Former CAP client, Susan*, who is now debt free, shares her experience of mental health challenges, problem debt and what she would want others who are going through the same struggles to know.
The link between mental health and debt
Mental health challenges and financial difficulty can go hand in hand. A lot of people struggling with their mental health will start struggling with finances. A lot of people with poor mental health struggle on a daily basis, let alone answering phone calls, opening letters or even looking at bills.
They don’t do this on purpose. It’s not something they want to do, but it all becomes too much, so much that people can’t cope with even the simplest letter that just tells them that they’re getting money for benefits. In the current environment that we live in, there’s not that much support for mental health due to the NHS cuts. So people then spiral and spiral, and then they end up, like me, with mental health problems and debt.
Debt and mental health challenges then make each other worse, and worse, and worse, and the more these work together, the worse you get. Your mental health spirals, meaning you often need help from mental health teams. Then, your finances spiral, ending up with bailiffs turning up at your door. Trying to find help is a nightmare.
Finding support when you feel lost
There is help out there, but when you have poor mental health, the thought of trying to phone someone or be honest with someone that you’re in this financial difficulty, especially if you’re on your own, is very difficult. It’s very difficult to even find a way through.
There is a way through and there are places out there that can support you.
I would say to anybody with mental health challenges that receives any support for mental health teams, just mention it. Mention your struggling. They’ll put you in contact with lots of different debt advice agencies, and there are lots out there. The one I used was CAP, Christians Against Poverty. They changed my debt life, but they also changed my mental health.
The non-judgmental approach of most debt agencies, especially CAP, made me feel included and not an outsider to society. It helped me overcome feelings of worthlessness because of my mental health, and that I was deserving of support and understanding.
They came beside me. They literally held my hand and said, ‘We can help you’.
So I would say to anybody struggling with their mental health, please reach out, whether it’s to CAP or a different debt advice agency, but make sure it’s a free one. There are so many good ones out there.
You are worthy
I would also say that this journey has enlightened me into realising what sort of person I can be without debt, that actually I am worthy. Even if I can’t afford the heating or food, or I can’t afford to go out and do some nice activities, I’m still worthy to have little treats. CAP did that by giving me Christmas boxes and Easter boxes with treats in that all of a sudden made me think, actually, why can’t I have a little treat? I haven’t got a lot of money, but a chocolate bar or something small now and then, that’s okay.
So, I really would say to people with their mental health and financial difficulties, try to find that person that can support you. I know it’s very hard when you’re on your own to trust someone and to reach out.
One thing that I found positive working with CAP is you’re talking to a stranger. They don’t know you, so they’re not going to judge you.
You’ll not be pre-judged on your mental health or your financial difficulties. You will be taken as a person, not as your illness or not as your debt.
For anybody struggling at the moment, just look into what support you can get, and sometimes having an outsider to help you is so much easier than getting support from your family, because you can be honest, and you don’t feel like you’re going to be judged.
*Name has been changed on request.
