Money and mental health
Poor mental health can make earning and managing money harder. And worrying about money can make your mental health worse. It can start to feel like a vicious cycle. Here, you can find out more about organising your finances, claiming benefits when you have a mental health problem, dealing with services, and looking after your mental health when you’re worried about money.
The link between money and mental health
Worries about money can have an impact on your mental health. And your mental health can affect how you manage your money. Learn more about how the two affect each other, and get tips for getting to know your money and mood patterns.
Organising your finances
Find out how to manage your money when you’re unwell, including what to do if you can’t afford bills or food, and how to plan ahead.
Claiming benefits
You might be able to claim benefits if you have a mental health problem. Find out what you could claim, and the steps involved in claiming.
Dealing with services
Find out how to tell services you have a mental health problem, and get tips for managing phone calls, appointments and opening letters.
Getting support
It can feel hard to talk about money problems. But if you need professional money advice, or support with your mental health, there is help available.
Our money and mental health toolkit
We've also produced a free PDF workbook full of tips and tools to help you manage your money and your mental health. You can use it on your own, or ask someone you trust to help you work through it.
When I find myself getting into debt problems, my mental health deteriorates, which means I am more likely to go on another spending spree and make debt problems worse. It all goes round in a vicious cycle.
This information was published in August 2021. We will revise it in 2024.
