RESEARCH WEEKLY: Money and mental health
(Aug. 2, 2016) Poor mental health can worsen financial health, and people with bipolar disorder are among those at the highest risk for negative impacts.
“It has long been accepted that financial problems can worsen mental health, but our evidence shows that mental health problems can also have a detrimental effect on personal finances,” the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute said in releasing Money on Your Mind.
“Financial issues and mental health problems become a vicious cycle; each feeds off the other, creating a trap that can be exceptionally hard to break out of out.”
“Money on Your Mind”
The study of money and mental health reports on a survey of nearly 5,500 respondents in Britain diagnosed with a range of mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression and 12 other diagnoses.
The occurrence of financial decisions that worsened financial health (e.g., overspending, putting off bills, taking out ill-advised loans) was high across all the diagnoses, according to the study, but consistently highest in those with bipolar, alcohol or drug dependence, borderline personality disorder or ADHD/ADD.
More people with bipolar disorder than any other condition reported that their mental illness made their financial situation worse – 88%, compared with 85% for personality disorder and 84% for schizophrenia or other psychotic condition. Experiencing a manic episode was identified as one of seven major drivers that resulted in higher spending.
Individuals with bipolar disorder also were more likely than individuals with other disorders to report that their financial situation worsened their mental health – 91%, compared with 85% of those with schizophrenia or psychosis.
The most commonly identified financial impact of poor mental health was to the ability to make “sensible, rational or balanced decisions” about money. “Most of these respondents detailed financially damaging actions they took while unwell, which they described with words such as ‘reckless,’ ‘incomprehensible, ‘stupid’ or ‘idiotic,'” the report said.
Financial Impacts
Impacts of bad financial decisions included going without “essentials” such as food or heating and being dependent on others to survive. The respondents reported that these impacts had impacts of their own, including feelings of worthlessness or feeling guilty about their children going without as a result, the study said.
Earlier this year, a report from the National Alliance for Caregiving detailed the financial impact mental health conditions have on caregivers in On Pins & Needles: Caregivers of Adults with Mental Illness. Nearly 65% of the 1,601 respondents caring for adults with mental illness reported that their care recipients depended completely or significantly on them for financial support. This compared with 49% of all caregivers.
One in four caregivers of adults with mental illness reported feeling “high financial strain” as a result of caregiving, compared with 16% of adults without mental health issues.
References:
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. (June 2016). Money on Your Mind.
National Alliance for Caregiving. (February 2016). On Pins & Needles: Caregivers of Adults with Mental Illness.
