High Debt Debt often makes you sick

Debt and illness are mutually dependent
Health problems are one of the main causes of over-indebtedness. One in seven clients of a debt counseling center in Schleswig-Holstein stated last year that they had fallen into debt due to illness, addiction or the consequences of an accident. At the same time, over-indebtedness often leads to mental and physical problems and makes you ill. The relationship between debt and health has now been examined at a specialist meeting of the coordination center for debt counseling in Kiel.

More people are in debt through illness
More and more people are in debt because of health problems, addictions or as a result of an accident. 14.3 percent of the clients of debt counseling centers in Schleswig-Holstein indicated these points in 2015 as the main trigger for their over-indebtedness - in 2014 it was still 13.7 percent. At the same time, more and more people are becoming ill due to debts, because these have serious effects on the mental and physical condition. These relationships have now been clarified at a special day of the coordination center Schuldnerberatung Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, which took place within the framework of the nationwide "Aktionswoche Schuldnerberatung 2016" (6-10 June). Experts from Germany and Austria provided information about the current state of research and showed solutions through projects.

At debt counseling centers sufferers get help to break the vicious circle of debt and disease. (Picture: Picture-Factory / fotolia.com)

Debts often lead to social isolation
Disease is therefore particularly often among unemployed clients (18.2%), the main cause of over-indebtedness, in employment, the proportion is 7.4 percent. However, according to a report by the Diakonie Schleswig-Holstein, the coordinating agency for debt counseling expects a much higher number of unreported cases, as probably only a part of the over-indebted people are in contact with a counseling center.

At the same time, the proportion of people who get health problems from their debts is increasing. "Over-indebtedness is more than just a material problem. It has serious consequences for those affected and their families. The threat to the existential basis leads to social isolation and significantly burdens physical and mental health, "says coordinator Alis Rohlf, quoted in the text.

Reform of the German social system is to blame
From the point of view of the social researcher Gerhard Trabert, the numerous social cuts of the past 15 years ("Agenda 2010") would also bear part of the responsibility for the current development. Because of the significantly higher self-participation in the health system, low-income people in particular would either accumulate debts or not even go to the doctor. "As a result, the diseases get worse or become chronic. In addition, the death rate among those affected increases, "said the professor of social medicine and social psychiatry at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden, according to the statement. "Meanwhile, many patients who suffer from cancer are more afraid of social decline than of the direct effects of the disease," the expert explains. (No)