Couples are struggling to stay together as they face money worries and the threat of redundancy in the economic downturn, said counseling service Relate, which has seen its workload¹ soar.

Relate on Saturday reported a rise of almost 60 percent in the number of couples seeking help with their relationships in October and November this year as compared with last year.

"The problems are to do with the recession, to do with job insecurity, to do with interest rates changing and also the escalating² costs of running the family," Christine Northam, a spokeswoman for Relate, told BBC radio.

"If you're dealing³ with these anxieties all on your own it can be very isolating⁴, and can lead to depression and anxiety. It can impact on the relationship and that will impact on your children."

Relate said it had received more than 7,500 calls in October to November this year, compared with about 5,000 in the same period of 2007.

With its reliance on financial services and high levels of personal debt, Britain's economy has been particularly hard hit by the global credit squeeze.

House prices have dropped 18 percent since last August, unemployment is soaring and consumer confidence has crashed. Many stores are slashing⁵ prices in a desperate bid to pull in shoppersin the run-up to Christmas.

近来业务大增的英国Relate婚姻咨询机构称，眼下的经济危机导致很多夫妇之间发生矛盾，他们既担心家庭经济问题，又面临着被裁员的风险。

Relate机构于上周六发布报告称，今年10月和11月，向该机构寻求婚姻顾问帮助的夫妇数量比去年同期增长了近60%。

Relate机构女发言人克里斯汀•诺斯安姆在接受BBC广播的采访时说：“经济衰退、工作不稳定、利率变化以及生活成本的提高都是造成问题的原因。”

“如果你独自面对这些问题，你会觉得非常孤立无援，会导致抑郁和焦虑情绪。它不仅会影响夫妻关系，还会影响到孩子。”

该机构称，今年10月至11月，他们共接到7500多个求助电话，而去年同期则约为5000个。

以金融服务和个人信贷为支柱的英国经济在此次全球金融危机中受到重创。

从去年8月至今，英国房价大跌18%，失业率剧增，消费者信心被摧毁。眼下圣诞将至，很多商家正疯狂大减价以招揽顾客。