“Mental Health and Debt Guide” is a free 44-page PDF booklet supported by Mind, Rethink, CAPUK and others, for people with mental health problems and those caring for them.
It covers how to handle debts when unwell, work with banks, free debt counselling, specific tips for bipolar disorder or depression sufferers, whether to declare a condition and more.
You can download it from the website.
Martin Lewis has also launched the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. Having planned it for years, in 2016 Martin founded the big new Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, run by former No. 10 special advisor Polly Mackenzie. The aim is to research, investigate and lobby for change in mental health issues and debt.
As an idea of what it looks like, one area of exploration is giving people tools when they’re well, so they can control themselves when they’re not. For example, spending sprees are common both with clinical depression and bipolar disorder. So being able to put a freeze on your credit file that takes eight weeks to unlock, so you can’t apply meanwhile, would be useful.
