Financial inequality hurting mental health

London, March 11: Financial inequality is taking its toll on the mental health of the population, says a new report released by the World Health Organization on Wednesday.

Titled ‘Mental Health, Resilience and Inequalities’, the report says that prevailing poor mental health could bring about a social recession, where communities remain detached from each other and do not feel the need to connect.

Experts assert that reducing the gap between the rich and the poor will perk up the mental well-being on both individual and society levels.

The report, which draws on research from all over Europe, reveals that the problems concerning mental health are most pronounced in countries such as Britain, which are rich but have significant social inequality.

Author Lynne Friedli urges the government to identify the exact nature of the problem. She says policy-makers need to "face up to the fact" that marked progress in mental health and wellbeing can only be ensured after dealing with the gap between rich and poor.

Economic inequality has a detrimental effect on the mental health of people, but this fact has been ignored for long.

“We’ve failed to acknowledge this link, preferring instead to blame the health and social conditions of those living on or near the poverty line on their own lifestyle choices,” said Friedli.

Supported by the Mental Health Foundation, the Child Poverty Action Group, the Faculty for Public Health and the National Institute for Mental Health in England, the report concludes that the "pursuit of economic growth at the price of greater inequality will lead to a 'social recession' that is not sustainable".

Huge inequality in social status causes everlasting stress, because of which the levels of stress hormonesdefine always remain high. Such endocrinal changes lead to depressiondefine, high blood pressure and other medical problems that may eventually show up as poor mental health.

These reactions, according to the authors, are attributed to the highly social nature of human beings, who tend to be extremely sensitive to their social position and status.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said that the recent years saw an expansion in inequalities in the UK, and simultaneously, the worsening of mental health of the citizens.

"Now we’re beginning to understand how these two trends might be linked, and how living with inequality can have very real effects on the mind and body,” said Dr. McCulloch. “Given the huge social costs of poor mental health, it’s vital we begin to treat it as a public health priority."