During the past six months Scarlett has noticed her body start to excessively tremor.
It's a response she associates with withdrawal from antidepressants — but that hasn't happened this time.
Instead, the tremors have coincided with the increasing costs of living as she and her housemate have had to tighten their already strict budget.
"I've got no way to financially support myself and I don't know what to do," Scarlett said.
"Then that's where I get to and then the spiral starts again."
Scarlett says the rising costs of electricity and gas have been difficult but even the cost groceries have had an impact.
"We can't afford fresh groceries, we haven't been able to for a long time actually.
"But now it's even the meat. We'd normally buy like chicken and sausages and stuff that you try and last and that's going up."
Scarlett says a diagnosis of dysthymia — a milder, but long-lasting form of depression also known as persistent depressive disorder — is debilitating enough to stop her working yet it does not qualify her for a disability allowance through Centrelink.
Instead she is required to work with an employment service and apply for 12 jobs a month — two tasks she finds triggering.
Cost of living now the biggest mental health concern
A survey by Suicide Prevention Australia has found 40 per cent of Australians reported cost-of-living pressures and personal debt has caused them elevated distress compared with this time last year.
The YouGov survey of 1,024 adults taken in August this year, also found frontline services ranked it the biggest risk to suicide rates.
Nieves Murray, the CEO of Suicide Prevention Australia, says the findings have coincided a substantial rise in demand for suicide prevention services, 88 per cent of which have registered an increase in demand over the same 12 months – up from 78 per cent.
Murray says it is positive to see more Australians seeking help, but warns further economic turbulence could prove challenging for already stretched frontline services without additional funding and commitment to a National Suicide Prevention Act.
"Feeding the family and keeping a roof over our heads are two of the most basic human behaviours," she says.
"While inflation and interest rates keep rising, we must be prepared and proactive to prevent mental distress and suicide rates from doing the same.
Murray says the over the next 12 months the cost-of-living and personal debt are ranked as the biggest risks to rising suicide rates by both the public (68 per cent) and by the suicide prevention sector (74 per cent).
"This is higher than previous years and is the first time an economic issue has overtaken social issues like drugs, loneliness and family breakdown, she says.
Scarlett is just one of many who has watched their mental health decline as the cost of living goes up.
She was hospitalised earlier this year with suicidal ideation, but was able to be discharged into the care of friends and family.
But at 37, the once-successful design business owner is unsure how long she can keep relying on her parents for help.
"The amount of shame around it is enormous," she says.
"It's getting worse, because it's getting to a point where I can't keep asking my parents [for financial help]. They are in the same situation as I am."
Anxious to homeless, help is available
Financial counsellor Deb Shroot, from Financial Counselling Australia, says that since February when the cost of fuel started to rise more people had been reaching out to their service.
"There might be people who are anxious about what's going to happen, and they want to try and plan," she says, noting many callers do have jobs but are working fewer hours than they would like.
"We're getting calls from people who may have been tracking fine, but they've had a change in circumstances” Shroot says. “They may have lost their job, someone got sick, separation or divorce, domestic violence, something like that.
These calls are in addition to the typical caller who has been struggling for a long time.
She said one of the first things people tended to cut was insurance — which she said can end up being more complicated if someone is in an accident or something goes wrong at home — followed by discretionary spending and medication.
It means some people are becoming socially isolated, having to turn down social invites because they have stopped going out.
"People might be trying to cover up their situations, but friends may have noticed behaviour changes," she says.
"We certainly find that there's a lot of shame associated in not being able to afford such things as well."
Often people who reach out toShroot are seeking a place they can vent fears and frustrations — but she believes this is a good thing.
"Being in financial trouble and needing financial help, is not normally an isolated issue. It's normally quite complex. And there's usually a cause that has gone with that," she says.
"So that's the beauty of financial counselling, in the fact that we try and put all of those pieces together. And we try and help people get to the root of what's going on.”
Don't wait until it's dire
Respondents to the Suicide Prevention Australia survey suggested solutions including electricity and gas subsidies, increasing social security payments above the poverty line, building more social housing, removing negative gearing and offering early intervention for people who have rental increases.
However, Shroot says the best thing anyone can do is just talk to someone about their situation — be it a financial counsellor or a trusted friend or family member.
"People feel better, having shared their situation with somebody, and there are always options available," she believes.
In addition, Shroot says there are basic changes everyone can make, including making a budget, to ensure essentials are covered.
From there, looking at discretionary spending is the next step.
Shroot advises against increasing debt, either to cover other debt or essentials such as gas or electricity. Instead consider seeking out financial hardship programs for utilities, she says
Shroot also recommends avoiding buy now pay later or wage advance services which can lead to further debt further over time.
"You don't need to wait for yourself to be in a dire straits situation before you get help," she said.
"We have a lot of people who are maybe even just anxious about what might be happening in the future.
"Give us a call. Like you don't need to wait until your situation is so bad. You don't know what to do."
