The impact of the rising cost of living on mental health featured in an article on the front page of The Age, and in other major Nine newspapers on Monday. AAPi Director Carly Dober said she had experienced a threefold rise in patients cancelling or postponing appointments because they couldn't afford them.
“It’s families, young people, couples, individuals,” she said. “More people are forgoing or delaying vital support due to financial stress.”
Cost of living pressures were making some people feel like failures, Carly said.
"They grew up hearing about how their parents and grandparents worked in one job where one wage would sustain the family,” she said.
“They are working, they have done everything right, they have sometimes gone to university, and they are struggling to make ends meet."
Lifeline, also quoted in the article, said it had seen a huge spike in demand for services over the past year.
Read the full article here.