This article is from page 10 of the 2013-10-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
FINANCIAL issues, debt and the 2014 Budget announced on Wednesday are seriously impacting on the mental health of the county.
According to those on the coal face, including Clare MABS co-ordinator Denis Corbett and psychiatrist Dr Moosajee Bhamjee, more and more people are presenting at their offices with anxiety and depression directly associated with financial worries.
“It has been the cause of a number of suicides as well. It is a major issue. We are now getting people in families, wives and husbands – who are worried. People think it is only contractors and builders or business people who owe a lot to the bank that are coming,” said Dr Bhamjee who reported mental health issues related to financial worries are increasing in the county year on year.
“We are seeing people with anxiety and that anxiety is turning into depressive symptoms.”
He said there is also a resulting increase in alcoholism and marriage disharmony.
“People are accustomed to a certain standard of living and now find it difficult to adjust. A lot of people need tranquillisers to calm down and maybe sleeping tablets at night. Other people are using yoga and doing some light exercise to help,” he said.
“The whole society is stressed at the moment. This budget has put more stress on mental health, more so on the elderly,” said the psychiatrist and former Labour TD.
“Counselling does give people help, support and reassurance. It might not be able to solve their financial issues but it can provide a way of coping with stress.”
Mr Corbett agreed that MABS in Clare is also seeing an increase in people with financially related anxiety and depression seeking help.
“When your basic needs are threatened then you are in trouble,” he said.
MABS is calling for a working group to be established to develop and agree mental health guidelines for banks and lending institutes so that people in debt with mental health issues are treated appropriately.
“It is about support. It is not that people don’t want to act, it is that they can’t and need support,” he said.
On Friday at a special seminar on Budget 2014 in Ennis chairperson Dermot Hayes said, “This is the seventh year of budgets cuts on welfare recipients and low income families. Pushing people further into to cutting essentials. That enable them to live a quality of life and to sustain reasonable health and lifestyle.”