The toxic effect of poverty on children’s health

‘What the “ups and downs” of life look like for too many young people: going without food, cold and mouldy homes, and not feeling safe in the area you live.’ Photograph: Alamy

In the last 18 months I’ve found myself having to respond to claims that mental health culture has gone too far, that we’re over-diagnosing mental health problems and that we’re simply medicalising the ups and downs of life. I hope the children’s commissioner’s report (Children in England ‘living in almost Dickensian levels of poverty’, 8 July) is a moment for everyone to reflect on what the “ups and downs” of life look like for too many young people: going without food, cold and mouldy homes, and not feeling safe in the area you live.

There is a toxic relationship between poverty and mental health. A fact reinforced by the latest NHS data, showing that mental health problems among adults are at record levels, with people in the most deprived areas hardest hit.