Happiful_May_2019

May 2019 • happiful • 9

When you are struggling with your
mental health, finding the best deal for
various services may be the last thing
on your mind. And now, new research
from Citizens Advice shows that those
with mental health issues are paying
an annual ‘mental health premium’ of
between £1,100 and £1,550 more for
essential services.
Urging companies to do more to
support those with mental illness,
Citizens Advice has highlighted
how challenging it can be for those
experiencing anxiety and depression to
navigate services.
In 2018, the charity helped more
than 90,000 people with mental health
problems. They are now calling for
independent regulators to agree on new
ways to make services more accessible.

FINANCE CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Baby’s intuition

• it’s not to be

laughed at

A study from UCLA and New York

University has found that babies as

young as five months old can tell the

difference between laughter shared

by friends, and laughter shared by

strangers.

Gregory Bryant, co-author

of the paper and a professor of

communication, explains why

laughter is key to navigating the

social world.

“Laughter is an ancient social

vocalisation shared with many other

mammals, so it makes sense that we

see very early emergence of infants’

ability to produce, perceive and

understand the signal.”

Infants were monitored as they

listened to (and then watched) clips

of friends laughing together and

strangers laughing together. Their

attention was held for longer when

friends were laughing, indicating

that they could differentiate the two

(and preferred to listen to friends

laughing).

This research into laughter is

ongoing according to Bryant: “The

study of laughter provides a great

opportunity to get a window into

both human uniqueness, and our

evolutionary past.”

So if you’re a parent, and ever need

an excuse to have some fun and

laugh more with friends, this is it. It’s

good for your baby’s development,

and that’s science.

Writing | Kat Nicholls

People struggling with mental

health issues pay up to £1,

more on bills

Live, laugh, love: from a young age it

seems this is the mantra we embrace

Key recommendations include:

working with customers to set up

affordable payment plans instead

of disconnecting services; offering

methods of communications that

work best for customers without

extra charges; and reviewing

tariffs to make sure they suit the

customer’s needs.

While many companies do have

good deals for vulnerable people,

these can be tricky to access.

Citizens Advice hopes that if

regulators commit to enforcing

new standards, better monitoring

of the treatment of vulnerable

customers would be possible,

and action could be taken against

providers who fall short.

Writing | Bonnie Evie Gifford

Vulnerable people are paying more for energy, banking,

and telecom services, according to new research