Posted on May 29, 2009 at 2:08 am Is there something wrong with people that's why they overspend or the debt comes first and then it makes people all the more crazy? I mean which comes first debt or mental illness?

Posted on May 29, 2009 at 2:26 am According to a study done in the United Kingdom, which was published online, by the Cambridge University Press in 2008, the more debts people have, the more likely they are going to suffer from mental mental illnesses like anxiety, depressive disorder, psychosis, and alcohol and/or drug dependence. These kinds of mental illnesses prevent people from holding down good paying jobs and thus putting them in the position of incurring debts. The study also shows that if a person is in good mental shape prior to incurring debt, being in debt can and will erode his/her mental health at some point.The importance of that study for psychiatrists and consumers alike was that--before they can even treat their patients for a mental disorder, the potential patient's financial situation should be assessed or questioned, and if it turns out that the patient is deep in debt, the psychiatrists might refer the the potential patient to a DEBT MANAGEMENT expert first.

Posted on May 29, 2009 at 4:54 am While certainly debt causes a lot of mental stress for people, it's also obvious for anyone who has been in debt before (myself included) that sometimes spending on credit cards is in itself an indication of something else going on.  A lot of people relieve stress by going shopping, for example.  I've read about that study and it doesn't show conclusively that the people in that study didn't already have stress before they accumulated the debt. Also, having worked at a debt settlement company, there were several cases of people with mental illnesses (bi-polar in particular) who would rapidly accumulate debt during a manic phase.   

Posted on May 30, 2009 at 7:49 pm  

Posted on May 31, 2009 at 7:12 pm The decline in savings is perhaps caused by the "buy now, pay later" culture that credit card companies have been aggressively campaigning for. Repayment has become the top priority of most consumers instead of savings--as the new bankruptcy law of 2005 has made it difficult for them to just walk away from their debts.In the 2006 AC Nielsen survey of countries with consumers who have no spare cash, the U.S. shares the top spot with Portugal at 22% followed closely by Canada, the U.K, and France.

Posted on May 31, 2009 at 11:56 pm Another way to determine the relationship between debt, debt stress, and mental illness is the person's environment. If there is peer pressure to appear well off, well to do, to keep up with the trend or a certain lifestyle, or simply not to look poor, and if charging on the credit cards is always an option-- to keep up an appearance...then something is definitely up with the consumer's mindset.It probably is a question of self-esteem and validation. The consumer who overspends because of pressure from society --definitely needs to see a life coach.If his/her environment is causing him/her to incur debt and worsen his/her mental state, it is definitely time to change scenes.

Posted on July 21, 2009 at 12:31 am I've heard of something called a Debt Stress syndrome and I'm not 100% certain if it really does exist. Apparently its symptoms are lack of sleep and constant anxiety due to incessantly thinking about one's debts. It's a sad thing, really.I've also heard that sometimes people can be driven to commit suicide because they can't be able to pay their debts. I find that really sad. There are ways to get help and I believe consumers going thru these circumstances need to reach out and find ways to get help.

Posted on July 21, 2009 at 2:31 am Unusual approval

Posted on October 13, 2009 at 4:37 am Debt and mental illness. The question is which one was first? They could not have appeared together like that..

Posted on October 13, 2009 at 5:14 am Is there a mental health act that could deal with problems related to debt and mental illness? I don't have the statistics and perhaps schools have not yet surveyed this issue - but I think the recession is the best time to do it, if ever it's taken seriously that is.