Rising costs are creating 'the perfect storm when it comes to anxiety'
We spoke to an anxiety specialist in Suffolk, who told us more people are coming to him, including children
A anxiety specialist from Suffolk tells us rising costs are creating a perfect storm for anxiety, after seeing an increase in both children and adults needing his services in the last two months.
With the rising cost of living putting pressure on everyone, purse strings are getting tighter and people are feeling the pinch.
As a result, consumers have become more reluctant to spend their money, so they have enough to pay for essentials, like their bills.
It's leaving some people needing to cut out non-essentials.
Anxiety specialist, Stuart Thompson, told us this anxiety is not restricted to adults, and children have also noticed the change: "It's such an overwhelming emotion that it likes to control people.
"But on the plus side, I always tell the people I work with, it (anxiety) is a paper dragon.
"Quite often it's scary. It's big, but when we stand up to it, it has a habit of collapsing.
"The big change that I've seen really in the last too months, is the number of children who are beginning to feel that there is anxiety about whether they be able to continue doing things.
"Will I be able to continue my swimming lessons? Will I be able to continue gymnastics?
"And overhearing those difficult conversations, which for children, when they're already coming off the back of two years of school closures or Covid, and the effect that that's had on families.
"And now to now be having conversations about financial insecurities...that's just an added pressure.
"I think that children are more anxious than they've ever been.
"Every study shows that anxieties, already a crisis within our young people.
"So anything that adds to that, it's just really, really unhelpful.
"And it couldn't be coming at a worse time.
"And children definitely pick up on those conversations."
With more children suffering from anxiety, there is a longer queue for treatment: "The waiting list for services increasing, so it's inevitable. I feel that now the added pressure of financial strain is just gonna add to that.
"And we're gonna see those already anxious children haven't even more to be anxious about."
Stuart told us what methods he uses to help his clients: "The support I give both adults and children are about teaching them ways to manage those feelings.
"So I might help them understand the things that they do have control over.
"And there are things that we can control with their anxiety. There's an awful lot we can't control.
"During the pandemic, for example, it was about explaining to people that we can't control the path of the pandemic.
"We can't control whether skills are open or reopen, but we can control our reaction to it.
"And equally, during this uptake in financial strain, the individuals don't have control over the price of fuel, or the the price of their weekly shop.
"But what they do have control over is what they do with those feelings, how they deal with them."
What can be done?
We asked Stuart what could be done in order to reduce the anxiety people are feeling: "I think generally as a society, we need to get better at encouraging people to talk.
"Quite often the message of talking when it comes to mental health can be misunderstood to some degree.
"It's really great to talk about our mental health and wellbeing.
"It's just really good for us to talk to actually connect with other humans and as a culture, as a society, as a whole, we're becoming less and less connected.
"Because we can satisfy that urge for connection quite quickly by sending a WhatsApp message or phoning someone.
"The thing we can all be encouraged to do, when we're gonna look for a long term mental health benefits is actually being around other humans.
"And I think society needs to encourage us all to start reaching out to each other for the small things. The smile at the next door neighbour. How are you? How was your Easter? How things?
"They all feel like small things, but in the bigger picture, of us all feeling better and beating anxiety. The one where we're gonna do it is actually banding on one one another, leaning on one another and actually being there for one another."