For many month now, all we’ve been hearing is the cuts are coming, the time of austerity is upon us, we must tighten our belts – and expect to do without – the bankers have destroyed our economy – we bailed them out but the greedy ungrateful so and so are not helping nor do they intend to help – and on and on and on…….!

And again this morning, we learn that Osborne may have to revisit his deficit reduction programme, and slash some more as the last figures were too optimistic!

All this negativity as actual and as crucial as it might be is destroying the psychology of this nation, its killing hope and optimism and covering the country with a haze of despair.

This post is a result of daily observations. In my everyday pursuits I started to see peoples’ anguish; began to see it on the faces of ordinary folks who are anxious if they are the next victim of this recession. This look of uncertainty and fearing for ones future is as painful as the loss of that future. Some, even the most destitute of us are resilient and can handle whatever life throws at them with a smile but most aren’t, and this media frenzy albeit, fuelled by announcements and leaks is hurting the public’s psyche.

Of course, it’s not the job of government to spread happiness, but it is the responsibility of government to protect its people form harm – in this case physiological harms – that’s why I became excited by the Government’s idea of measuring happiness!

However I have a dream!

I know it’s a big ask, an impossible and maybe even a lofty one, but it is my hope that the media, who also has a responsibility, at this difficult time, considers the nation’s mental health and put it before ratings and viewership. I guess what I am hoping for is a media ‘measure of austerity’. They too can cut back on pitting one side against the other, competing for the scariest possible headline and sensationalising every move for their own personal gain. As I said; a dream!

Most of us have never, fought a war in our homeland – maybe we can treat this time in our history as wartime and do what our parents and grandparents did during the war, collectively lookout for one another, where the strong is helping the weak, because at the end of the day the enemy isn’t the people, its this economy!

Reports today that suicide and depression are on the rising is heartbreaking and troubling yet it is not surprising. Nonetheless, it is most unfortunate as the rate of suicide cases had dropped to its lowest for the first time just when the UK economy started to falter. According to NHS Choices, before the economic down turn, rates of suicide in the UK was steadily falling and in 2007 the figures displayed the lowest rate on record. The year before that, 2006, saw 5,554 suicides in adult aged 15 and over – three quarter of which were men. The rate started to rise again as the economy started to bite and at the same time the NHS saw an increase in the number of Mental Health cases and the number of those claiming incapacity benefits.

Even though the UK is not alone – results are still alarming and should not be taken lightly – evidence form across the world shows that the economic down turn has a negative impact on wellbeing of individuals, its also anticipates its improvement to lag behind the economic recovery as we are seeing the highest number of cases in the last year or so.

The Prime Minster’s ‘Wellbeing Measure’, the means by which happiness of the nation is to be measures, and although wellbeing measure is not a cure is very opportune, because it is a good pre-emptive and preventative measure by which risks can be detected, uncovered and hopefully managed and treated in time.