How money impacts mental health

MENTAL HEALTH AND MONEY

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Introduction 1. Mental health and money 2. How do you feel about money? 3. What can help

In this lesson, you'll explore how money can impact mental health.  

KEY LEARNINGS

  • The links between money and mental health
  • How money makes you feel
  • Recognising habits caused by money worries

Read time:

5 mins

Chapter 1 - Mental health and money

Chapter 1

Mental health and money

Read time:

1 min

The links between mental health and money

Your money and your mental health are linked: they can impact each other. Mental ill health can cause difficulty earning and managing money, which can lead to money problems. Money problems can then worsen the situation. 

Image showing a diagram demonstrating how mental health issues make it harder to earn and manage money. In turn this leads to financial difficulty, which can cause stress and anxiety and worsen mental health issues.

46% of people in debt also had a mental health problem, according to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute

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Introduction - How money impacts mental health
Chapter 2 - How do you feel about money?

Chapter 2

How do you feel about money?

Read time:

2 mins

Money, mental health and you

Now that you know money can affect your mental health, take some time to think about how money makes you feel.

A question for you

Answer this question by selecting the option that best matches how you feel

You're not alone

In a survey by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, 72% of people said that mental health problems had made their money issues worse.

If you know anyone who struggles with money worries due to mental ill health, they're not alone.

In a survey by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, 72% of people said that mental health problems had made their money issues worse.

Questions to ask yourself

  • Does money make you feel confident or nervous?
  • Does money make you feel relaxed or stressed?
  • Do you talk about money openly with family, or do you struggle to speak up?
  • Do you avoid money problems, or do you see them as an everyday challenge?

After answering these questions, try to pinpoint what it is about money that affects your mental health. For example, does talking about money make you feel anxious, or does working out a budget cause you stress?

Write it down

Try keeping a diary of your money and your mood. Keeping track of what you buy, and how you felt before and after buying, might help you work out why you're spending. 

Note down how you feel after spending money, managing money or speaking with your bank. This can help you find out what might be causing you to feel stressed or upset about money. 

Research showed that 76% of people with mental health problems found it hard to communicate with service providers.

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Online money concerns

Some people are worried about online fraud or scams. People with a mental health illness are more likely to become a victim of fraudsters because they're vulnerable. 

Knowing whether this affects you can help you plan and protect yourself against fraud and reduce the chances of being caught in a scam. 

Want to find out more on how to protect yourself online? Our Stay safe and secure online lessons have plenty of tips and advice.

Tools that can help

If you’re still not sure how you are feeling about money, it might be useful to use a tool to help. 

Lots of people feel sad or angry when they think about money, but 'sad' and 'angry' can mean lots of different things. 

The Feelings Wheel by Dr Gloria Wilcox can help you discover which emotion you are feeling, and this can help you to explore why you feel that way. 

Chapter 1 - Mental health and money
Chapter 3 - What can help

Chapter 3

What can help

Read time:

2 mins

The impact of money worries

For many people, it's difficult to talk, or even think, about money. Worrying about money can lead to sleep troubles. It can cause physical aches and pain, and it can affect social lives. 

Let's look at some of the impacts of money worries, plus ideas on what can help.

Mental health illnesses such as anxiety and depression can cause a lack of motivation for managing money problems, leading to further debt. 

Learning to budget can be a helpful way to plan ways out of money issues. If this would help you, or someone you know, try our Budgeting Basics lessons. 

Feeling low or sad might lead to overspending on things such as food, clothes or gifts as a way of feeling better. 

Mental health illnesses that cause mania or hypomania may lead to impulsive purchases or decisions, leading to debt. 

Self-help tools, exercise and meditation might help with overspending. But if you're experiencing mania and it's affecting your finances, speak to your doctor or healthcare provider.

Gambling often starts as fun or a release from everyday life and mental health issues. But it can quickly lead to money problems if lots of money is being lost. 

Online gambling accounts now have features such as account freezes and gambling limits to help stop gambling addiction and money problems. Your bank can also help by applying money freezes and limits on your bank account if it will help and support you with money worries. 

If you, or someone you know, have an addiction to gambling, you can get advice from BeGambleAware.  

Addiction to drugs or alcohol can hurt your physical and mental health. It can also be a cause of debt and money problems. 

Getting help from a healthcare provider is a priority, but after this, your bank can help with money troubles in this situation.

Help and support are available for all of these. 

It's always worth speaking to your bank to see how they can help you. Many UK banks will be able to give you a month to seek independent, free money advice so that you can plan what to do next with support. 

You can find out more about this in our How your bank can help lesson.

How money impacts mental health: completed!

In this lesson, you've looked at how money can impact mental health.

Chapter 2 - How do you feel about money?

Exit lesson and mark as complete

 

Lloyds Bank Academy is committed to providing information in a way that is accessible and useful for our users. This information, however, is not in any way intended to amount to authority or advice on which reliance should be placed. You should seek professional advice as appropriate and required. Any sites, products or services named in this module are just examples of what's available. Lloyds Bank does not endorse the services they provide. The information in this module was last updated on 26th November 2024.

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