If you're worried about cash and how you're going to pay your next round of bills, chances are it will have some sort of effect on your mood. But money worries could affect your mental health more than you might think, suggests the latest report by consumer finance website MoneySavingExpert.com.
Short of cash? It could be bad for your mental health. Photo: Stock.xchng, mailsparky
According to the report, people with mental health problems are more than four times more likely to also be in serious debt when compared with those who aren't suffering from a problem such as depression.
And while 75 of people with mental health problems have serious money worries. The report also points out that 44% of people who seek help with debt problems take prescription medicines - antidepressants, for instance - for a mental health problem.
The question is, do money worries make you depressed, or does depression or other mental health illnesses lead to debt problems? According to the website's founder, financial expert Martin Lewis, it's a bit of both.
"Mental health problems can cause severe debt, and severe debt can cause mental health problems," he says. "Debt isn't just a financial problem, it causes relationships to break up, people to lose their homes and families to break down. No matter who you are, it can be hell."
Martin's team has produced a guide for people with mental health problems who are in debt, which you can download for free. Even if your mental health hasn't been affected, the guide has lots of tips on how to get help if money problems are spiralling out of control.
Should more help be given to people with financial problems?