The Cost-of-Living Crisis And Its Impact On Mental Health.
We need to stop pretending that the cost-of-living crisis is only about money.
It is about stress.
It is about anxiety.
It is about lying awake at night wondering how the next electricity bill will be paid.
It is about standing in a supermarket adding up the cost of groceries before reaching the checkout.
It is about parents cutting back on their own needs so their children do not go without.
It is about people working hard, doing everything they were told they were supposed to do, and still feeling as though they are falling further behind.
Increasingly, all of the above is becoming a mental health crisis.
Yes, the growing cost-of-living crisis is having consequences that reach far beyond household finances. It is increasingly affecting people’s mental health, emotional wellbeing, and sense of security.
Recent research from St Patrick’s Mental Health Services found that almost three-quarters of more than 1,000 adults surveyed, identified the cost of living as the leading factor negatively affecting their mental health. The same research found that 92% of respondents believe there is a worrying level of anxiety in society.
These findings should be taken seriously.
Behind these statistics are individuals and families facing the daily pressure of rising food prices, rents, energy bills, housing costs, childcare expenses, and other essential living costs. For many people, financial stress is no longer an occasional concern. It has become a constant presence in their everyday life.
This pressure can have a profound impact on mental wellbeing. Financial insecurity can affect sleep, concentration, relationships, confidence, and a person’s sense of hope for the future. People may continue going to work, caring for their families, and carrying out their daily responsibilities, while privately struggling with anxiety and fear.
It is important that we continue encouraging people to seek support when they are struggling with their mental health. Counselling, professional services, community supports, family networks, and open conversations all have an essential role to play.
However, we must also recognise that mental health does not exist separately from the daily circumstances in which people live.
It is difficult to reduce anxiety when someone is unsure how they will pay their rent or mortgage.
It is difficult to manage stress when a household is choosing between heating, food, childcare, and other essentials.
It is difficult to tell people simply to “look after themselves” without acknowledging the real and continuing financial pressures many are experiencing.
For some people, anxiety is a direct response to difficult and uncertain circumstances. That means our conversations about mental health must also include honest discussions about housing, wages, energy costs, food prices, childcare, poverty, and financial security.
There are encouraging signs that more people are willing to seek help for mental health difficulties, and that progress should be welcomed. No person should ever feel ashamed for admitting that they are struggling or for asking for support.
At the same time, too many people continue to suffer in silence. Some do not want to worry their families. Others feel embarrassed about financial difficulties or believe they should simply be able to cope. Many appear outwardly well while carrying significant stress privately.
We need a culture in which people feel able to say, without shame, “I am struggling,” or “The financial pressure is becoming too much.”
We also need to recognise that meaningful responses to mental health difficulties cannot focus solely on helping people cope with pressure. We must also address the conditions contributing to that pressure.
People need accessible mental health services, strong community supports, secure housing, financial stability, and the dignity of knowing that working hard should provide a reasonable standard of living.
This is not about creating fear or hopelessness. It is about acknowledging the reality facing many people and responding with compassion, seriousness, and practical action.
The question we should be asking is not only, “Why are so many people experiencing anxiety?” We must also ask what pressures people are being expected to carry every day and what can be done to reduce them.
The cost-of-living crisis is not simply an economic issue. It is a social issue. It is a family issue and increasingly, it is a mental health issue. We must continue to support those who are struggling, encourage open conversations about mental health, and work towards a society in which people can live with greater security, dignity, and hope for the future.
Political Parties And Their Response To Concerns.
The pressure created by the cost of living should also encourage the public to look carefully at how political parties respond to these concerns. Governments must ultimately be judged on the decisions they make, the measures they implement, and the results those measures produce.
Opposition parties, meanwhile, have an important responsibility to challenge Government policy and present alternatives, but those alternatives should be examined with the same seriousness.
Promises made in opposition can sound attractive, particularly when households are under severe financial pressure, but voters are entitled to ask whether those commitments have been properly costed, whether they can realistically be delivered, what trade-offs would be required, and how they would be funded over the longer term.
Ireland already has mechanisms through which political parties can have proposals independently costed by the Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure, while the Parliamentary Budget Office also provides independent analysis of fiscal and budgetary proposals.
For that reason, public debate on the cost-of-living crisis should not become simply a competition over which parties can make the largest or most appealing promise. The same standard of scrutiny should apply to everybody seeking political power; those in Government should be questioned about what they have actually delivered and whether existing policies are working, while those seeking to replace them should be challenged to demonstrate that their alternatives are financially sustainable and practically achievable.
Previous analysis of Irish election manifestos has shown that substantial spending commitments can be made across both Government and Opposition parties and that questions can arise about whether the total package of promises fits within prudent fiscal limits.
When families are already experiencing financial stress and anxiety, political debate should therefore be grounded not only in promises, but in true credible figures, realistic implementation plans and an honest explanation of the choices and the consequences involved.
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