Threat of Debt to Those With Mental Health Problems
People with mental health issues are more than three times more likely to develop a severe debt problem than the average consumer, recent research has shown. The report, produced by mental health charity Mind, has shown that those who suffer from bipolar disorder (also known as manic depressives) are especially vulnerable, as during their ‘manic’ phases they are prone to expensive shopping sprees and impulsive purchases.
Of course, this isn’t to say that people in debt are more prone to mental health problems. The vast majority of debtors are ordinary people who have seen their debts pile up for ordinary reasons – job loss, routine overspending, a long sickness, and so on and so forth. What these findings do highlight is the how vulnerable certain groups can be in a culture of easy credit. The targeting of credit cards to the young has been widely criticised, and with good reason – it normalises debt for young people just as they begin to earn. Equally, numerous members of the IVA forum have cited depression and bereavement as being causes of their debt. When someone is upset, they don’t think about the full consequences of their spending, and it is all too easy to get into a serious level of debt.
Once again, more responsible lending, based not just on an individual’s income and credit report but on their personal circumstances and situation, is something that needs to be implemented more by creditors. This needs to be carefully handled – responsible lending needs to be avoid discriminating against those with mental health problems and other difficulties, while at the same time protecting troubled people from taking on an excessive amount of debt. Otherwise, we will continue to see the unfortunate pattern of vulnerable members of society running up enormous amounts of debt that they cannot afford to repay.
