Rise in City high-fliers hit by mental problems after the credit squeeze

Increasing numbers of City workers are being referred for psychological treatment in the wake of the credit crunch, mental health experts have warned.

Employees are suffering from stress, anxiety and depression and the numbers seeking urgent help could rise even further as the economic instability takes its toll, they added.

City-based practices have seen a huge rise in the numbers of panicked workers demanding help with mental health problems during the past 12 months, with many of the office workers displaying symptoms such as palpitations, increased sweating and irritable bowel syndrome.

Mark Beadle, chief executive of Capio Nightingale Hospitals, which provides private psychiatric treatment, said: "We have seen increasing numbers of City workers coming to organisations like us. Our programmes are up 30 to 40 per cent this year compared with last year. There is no doubt that the stressful lives people lead in high-pressure environments lead to the things we have to treat. People drink too much coffee-and alcohol, work long hours and tend not to get much sleep."

Dr Neil Brener, a consultant psychiatrist for the Priory, who practises in the City and Canary Wharf, said he had seen a 25 per cent increase of referrals on last year.

He said the fallout from the credit squeeze which has led to widespread job losses across the City and general job uncertainty could lead to even greater numbers of workers coming forward for treatment.

He said: "It's a bit like trauma. When a trauma happens in the City the psychological problems don't happen immediately. We may start seeing the effects early next year."

Psychiatrists argue that City workers are predisposed to certain conditions due to the hard-working nature of their jobs. Dr Stephen Pereira, a consultant psychiatrist in the City for more than 20 years, said: "They are able to go forth and do what they do best, working hard and keeping long hours. But in certain situations when difficulties arise and there are work-related pressures, underlying pre-dispositions are triggered."

Despite the increase in numbers seeking therapy, employers have started to take the health of their workers more seriously as most of the large City institutions have seen their spending on medical insurance go up as more people claim for mental health problems. Companies are also having to deal with the problems of high-fliers turning to drugs and alcohol to cope with increasingly stressful professional and personal lives.

Professor Simon Wessely, department head at the Institute of Psychiatry in King's College London, said there had been a huge increase in the number of people willing to admit they were suffering from emotional problems.

He said: "Although it is still a big issue, there has been little erosion of the stigma of mental disorders."