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Petition against present distress and future problems

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petition, psychologists against austerity, psychological impact of austerity.Call for a parliamentary inquiry assessing the psychological impact of austerity.

Austerity policies have damaging psychological costs, both increasing mental distress in the present and storing problems for the future.

This can be demonstrated with robust and well-established psychological research.

Psychologists Against Austerity have identified five ‘Austerity Ailments’, which are specific psychological pathways between austerity policies and increased mental distress.

These are:

Humiliation and Shame:

Prolonged humiliation following a severe loss trebles the chance of being diagnosed with clinical depression. Shame and humiliation are endemic in experiences of poverty, which has increased during austerity.

Fear and Mistrust:

Austerity has been driven through with a politics of fear and mistrust. Loss of trust underlies several forms of mental distress. Low levels of trust increase the chance of being diagnosed with depression by nearly 50 per cent.

Instability and Insecurity:

Job insecurity, which has increased during austerity, is as damaging for mental health as unemployment.

Isolation and Loneliness:

Austerity has shut down many crucial communal resources. Social isolation is poisonous for mental health and recovery; loneliness is as damaging to health as smoking or drinking alcohol.

Being Trapped and Powerless:

Long term entrapping life experiences nearly treble the chances of being diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

Psychologists Against Austerity was formed in 2014 after discussions within various UK Community Psychology forums, which are still ongoing on this interactive community website.

Psychologists Against Austerity is a mixed group of different applied psychologists, including Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Academic and Research Psychologists, Educational Psychologists and Forensic Psychologists, as well as other health care professionals and community members speaking as a collective of individuals and not on behalf of their workplaces or institutions.

They are petitioning the leaders of all UK political parties for an inquiry into the psychological impact of austerity. Please support them and sign and share their petition.

Why is committing to a parliamentary inquiry assessing the psychological impact of austerity important?

The evidence, the petition runs, is clear: ‘austerity policies are having damaging psychological costs, both increasing mental distress in the present, and storing problems for the future.

‘As a group of psychologists, therapists, service users and allies we feel it is our public and professional duty to bring these issues to light.

‘Britain’s poorest communities have been hit the hardest by austerity measures; nearly a million people in the UK had to rely on a food bank in 2014.

’84 per cent of people who attend food banks report being humiliated by the experience, and 43 per cent hide the experience from their children.

‘Prolonged experiences of humiliation treble the chance of being diagnosed with depression.’

And although some people still think that depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They are wrong. The NHS website is quite clear about this: ‘Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and it’s not a sign of weakness or something you can “snap out of” by “pulling yourself together”.

‘The symptoms of depression can be complex and vary widely between people. But as a general rule, if you are depressed, you feel sad, hopeless and lose interest in things you used to enjoy.

‘The symptoms persist for weeks or months and are bad enough to interfere with your work, social life and family life.

This, the petition continues, ‘is just one example of the damaging psychological costs of austerity, which include increased experiences of: fear; mistrust; instability; isolation; and being trapped.’

You can read their evidence in full in the Psychologists Against Austerity briefing paper here.

‘Brutal cuts to public services are a political choice, not an economic necessity,’ the petition points out.

‘Policies which directly increase mental distress in the present and future are not only inhumane, they also make bad business sense; mental distress already costs employers nearly £26 billion per year.

‘We therefore call for a parliamentary inquiry to assess the full psychological impact of austerity.

‘Social and economic conditions directly impact upon people’s mental health. To promote well-being we need to invest in building resilient communities, rather than slashing crucial public services.’

And as Rosie J says: It’s nonsense that parties are making pledges to prioritise mental health and protect NHS spending when they haven’t recognised the damage their other policies have done.

The next meeting of Psychologists Against Austerity is on 9 June, from 6.30pm – 9pm at Ziferblat Cafe, 388 Old Street, Shoreditch, London EC1V 9LT.

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