National Traveller MABS held a money and mental health seminar for members of the Traveller community and our colleagues in MABS in the Ashling Hotel in October 2022. Monday the 9 October 2023 was chosen to hold the event, a day after Traveller Mental Health Day and a day before World Mental Health day, to highlight the impact that money can have on your mental health.
We all know that worrying about money can affect your mental health and create a ‘vicious cycle’ but it is also important to remember that living with a mental health condition can make the way you manage your money more difficult.It can impact the way you feel, think and act. It can also influence your decision-making, planning, spending behaviours, coping strategies, and communication.
Unfortunately, we know that experiencing debt or general financial difficulties can be a time of uncertainty, stress and anxiety which can have a significant impact on your mental health. Worrying about money can be extremely stressful. You may feel like it is the only thing that you can think about and that your mind is not able to focus on anything else, making managing your money more challenging.
This can feel very draining and create the feeling of being stuck in a ‘vicious cycle’ - where worrying about money leads to difficulty managing money and vice versa - because it doesn’t feel like you can change the situation. It can start to impact on your mental health by affecting your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
We know only too well that the Traveller community is in the middle of a mental health crisis and if there is a way we can help to alleviate the stress and worry that money brings then that can only be a good thing. Traveller mental health has been identified as one of the most pressing issues for the community by Traveller advocacy groups across Ireland.
The All Ireland Traveller Health Study (AITHS) indicated that suicide was the cause of 11% of all Traveller deaths with the suicide 6 times higher for Travellers than the general population. Two-thirds of Travellers have lost a loved one to suicide and 90% are worried about suicide in the community. The crisis has been exasperated by the Covid 19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
We brought together representatives from MABS and Traveller mental health workers for the seminar because it is important that we all learn from each other how we can help and support the Traveller community in facing mental health challenges that money issues bring and contribute to as well as making MABS more accessible for Travellers.
