The Intersection Between Poverty and Mental Health

By Robin Fleming

It is tempting to think about poverty issues solely in terms of job opportunities, skills, income levels, and maybe character. Provide jobs and teach skills that make those jobs and decent wages accessible, and maybe the problem will be solved, right? And if it’s an issue of poor character, such as low motivation or an unwillingness to take responsibility, then the fault and the next move belong to the person, not the system or community. But while opportunity, ability, wages, and character can and very often do play a part in creating and maintaining poverty, these exist in context along with each person’s sense of hope, self-confidence, and resilience in the face of difficulty. The physical, relational, spiritual, and mental-emotional aspects of human life are tightly interwoven, and no part of a person exists in a vacuum. So, it is wise to ask how one’s mental health might contribute to poverty, and also how the experience of poverty might affect one’s mental health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Mental health… includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being… (It) is a state of well-being that enables us to cope with the stresses of life, realize our abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to our community.”¹ On the other hand, “Many factors influence our ability to thrive and experience optimal well-being, such as family and community relationships, access to opportunities, and environmental circumstances… People who don’t have a mental health condition may still face challenges to their mental health.” In other words, if we have good mental health, we generally feel positive about life, we understand ourselves, we know something about our place in the world, we are engaged in life and growing, and we have a positive impact on others. On the other hand, external conditions impact our ability to respond well to stressors and can lead to a decline in our mental health, regardless of who we are. Start with less than optimal mental health, and the stresses of inadequate resources will quickly take a toll. Encounter enough stressors, and even a person with good mental health is going to experience at least some degree of anxiety, depression, relationship distress, or instability.

Let’s look at a few specific connections in the research. According to an article published by the National Library of Medicine, Perspectives in Poverty and Mental Health,² mental health challenges appear to increase the risk of homelessness and homelessness promotes poor mental health; mental health issues and debt are closely related; and food insecurity significantly increases the risk of both anxiety and depression, while stable income helps protect against depression. For those living in underprivileged areas, stressful inner cities, or fractured neighborhoods, the lack of access to mental health care, loss of healthy “social capital,” and lack of physical safety seem to contribute to mental health problems.

We have barely scratched the surface here, but simply put, living in material poverty often accompanies or brings with it a kind of mental and emotional poverty as well. The burdens of poverty will intensify symptoms of anxiety, depression, and disconnection from self and others; will stretch already-taxed coping skills to the breaking point; and will often become an obstacle to getting much-needed care, thus perpetuating problems.

This is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. Therefore, our efforts at solving the problem – in our families, in our churches, in our communities – must target both external and internal obstacles to well-being. As we work to eliminate external barriers to material well-being, let’s help people strengthen their coping skills and develop healthy core beliefs about themselves and the world, founded on the truth that they are created and treasured by a God who never leaves.

¹cdc.gov/mental-health/about/index.html

²pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9386343/