Energy insecurity linked with mental health issues

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-10-28 02:00

International

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With the costs of powering our homes skyrocketing, international researchers have looked into how our inability to pay our energy bills is affecting our mental health. They say that, in their study of 187 million adults, people who experienced at least one form of energy insecurity - an inability to pay full or partial energy bills, keeping the home at unsafe or unhealthy temperatures, and forgoing expenses for necessities, such as food and medicine, to pay energy bills - in the last year also had significantly higher odds of reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety, compared to people who didn't experience these issues. While this kind of study cannot directly prove that energy insecurity is leading to these mental health issues, the authors suggest that mental health interventions should be considered when dealing with people unable to afford their bills.