mental illness about their financial experiences and priorities, found that, even before the pandemic, money issues were strongly linked to poor mental health. For example, more than half (59%) said that over the last 12 months concerns about money had impacted on their mental health “a lot”.

Other issues included:

• 38% experienced not having enough money to afford enough food
• Half experienced not having enough money to repair or replace an essential item
• A third (29%) experienced not having enough money to afford utilities – the recent increase in fuel and energy prices means that this figure would be higher if people were asked today.

If you are seriously suffering, please speak to your GP as soon as possible.

They can advise how to help going forward, and make sure you ae properly looked after.

De-clutter your mind

This is another one, whilst it may sound like it’s easy, it sometimes is far from that.

Sometimes your mind can become a bit crowded with anxieties, and worries, and it can be hard to see beyond these.

Especially if you’re worried about money, this can become all consuming.

A simple thing that you can do to help yourself, is write down what is worrying you.

Sometimes that is the hardest part, simply getting it out there.

When things are in front of you, it can be easier to see what to do. And what to priorities first.

This can help you gain some clarity, and see what the next steps could be.

Contact those you may owe money to

This also may sound like a scary thing to do, but it can help. If you are in debt with your bills, call your supplies, and explain the situation.

You would be surprised at how many people are out here willing to lend a hand when things get tough.

We can also help in these situations, if your energy bills are causing you sleepless nights, and stress, we can help.

The first thing to do is send us an application form, and one of our dedicated advisors can point you in the right direction.

The national debt line is a great place to start with this, and can really help.

Take some time for yourself

This could arguably be the most important thing. When times get tough, it can be easy to bury yourself away, and allow the stress to consume you entirely.

It’s important, if you can, to still do things for yourself.

Eat your favourite meal, put on your favourite meal, take your dog for a walk.

There’s so many little things that you can do, to remind yourself that things will be okay.

Even if they don’t seem that way in the moment.

There is always light at the end of the tunnel.