*Collaborative post with LifeSearch I'm a firm believer in honesty always being the best policy, especially so when it comes to the biggest, most important things in life. Things like mental health, physical health, financial difficulties and mistakes may well not be something that we all want to share with the entire world, but it is something that we should feel we can be honest about with our own families.
Yet, a study by the UK's leading life insurer LifeSearch reveals that seven million Brits are secretly battling with their mental health and nearly four million are keeping quiet about a physical health problem. And it's not just health conditions that the nation is battling alone, the Secret Life of Brits survey also shows that 1 in 10 are hiding money and debt worries and that 1 in 20 are harbouring a secret drink or drug problem.
The survey shows that 'fear of embarrassment', 'not wanting to be judged' and 'worries over potential relationship breakdowns' were cited as reasons that some people are keeping quiet. But whilst keeping some secrets may well be totally harmless, keeping loved ones in the dark about any health or health-related problems could easily present with huge long-term repercussions should something unfortunate happen.
Lockdown has had a major impact on many people’s mental health and many have found themselves experiencing symptoms that they may never have experienced before. In my experience as someone who has battled anxiety and very physical panic attacks previously, keeping struggles with mental health to yourself creates more harm than good. Not only can opening up about things help to alleviate some of the problems that you're facing, it also helps with things like any life insurance policies that you may have in place that are ultimately there to protect your family. If you are battling a health problem and you keep it to yourself or if you plan to take something that is important for your loved ones to know to the grave, the reality is that you could end up costing your loved ones dearly.
Conversations around death and ill-health might not be the most cheery of conversations and yes, they could be a little bit uncomfortable, but they won't be as uncomfortable as if you get caught out without the proper insurance protection for your family. One of the first things that my husband and I did when we first married and became parents was to draw up a will and to take out the correct life insurance and critical illness cover. No one wants to think about something bad happening to them before 'their time' but the reality of it is we're not all guaranteed to live well into old age and to have perfect health until then. The most important thing that we can do for our families is to have those important conversations honestly and frankly to ensure that should something happen, our loved ones will be as protected as they can be. This is even more so important if we have young children that need to be taken care of.
LifeSearch reassure all of their customers and their potential customers that, “At LifeSearch we’re committed to protecting the life you love and helping you put contingencies in place, and for this to work, we need for people to be honest about their situations”.
When it comes down to it, it ALWAYS pays to be honest, even if it doesn't feel like it will at the time. So if you're battling something alone right now, then do open up with your loved ones because it really is true what they say: 'A problem shared, is a problem halved'.
If you are struggling with your mental health at the moment and need urgent help or just need to talk any time of day or night you can find helplines and advice here via the NHS website.
To learn more about the impact keeping secrets could have on your loved ones, visit https://www.lifesearch.com/landing-pages/secret-life-of-brits.
About LifeSearch
Since 1998, LifeSearch have protected hundreds of thousands of UK families from the financial fallout of catastrophe, critical illness and death.
Over 21 years, LifeSearch has grown into the UK's biggest life insurance broker, offering expert, independent advice to customers around life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, family income benefit, serious illness cover and business insurance
In two decades, LifeSearch has picked up hundreds of awards for its culture, expertise and customer service. Boasting a Trustpilot score of 4.9, the company is ranked number #3 in the Sunday Times' 2019 list of Best Places to Work.
LifeSearch is an appointed representative of LifeSearch Partners Limited, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Thank you for reading.
Alex xo
