PERSONAL FINANCE:Money problems can quickly impact on mental health – with devastating results – so protecting it should take priority over any debt collector or threatening letter

IN DAVID COPPERFIELD, Dickens outlined that money management was an emotional issue through the words of the fictional Mr Micawber: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

Dealing with continuous financial problems is incredibly stressful and this stress, if not kept in check, can lead to serious emotional problems. The Samaritans have noted a significant increase in calls with a financial component in recent years and they recently warned of an increase in suicide rates among men in their 30s and 50s directly because of the recession.

“Ongoing stress and pressure leads to depression and can lead to the tragedy of suicide,” says Dr Abbie Lane, a consultant psychiatrist at the Stress Clinic in St John of Gods, an acute psychiatric teaching hospital. “Recently that’s been an issue for men between the ages of 35 and 55, an age group not usually associated with the risk for suicide. In the time of the Celtic Tiger we didn’t see people relating stress to financial difficulties. It was usually in terms of people having too much to do or being too busy. Now there are large groups of people who’ve spent their whole lives working for the future only to find that their investments and savings have been wiped out. That has been devastating for them.”

Michael Culloty from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs), the government-funded organisation which helps people to manage their money problems, notes that the effects of stress are often clear by the time people come seeking help. “We do end up seeing people who we know in our heart and souls need to see a doctor rather than a money adviser,” he says. “Often these are people who aren’t in receipt of welfare and are on a low income. They might be self-employed and have fallen on hard times and sometimes they feel they can’t afford to get help. We have a referral culture at Mabs and we make sure to refer them to other agencies. Those problems can complicate financial issues.”

A common issue for those facing debt, unemployment or insolvency is denial. “I have seen people who keep spending money on lottery tickets, refuse to face the situation and put themselves in a worse position,” says psychotherapist John P O’Connor. “And I’ve also seen people who are completely broken up by the situation and who stay in bed all day and get depressed.”

For many, financial solvency and the ability to provide is a matter of self-worth. “We’re now seeing people who’ve never had psychological difficulties in their lives who’ve become depressed because of the chronic pressure,” says Dr Lane. “They become withdrawn and hopeless, and many wish they were dead and start feeling that their families would be better off if they were dead.”

Emma Keane, a psychotherapist who works with both individuals and families, has seen similar trends. She says that 80 per cent of her clients now highlight financial problems as a relevant issue. It was about 20 per cent in the past.” She notes that traditional Irish approaches to emotional problems can exacerbate the situation. “People don’t talk about things. It’s really Irish to have a stiff upper lip, to not feel sorry for yourself and to say ‘shit happens’ when struggling with finances. That’s really not helpful. The other traditional Irish way of dealing with things is alcohol. It’s cheap and easily accessible and unfortunately a lot of people are leaning on it.”

Instead, she says, one of the first steps for people with financial difficulties is to acknowledge both the nature of the problem and what they feel about it. “There is a clear link between financial issues and depression,” she says. “But people don’t always make the link themselves. Sometimes you get people coming in saying, ‘I’m feeling low. I’m feeling depressed’, and they don’t say why. Then we look at the external factors and see redundancy or debt in the background. People need to acknowledge their problems and what they’re feeling about them in order to move on.”

Without facing up to the psychological side-effects of money issues, people are in danger of making their situation worse. “Most of us are built with coping mechanisms for stress but at a certain point the stressors can get too much, and when that happens, well, it can make people stupid,” says O’Connor. “That’s putting it bluntly but it’s true. When under high stress, people can literally lose the ability to process information. One of the first signs of stress is actually impairment of cognitive functioning.” When this factor is coupled with unreasonable pressure from angry creditors, it can lead to questionable decisions.

It’s important that people get the help they need on two fronts: practical advice from the likes of Mabs – “and the anecdotal evidence is that when we get involved there’s a huge weight taken off people’s shoulders,” says Culloty – and emotional supports from friends, family and healthcare professionals.

“Loss, shame and guilt are all factors when people lose their job or are unable to provide for whatever reason,” says Dr Lane. “So it’s important for them to look to the other thing people get self-esteem from: relationships or community or exercise. Recessions are cyclical. We survive them. But we need to keep steady and supported through them. I don’t think we talk about that enough in Ireland at the moment, and there isn’t enough information out there for people about coping and managing pressure. People might not be able to change financial reality, but with help they can change their perspective and learn to cope.”

Counselling might seem counter-intuitively expensive to those in debt, but there are free and low-cost services available with many independent counsellors do a proportion of free or low-cost work says O’Connor.

One way or another, as people acclimatise to new financial realities, it’s important that they look after their mental health.

“When we talk about what’s valuable in life and what assets people have, we should always remember that their most important asset is their health,” says Culloty. “That should be the primary thing they look after. Finances are a secondary matter. Usually solutions can be found for financial problems; they may not be the solutions you’d ideally want, but they’re solutions and they’re there, and we’re there to help in a confidential and non judgemental- manner. It’s also important that people remember to look after themselves.”

Samaritans: 1850-609090 (offer support 24 hours a day); Mabs Helpline: 1890-283438, 9.00am-8pm, Monday to Friday.